Heathrow Airport

"LHR" redirects here. For other uses, see LHR (disambiguation).

London Heathrow Airport (IATA: LHR, ICAO: EGLL), often referred to as Heathrow, is one of the busiest airports in the world. The airport is the United Kingdom's busiest and best-connected airport, as well as being Europe's busiest airport for passenger traffic (see Busiest airport claims section below) and the world's busiest airport by international passenger traffic. The airport is owned and operated by BAA which is owned by the Spanish Ferrovial Group (Grupo Ferrovial).

The airport is located towards the southern end of the London Borough of Hillingdon, 24 km (15 miles) west of Central London. It is one of three international London airports to be located within the boundary of the Greater London Area. To the north, Heathrow is surrounded by the built-up areas of Harlington, Harmondsworth, Longford and Cranford, to the east are Hounslow and Hatton, and to the south are East Bedfont and Stanwell. To the west, the M25 motorway separates the airport from Colnbrook in Berkshire.

Heathrow has two parallel main runways running east-west and four terminals. A new terminal, Terminal 5, is under construction and there are plans to redevelop or rebuild other terminals as well as additional runways. Heathrow Airport has a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P527) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

History

Heathrow

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The location of Heathrow airport within Greater London

Heathrow started in the 1930s as the Great Western Aerodrome. Privately owned by Fairey Aviation, it was used primarily for aircraft assembly and testing. The land was originally acquired from the vicar of Harmondsworth. The airport was named after the hamlet Heath Row which was demolished to make way for the airport and was located approximately where Terminal 3 now stands. The airport stands on a parcel of land that was designated part of the London Metropolitan Green Belt. At first, it had no commercial traffic and Croydon Airport was the main airport for London.

In 1944 Heathrow came under the control of the Ministry of Air. Harold Balfour (later Lord Balfour), then Under-Secretary of State for Air (1938-1944), wrote in his 1973 autobiography Wings over Westminster, that he deliberately deceived the government committee that a requisition was necessary in order that Heathrow could be used as a base for long-range transport aircraft in support of the war with Japan. In fact, Balfour wrote that he always intended the site to be used for civil aviation and used a wartime emergency requisition order to avoid a lengthy and costly public inquiry. The Royal Air Force never made use of the airport and control was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 1 January 1946 - the first civil flight that day being to Buenos Aires, via Lisbon for refuelling.

The airport opened fully for civilian use on 31 May 1946 and by 1947 Heathrow had three runways, with three more under construction. These older runways, built for piston-engined planes, were short and angled to allow for all wind conditions. The first concrete slab of the first modern runway was ceremonially placed by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 . She also opened the first permanent terminal building, the Europa Building (now known as Terminal 2), in 1955. Shortly afterwards the Oceanic Terminal (now known as Terminal 3) became operational. At this time the airport had a direct helicopter service from central London and gardens on the roof of the terminal building. Terminal 1 was opened in 1968, completing the cluster of buildings at the centre of the airport site.

The location of the original terminals in the centre of the site has since become a constraint to expansion. The decision to locate them here reflected an early assumption that airline passengers would not require extensive car parking, as air travel was then only affordable to the wealthy - who would, of course be chauffeur-driven.

The location of the airport to the west of London was unfortunate, because prevailing westerly winds require approaching airliners to fly low directly over much of the city for 80% of the year. Other leading European airports such as those at Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris were deliberately located north or south of their cities to minimise the overflying problem. Another negative factor of the site is that it is low lying, at 83 feet (25 metres) above sea level, and so is relatively prone to fog.

In 1977, the London Underground was extended to Heathrow; connecting the airport with Central London in just under an hour via the Piccadilly Line. On 23 June 1998 the Heathrow Express train was inaugurated, providing a direct rail service to London's Paddington station via a specially constructed line between the airport and the Great Western Main Line.

Terminal 4 was built away from the three older terminals, to the south of the southern runway. It opened in 1986 and became the home for then newly-privatised British Airways. In 1987, the British Government privatised the British Airports Authority (now just "BAA Limited") which controls Heathrow as well as six other UK airports.

Heathrow in the 1960s

Terrorism and Security Measures

• On 19th May 1974, the IRA planted a series of bombs in the Terminal 1 car park injuring 2 people.

