History
The Waterloo heliport that lasted ten months
South Bank Festival site, 1955-56 shuttle to Heathrow, the 1953 Hansard debate and the 1967 river-pad plan
Hero image: Phil Hollman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
South Bank Festival site, 1955-56 shuttle to Heathrow, the 1953 Hansard debate and the 1967 river-pad plan.
Key facts
- Hansard 20 May 1953: LCC talks on temporary South Bank airstop
- 25 July 1955 to 31 May 1956, 3,822 passengers
- c.1967 river-based pad plan never built
In date order
- 1955 (25 July) to 1956 (31 May)BEA Waterloo helicopter shuttle to London Airport
ianVisits (citing Flight 1956 archive) says the shuttle used Sir Kay and Sir Ector (Westland-Sikorsky S-55, five passengers each) and carried 3,822 passengers before closing; a second source gives the same dates and total. The site was needed for the South Bank Centre. ianvisits.co.uk
Confidence: two secondary sources agree; primary Flight page not retrieved - c.1967Plan for river-based landing pad near Waterloo for 26-seat helicopters to Heathrow
ianVisits cites a 1967 Flight International archive item; never built. ianvisits.co.uk
Confidence: single secondary source; Flight original not retrieved
Check first
Historical details differ between sources. We give the source for each entry and say where it is secondary.
Sources and checks
Facts on this page come from these sources, last checked 2026-11-03. Where a source could not be reached or did not say, we left the fact out.
- api.parliament.uk api.parliament.uk
- ianvisits.co.uk ianvisits.co.uk