JDW to open 10th airport pub after £3.5m development

JDW to open third site at Heathrow airport
Transport hub: the new pub is JDW's third site at Heathrow airport (Getty Images)

Pub behemoth JD Wetherspoon (JDW) is opening its third venue at Heathrow.

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The Sir Frank Whittle will open its doors later this month (Tuesday 21 July) at Heathrow’s Terminal 2 (airside), after the pub group spent £3.5m developing it, creating 100 new jobs.

It will be open from 4am until 11pm seven days a week and serve food throughout the day, from opening until 10pm daily.

The name comes from Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle was an English engineer, investor and RAF officer.

Drinks offering

It will specialise in real ales and traditional ciders as well as craft and world beers, serving a range variety of different draught ales alongside bottled beers including those from local and regional brewers.

Furthermore, it will open for family dining with children, accompanied by an adult welcome in the pub throughout the week. It will also be wheelchair accessible.

This will be the company’s 10th airport pub in the UK and Spain with plans to open more - one at Manchester airport this September as well as two separate pubs at Barcelona airport, opening in November 2026 and January 2027.

It will be managed by Tom Blacktop, who was previously the pub manager at the Beehive in Gatwick airport.

Great addition

He said: “Myself and my team are looking forward to welcoming customers into The Sir Frank Whittle and we are confident that the pub will be a great addition to the choice on offer for customers travelling through Heathrow Airport.”

The latest site joins a number of others at airports including two already at Heathrow - the Crown Rivers in Terminal 5 and Star Light in Terminal 4.

Other airport venues including the Red Lion at Gatwick North Terminal, the Beehive at the West Sussex’s South Terminal (landside) and Flying Horse also at the South Terminal (airside).

This is in addition to the Windmill at Stansted, Wetherspoon at Birmingham Airport, the Sir Walter Scott at Edinburgh Airport and Castell de Santa Barbara at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport, which opened in January.