• On 17 April 1986 semtex explosives were found in the bag of a pregnant Irishwoman attempting to board an El Al flight. The explosives had been given to her by her Jordanian boyfriend and father of their unborn child Nizar Hindawi, and the incident became known as the Hindawi Affair.

• In 1994, over a six day period, Heathrow was targeted three times (8 March, 10 March and 13 March) by the IRA, who fired twelve mortars. Heathrow was a symbolic target due to its importance to the UK economy and the disruption caused when areas of the airport were closed over the period. Coverage of the incident was heightened by the fact that the Queen was being flown back to Heathrow by the RAF on 10 March.

• In February 2003, the British Army was deployed to Heathrow, with 1,000 extra police officers, due to intelligence reports that al-Qaeda terrorists might launch surface-to-air missile attacks at British or American airliners. On 6th November new security measures came into effect for all passengers departing from UK airports.

• On 10 August 2006, the airport became the focus of changes in security protocol following the revelation of a supposedly al-Qaeda based 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot. New rules were put in force immediately with lengthy delays and inconvenience to passengers. These included the prohibition of carry-on luggage (except essential items such as travel documents and medication) and all liquids - although this was later relaxed to allow medications, as well as baby milk - provided both were tasted first by the passenger at the security checkpoint.

Restrictions were put in place not only in the UK, but also across Canada and the US. Terrorists allegedly planned to blow up ten aircraft with liquid explosives hidden in soft drink bottles. These explosives are thought to have consisted of relatively inert component liquids which would be mixed during the flight to create an explosive compound which could then be detonated with a camera flash, spark from a small electronic device (such as a mobile phone) or impact. The planes thought to be intended for targeting were bound for the United States. It is believed some bombs were to be exploded on UK soil, while others were to be detonated in mid-flight en route to the US, or possibly on arrival over US destination cities. The UK's internal security service organisation MI5 raised the domestic terror alert status to its highest level, "critical", indicating that a terrorist attack was imminent.

• On 6 November 2006 new security measures came into effect for all passengers departing from UK airports: UK Department for Transport

Security

Routine policing of the airport is the responsibility of the aviation security unit of the Metropolitan Police, however the army, including armoured vehicles of the Household Cavalry, has occasionally been deployed to the airport during periods of heightened security.

On 26 November 1983 the Brinks Mat robbery occurred, when 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26 million were taken from the Brink's Mat vault near Heathrow. Only a fraction of the gold was ever recovered and only two men were convicted of the crime.

In March 2002, thieves stole US $3 million that had arrived on a South African Airways flight.

Scotland Yard's Flying Squad foiled an attempt by seven men to steal £40 million in gold bullion and a similar quantity of cash from the Swissport warehouse at Heathrow on 17 May 2004.

Heathrow's reputation for thefts has led to it sometimes being referred to as 'Thiefrow'.

Air disasters at or near Heathrow

• On 3 March 1948 Sabena Douglas DC3 Dakota OO-AWH crashed in fog. Three crew and 19 of the 22 passengers died.

• On 1 August 1956 XA897 an Avro Vulcan strategic bomber of the Royal Air Force crashed at Heathrow after an approach in bad weather. The Vulcan was the first to be delivered to the RAF and was returning from a demonstration flight to Australia and New Zealand. The pilot and co-pilot ejected and survived but the 4 other occupants were killed.

• On 27 October 1965 BEA Vickers Vanguard G-APEE flying from Edinburgh, during a landing in poor visibility attempted to over shoot but crashed on runway 28R. All on board died. 6 crew and 30 passengers.

• On 8 April 1968 BOAC Boeing 707 G-ARWE, departing to Australia via Singapore, had an engine fire just after take-off. The engine fell from the wing into the nearby Queen Mother reservoir in Datchet, but the plane managed to perform an emergency landing with the wing on fire. The plane burnt out on the ground — five people, 4 passengers and a stewardess, died; 122 survived.

• On 3 July 1968 G-AMAD an Airspeed Ambassador of BKS Air Transport dropped a wing during approach, causing the aircraft to contact the grass and swerve towards the terminal building. It hit two parked British European Airways Hawker Siddeley Trident aircraft, burst into flames and came to rest against the ground floor of the terminal building. Six of the eight crew died and eight horses onboard died.

• On 18 June 1972 British European Airways Flight 548, flying from London Heathrow to Brussels, crashed shortly after take off into a field near Staines. All 109 passengers and nine crew on the Hawker Siddeley Trident-1C G-ARPI were killed in what became known as the Staines air disaster.

Heathrow today

Queue of aircraft for take-off including jets from Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Air India, and bmi

Heathrow now has four passenger terminals (Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4) and a cargo terminal. The fifth passenger terminal, Terminal 5 is expected to open in 27 March 2008, with construction of all satellite buildings completed in 2011.

Originally, Heathrow had six runways, arranged in three pairs at different angles, with the passenger terminal in the centre. With growth in the required length for runways, Heathrow now has just two parallel runways running east-west. Runway 23, a short runway for use in strong South-Westerly winds, was recently decommissioned and now forms part of taxiway A. The Department for Transport has issued a 'consultation document' in which one option is the construction of a third parallel east-west runway for frequent use, involving the demolition of local residential areas.

Overnight flights into Heathrow are restricted by government order, with preference for quieter airliners, but could be eliminated entirely if the government loses its appeal against a recent judgement by the European Court of Human Rights.

The airport is owned and operated by BAA which is owned by the Spanish Ferrovial Group (Grupo Ferrovial).

To prevent monopoly profits, the amount BAA is allowed to charge airlines to land aeroplanes at Heathrow is heavily regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority. Until 1 April 2003, the annual increase of the cost of landing per passenger was capped at inflation minus 3%. This has meant that landing charges have been falling in absolute terms. The average landing cost per passenger in April 2003 was £6.13, similar to landing charges at Gatwick and Stansted. In order to reflect the fact that Heathrow, as an international hub, is more popular with passengers and airlines, the CAA agreed that BAA will be allowed to increase landing charges at Heathrow by inflation plus 6.5% per year for the next five years. When Terminal 5 opens in 2008, landing charges are expected to be £8.23 per passenger. Landing fee restrictions at Gatwick and Stansted will remain tighter.

Whilst the cost of a landing slot is determined by the CAA and BAA, the allocation of landing slots at Heathrow to airlines is carried out by Airport Co-ordination Limited (ACL). ACL is an independent non-profit organisation whose slot allocation programme is governed by British and European law and IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines. ACL is funded by ten British airlines, tourism operators and BAA, which pay the ACL a fee for providing scheduling information. The apparent conflict between the need to provide an independent slot allocation service and serving the interests of the funding airlines is waved away by ACL, who state that:

No member airline receives direct benefit, in terms of preferential treatment in slot allocation decisions made by ACL. All airlines are treated the same, in accordance with UK and European Slot Regulations which ensure that decisions made by ACL are made in a 'neutral, transparent and non-discriminatory' way. Members believe that it is reasonable for them to contribute to the cost of slot allocation in the UK, since the cost of the coordination task in other countries is borne by their Governments or national carriers. Contributing to the cost of ACL avoids the need for Government intervention of control of slot allocation and ensures that all the airlines receive a high quality coordination service. Any airline may apply to join ACL, and the Company is pro-active in seeking to expand its membership base.

— Airport Coordination Limited,

There have been calls for the slot allocation process to be made a free market. (See e.g. Centre for Land Policy Studies).

In addition, air traffic between Heathrow and the United States is strictly governed by the countries' bilateral Bermuda II treaty. The treaty originally allowed only British Airways, Pan Am, and TWA to fly from Heathrow to the US. In 1991 PAA and TWA sold their rights to United Airlines and American Airlines respectively, and Virgin Atlantic Airways was added to the list of airlines allowed to operate on these routes. In 2002, American Airlines and British Airways announced plans to coordinate the scheduling of their trans-Atlantic routes but plans were dropped after the United States Department of Transportation made approval conditional on the granting of further access slots to Heathrow to other US airlines. AA and BA considered the slots too valuable and dropped the plans. The Bermuda bilateral agreement conflicts with the Right of Establishment of the United Kingdom in terms of its membership in the EU, and as a consequence the UK was ordered to drop the agreement in 2004.

There are reports (March 2, 2007) that a tentative agreement has been reached to drop Bermuda II restrictions preventing US flag carriers, other than United and American, from flying to Heathrow.

Heathrow is also now compatible with the Airbus A380 with Terminal Five, and Pier 6 of Terminal 3 being able to handle the jet. The first A380s are due to start arriving at Heathrow during 2007, however the first A380 test flight into Heathrow took place on 18 May 2006.

Heathrow was voted the world's worst airport, in a survey conducted by TripAdvisor with over 4,000 participants.

Busiest airport claims

A Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-300 seen near Heathrow.

Heathrow is the world's third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic, after Atlanta-Hartsfield-Jackson and Chicago-O'Hare in the United States. However, Heathrow has the highest number of international passengers, making it the world's busiest international airport, and is claimed by its operator BAA to be "the hub of the aviation world". On completion of Terminal 5 in early 2008, it will have the capacity to grow again. It is only one of seven airports in the world to be classified as a Class A airport.

In 2004 Heathrow was the busiest airport in Europe in terms of total passenger traffic (31.5% more passengers than at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport or Frankfurt International Airport), but was third behind Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt in terms of plane movements (9.5% fewer planes than at Charles de Gaulle, and 0.3% fewer planes than at Frankfurt). The airport was also third in terms of cargo traffic (24.8% less cargo than at Charles de Gaulle and 23.2% less than at Frankfurt).

In 2005 total passenger numbers rose 0.9% to 67.7 million. During the 12 months to November 2006, passengers declined by 0.3% to 67.46 million. This recent low rate of growth reflects the fact that in advance of the completion of Terminal 5, growth in the London flights market is necessarily concentrated at London's other airports. In addition, traffic is being affected by the fast growth of low cost airlines operating from lower cost airports in the southeast region.

Furthermore, London as a large city area is said to have the largest number of passengers of all, 133 million (Heathrow 67.4, Gatwick 32.6, Stansted 22, Luton 9.1, City Airport 1.9 million). After London comes New York City with 100 million (JFK 41, Newark 33, LaGuardia 26), Tokyo 95 million (Haneda HND 62.4; Narita NRT 32.5 million) Chicago 94 million (O'Hare 76.5, Midway 17.8) and Atlanta 84.8 million.

Heathrow in culture

Music

In 1982 British funk-pop band Level 42 made an instrumental song "Heathrow".

The airport is referenced in the song "Sleeping with the Light On" by the English pop band Busted in the line "Got on an airplane, from London Heathrow; It seems such a shame, yea."

There is a reference to the airport in the song "Move On Now" by the English indie band HARD-Fi in the line "Looking out my bedroom window, See the planes take off from Heathrow"

Another reference appears in The Dismemberment Plan song "Superpowers": "I have watched the rich risk it all for 15 minutes in a Heathrow bathroom."

Another reference appears in the punk song "Sound Of The Suburbs" by the Members: "Every lousy Monday morning, Heathrow jets go crashing over my home." The musicians in the Members, originating from north-east Surrey, would no doubt have been familiar with this experience.

The Clash mention Heathrow in their song "First Night Back in London". The last part of the song goes As soon as I get home I call Heathrow Want a standby fare to Borneo.

Suede mention Heathrow in their song 'Black or Blue' "through southern snow, to Heathrow."

The 1979 Squeeze song "Cool for Cats" refers to Heathrow with the lyric "The Sweeney's doing 90 'cos they've got the word to go/They get a gang of villains in a shed up at Heathrow."

It is rumored that Sid Vicious's ashes were knocked over in the arrivals lounge at the airport, so that his "essence" still circulates through the air vents mingling with travelers.

Film

In 2003 the airport was featured in the Richard Curtis romantic comedy Love Actually. A secret camera installed at the arrivals hall at Terminal 4 captured the reunions between people coming off planes and those meeting them. Snippets of some of the more expressive greetings were played at the beginning and end of the film.

Heathrow was also the location for the final scenes of the 1988 film A Fish Called Wanda, featuring (among others) former Monty Python stars John Cleese and Michael Palin.

In the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove, General Ripper's office at the fictitious Burpelson Air Force Base is decorated with a large aerial photo, presumably of the base. In fact this is Heathrow Airport, in its old 6-runway configuration.

Other films shot at Heathrow Airport include Wimbledon (terminal one), The Hunt for Red October, Closer (Renaissance Hotel) and National Lampoon's European Vacation. Heathrow was even animated in the 1980 Peanuts film, Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!!). The airport is also a factor in the Gurinder Chadha's 2003 film Bend It Like Beckham. In several scenes, aircraft can be seen landing at the airport.

Television

An earlier Python connection occurs in the song "I'm So Worried" by Terry Jones, on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album, which includes the refrain "I'm so worried about the baggage retrieval system they've got at Heathrow."

In one episode of The Simpsons, the animated American family arrive at the airport, to be greeted by British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Voiced by Blair himself, his character seemingly greets all visitors personally at the airport, and is transported across the terminals by a James Bond style jet pack.

Heathrow is also the setting for the BBC programme Airport. Its Animal Reception Centre is also the set of the Documentary series Animal Airport.

In the 1982 Doctor Who story Time-Flight took place at Heathrow Airport. The Doctor also turned up at Heathrow in the year 1666 in the story The Visitation.

The 2003 BBC Docu-Drama The Day Britain Stopped focused on how a poorly maintained transport infrastructure could cause major disaster, culminating in a major aircraft collision at Heathrow.

Heathrow's landing patterns

Main article: Bovingdon stack

Further information: Cranford protocol

Aircraft destined for Heathrow usually enter its airspace via one of four main reporting points: Bovingdon (BNN) over Hertfordshire, Lambourne (LAM) over Essex, Biggin Hill (BIG) over Bromley and Ockham (OCK) over Surrey. When the airport is busy, aircraft will orbit in the associated holds. These reporting points/holds lie respectively to the north-west, north-east, south-east and south-west of the London conurbation.

Heathrow Approach Control (a mile north of the airport at the London Terminal Control Centre in West Drayton) then guides the aircraft to their final approach. Much skill is required by controllers to merge aircraft from the four holds into one single stream of traffic, sometimes as close as 2.5 nautical miles apart. Once an aircraft is established on its final approach, control is handed over to Heathrow Tower.

To reduce noise nuisance to people beneath the approach and departure routes, the use of runways 27R and 27L is swapped at 3 pm each day, when the wind is from the west. When easterly landings are in progress there is no alternation; 09L remains the landing runway and 09R the departure runway. Sometimes landings are allowed on the nominated departure runway, to help reduce airborne delays and to position landing aircraft closer to their terminal, thus reducing taxi times.

Access and parking

Public transport links include:

Heathrow Express train at Paddington station

• London Underground Piccadilly Line with three stations (Terminals 1-3, Terminal 4 and Hatton Cross) and a further terminal opening in March 2008 (Terminal 5). As of 2007, the standard journey time from the Terminals 1-3 station to central London is around 40-50 minutes (for example, 48 minutes to Piccadilly Circus).

• Heathrow Express: a non-stop service directly to London's Paddington station, which is considerably quicker and more expensive; as of April 2007 trains leave every 15 minutes for a 15-minute journey costing £14.50–£23.50. The Heathrow Express is also used for transferring people between the central area of Heathrow (Terminals 1, 2 and 3) and Terminal 4 which has its own station. This section is free of charge.

• Heathrow Connect service to Paddington calling at many National Rail stations en route; as of December 2006 trains leave every 30 minutes for a 25-minute journey costing £6.90. The Heathrow Connect train stops at Heathrow Central for Terminals 1, 2 and 3; only the Heathrow Express goes to Terminal 4.

• Long-distance coach services operated by National Express to various parts of the UK, including Victoria Coach Station in London.

• BAA also licences Hotelink to operate a door-to-door London hotel shuttle service with a desk in each terminal.

• There are 4 RailAir coach services connecting nearby railway stations with the airport using dedicated non-stop coaches. These run to:
  • Reading railway station, connecting with railway services to the West Country, South Wales, Midlands and south coast of England
  • Feltham railway station, for destinations on the South West Trains network in south-West London, Surrey and Berkshire, including Windsor(this has now been discontinued and replaced by the 285 bus service, as advertised on South West Trains)
  • Woking railway station, for places in Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire
  • Watford Junction railway station, for Virgin Trains and Silverlink services to Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, the Midlands, north-west England and Scotland

• Heathrow airport also has one of the United Kingdom's bigger bus stations, with many local bus services (Transport for London) to nearby London suburbs.

Heathrow is accessible via the nearby M4 motorway and A4 road (terminals 1–3), the M25 motorway (terminals 4 and 5), and the A30 road (terminal 4). There are drop off and pick up areas at all terminals and short and long stay multi-storey car parks. Additionally, there are car parks not run by BAA lying just outside the airport claiming to offer cheaper parking. The largest one is Purple Parking, with capacity for 9,000 cars. Very often, these are connected to the terminals by shuttle buses. Heathrow airport is also served by taxi services; these may be somewhat more expensive than using public transport.

Four parallel tunnels under one of the runways connect the M4 motorway and the A4 road to Terminals 1–3. The two larger tunnels are each 2 lanes wide and are used for motorised traffic. The two smaller tunnels were originally reserved for pedestrians and bicycles; to increase traffic capacity the cycle lanes have been modified to each take a single lane of cars, although bicycles still have priority over cars. Pedestrian access to the smaller tunnels has been discontinued, with the free bus services being the alternative.

Other tunnels, not open to the general public, connect parts of the Airport. The Heathrow Cargo Tunnel connects Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to Terminal 4 as well as to Perimeter Road. The Heathrow Airside Road Tunnel connects Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to the site of Terminal 5 and provides access to future T5 gates that are currently in use as remote stands.

There are (mainly off-road) bicycle routes almost to the terminals. Free bicycle parking places are available in car parks 1 and 1A, though use of the left-luggage services may be more secure. Free specialist maps showing cycle routes are published by Transport for London - 'London Cycle Guide' areas 8 and 13 cover Heathrow. One coach on each Heathrow Connect train has an area reserved for wheelchairs and bicycles (wheelchairs have priority).

Worship

Heathrow Airport has Anglican, Catholic, Free Church, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Jewish Chaplains. There is a multi-faith prayer room and counselling room in each terminal, in addition to St. George's Interdenominational Chapel in Terminal 2, where Christian services take place. The chaplains organize and lead prayers at certain times in the prayer room. There is an Anglican Service every Tuesday and Wednesday, daily Catholic Mass and Free Church prayers in the Chapel.

Future of Heathrow

Construction of Terminal 5

Terminal 5 under construction in July 2006.

The possibility of a fifth terminal at Heathrow emerged as early as 1982, when there was debate over whether the expansion of Stansted or the expansion of Heathrow (advocated by BA) was the way forward for the UK aviation industry.

Richard Rogers was selected to design the terminal in 1989. BAA formally announced its proposal for T5 in May 1992, followed by a planning application on 17 February 1993.

On 20 November 2001 transport minister Stephen Byers announced the British Government's decision to grant planning permission for the building of a fifth passenger terminal at Heathrow. The new terminal is being constructed within the boundary of the airport, on its western side. It is due to open on 27 March 2008 [1] and is expected to be fully operational by 2015 . When it is completed Heathrow will be able to handle up to 90 million passengers a year, up from its current limit of 68 million.

The granting of planning permission followed the longest public inquiry in British history, lasting nearly four years. BAA had made an initial application in 1993. The key factors considered by the inquiry panel were; the economic case for expansion, developmental pressures/regional planning, land use policy, surface access, noise, air quality, public safety, and construction.

BAA's application was supported by airlines flying out of Heathrow, in particular British Airways and bmi. Wider interest business groups and trade unions supporting the proposal included the British Chamber of Commerce, the London Tourist Board, the Confederation of British Industry and the Transport and General Workers' Union. Supporters claim that further expansion of the airport is necessary to maintain Heathrow's position as the pre-eminent hub in European aviation, ahead of other large airports such as Schiphol, Charles de Gaulle, and Frankfurt.

Those opposing the plan cite environmental problems such as increased traffic congestion, air pollution and noise. They included Friends of the Earth and 11 London borough councils, including the London Borough of Hillingdon in which Heathrow is situated.

The transport network around Heathrow is being extended to cope with increased number of passengers. A spur motorway will run from the M25 between junctions 14 and 15 to the new terminal. New branches of both the Heathrow Express and the Underground's Piccadilly Line will serve a new shared Heathrow Terminal 5 station, which will also have space for a third pair of tracks for future additional services. There are plans to build a rail link, called AirTrack from Staines to Terminal 5.

When T5 is handed over to BAA in March 2008 over £4bn will have been spent and 20,000 people will have worked on the project. Work will continue on the second of two satellite terminals or concourses, which will be linked to the main terminal by an underground people mover. In 2005, T5 was the largest construction project in Europe — expenditure peaked in mid 2005 at £12m per week. None of the cost comes from the taxpayer. As well as the terminal buildings there are other developments under construction as part of the T5 project, including a multi-storey car park, the world's first personal rapid transit system (connecting the car park to the terminal), a hotel, an energy centre, road tunnels, tunnelled extensions to the Piccadilly Line and Heathrow Express and a spur from the M25.

The terminal buildings have been designed by Richard Rogers Partnership and the lead project architects are Pascall and Watson, who specialise in airports and transport facilities. The four storeys of the main terminal building (Concourse A) are covered by a single-span undulating steel frame roof, stretching 90 m from east to west. Departing passengers will enter Departures level (on the 3rd floor) after taking one of the lifts or escalators from the interchange plaza. Upon entering the Departures concourse, passengers will see views across the Heathrow area and be in a space that is unobstructed to the rising roof above. After check-in and ticket presentation, the airside lounges will provide views across the tarmac and the runways beyond. There will be an abundance of retail outlets.

The airport visitor centre

It is the largest aviation project in Europe and is scheduled for completion on 27 March 2008. It will cater for 30 million passengers and will be used by British Airways, which will transfer its entire operation there, except for flights to/from Australia, Italy, and Spain. According to BAA: "In addition to the main terminal building, Terminal 5 also consists of two satellite buildings (the second of which will be completed by 2010), 60 aircraft stands, a new air traffic control tower, a 4,000 space multi-storey car park, the creation of a new spur road from the M25, a 600-bed hotel, the diversion of two rivers and over 13 km of bored tunnel, including extensions to the Heathrow Express and Piccadilly Line services."

T5 will have dedicated aircraft stands for the new Airbus A380 in the first satellite terminal (Concourse B), which opens alongside the main terminal.

On 27 March 2007, it was announced by the planners that T5 will open exactly 1 year from this date. Before it can fully open the facilities will undergo a full six months of testing to make sure they all work properly and efficiently. It has also been announced that the first flight to use the terminal will be a British Airways flight from Hong Kong, most likely Flight 26 or 32.

Third Runway

The major airlines at Heathrow, in particular British Airways, have long advocated a third full-length runway at Heathrow. Those opposing Terminal 5 similarly oppose a third runway. On 16 December 2003 Transport Secretary Alistair Darling released a white paper on the future of aviation in the UK. A key proposal of the paper was that a third runway would be built at Heathrow by 2020, provided that its owners meet targets on environmental issues such as aircraft noise, traffic congestion and pollution. It could involve the loss of Sipson and much of Harmondsworth, including the church and tithe barn.

A sixth terminal would be likely to accompany the new runway. The total capacity would be increased to 115 million passengers per year. At this stage firm locations and timetables have not been determined.

Mixed mode operations

Mixed mode operations, in which aircraft land and take-off on the same runway, could raise theoretical aircraft movements from the current 480,000 to as many as 550,000 yearly movements, according to British Airways CEO Willie Walsh.

New Heathrow East Terminal

BAA announced in November 2005 that Terminal 2 will be closed down when the Terminal 5 opens to allow the Heathrow East scheme to be completed. This will see Terminal 2 and the Queen's Building offices be replaced by a new terminal capable of handling 30 million people. Work is planned to start in 2008 and to be completed by 2012, in time for the London Olympics. BAA is still waiting for planning permission for this project, but they have confirmed that Terminal 2 will close whatever the future for the Heathrow East project.

Thames Estuary Airport

With a third runway becoming a strong possibility, there have been ideas to build a new airport on a man-made island in the Thames Estuary, to reduce noise pollution. This would be similar to projects in Japan and Hong Kong and to the earlier possible location for London's third airport at Foulness. It also means there would be a possibility of connecting the new airport with other parts of Europe by rail, eliminating the need for environmentally damaging short-haul flights. If permission for the new airport goes ahead, Heathrow would be gradually retired over a course of 20 years and used to build up to 30,000 new homes. [2]

The plans have come under criticism from environmentalists, who say building a man made island here would force local wildlife to move elsewhere, as well as proponents of Heathrow, who note the immense amount of infrastructure already in place at the airport. In addition, Heathrow's location to the west of London is far more accessible to the vast majority of the population living outside of London.

Terminal 6

A new terminal is proposed to the north of Heathrow to accompany a third runway. Proposals would require the demolition of around 700 homes.

Re-organised terminal formats

When Terminal 5 opens in 2008, Heathrow's terminal system will undergo major changes in order to simplify and streamline the transfer process for passengers.

The planned format from 2008 is:

• Terminal 1 - Star Alliance (Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, bmi, Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines,, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines System, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Swiss International Air Lines, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways International, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines)
• Terminal 3 - Oneworld Alliance (American Airlines, British Airways (Services to Spain, Nice, Lisbon, Helsinki and Australia until the second pier of Terminal 5 is finished), Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia Airlines, Japan Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Qantas) also Virgin Atlantic Airways
• Terminal 4 - Skyteam and Non-Aligned Airlines (Aeroflot, Aer Lingus, Air Algerie, Air Astana, Air France, Air India, Air Jamaica, Air Malta, Air Mauritius, Air Sahara, Air Seychelles, Air Transat, Alitalia, Avianca, Bellview Airlines, Biman Bangladesh, China Eastern Airlines, Clickair, Continental Airlines, Cyprus Airways, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Egyptair [Could join Star Alliance and so move to Terminal 1], El Al, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines [Could join Star Alliance and so move to Terminal 1], Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Gulf Air, Icelandair, Iran Air, Jat Airways [Could join Star Alliance and so move to Terminal 1], Jet Airways, Kenya Airways, Kıbrıs Türk Hava Yolları (Cyprus Turkish Airlines), KLM, Korean Air, Kuwait Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Libyan Airways, Luxair, Middle East Airlines, Olympic Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Rossiya Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Sudan Airways, Syrian Arab Airlines, TAM Linhas Aéreas, Tarom Airlines, Transaero, Tunisair, Turkmenistan Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways, Yemenia)
• Terminal 5 - British Airways

Refurbishment of Terminal Three

In February 2007, BAA announced that they would be refurbishing Terminal Three. The changes aim to improve passenger experiences, reduce traffic congestion and improve security. The changes are expected to be completed by the end of 2007.

Expansion of transatlantic services

Once the US-EU Open Skies Agreement comes into effect, several additional airlines are expected to start flying the Heathrow to New York route. This will end the lucrative oligopoly held by 4 airlines since the 1970s (British Airways, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and United Airlines).

Terminals and destinations

Departure area in Terminal 1 (Domestic bmi lounge)

Terminal 1

• Aer Lingus (Cork, Dublin, Shannon)
• Asiana Airlines (Seoul-Incheon)
• bmi (Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Belfast-City, Brussels, Dublin, Durham Tees Valley, Edinburgh, Glasgow-International, Hanover, Inverness, Jeddah, Leeds/Bradford, Lyon, Manchester, Moscow-Domodedovo, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Riyadh, Venice)
  • bmi operated by BMED (Addis Ababa, Aleppo, Alexandria, Almaty, Amman, Ankara, Baku, Beirut, Bishkek, Dakar, Damascus, Ekaterinburg, Freetown, Khartoum, Tbilisi, Tehran, Yerevan) [Begins Summer 2007 when bmi take over BMED operations]
• British Airways (Aberdeen, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin-Tegel, Bucharest-Otopeni, Budapest, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Glasgow-International, Hamburg, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Istanbul-Atatürk, Johannesburg, Kiev-Boryspil, Larnaca, Lisbon, Los Angeles, Madrid, Malaga, Manchester, Milan-Linate, Milan-Malpensa, Moscow-Domodedovo, Munich, Newcastle, Nice, Prague, Rome-Fiumicino, St. Petersburg, San Francisco, Sofia, Stockholm-Arlanda, Stuttgart, Tripoli, Tokyo-Narita, Warsaw, Vancouver [Moves to Terminal One on 1 June])
  • British Airways operated by GB Airways (Casablanca, Fez, Málaga, Marrakech)
• Cyprus Airways (Larnaca, Paphos)
• El Al (Ovda [seasonal], Tel Aviv)
• Finnair (Helsinki)
• LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw)
• South African Airways (Cape Town, Johannesburg)
• Sun D'Or (Tel Aviv)
• Transaero (Moscow-Domodedovo)

Terminal 2

American Airlines Boeing 777 landing at Heathrow

• Aeroflot (Moscow-Sheremetyevo)
• Air Algérie (Algiers)
• Air Astana (Almaty)
• Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
• Air Seychelles (Seychelles)
• Air Transat (Toronto-Pearson)
• Alitalia (Milan-Linate, Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino)
  • Alitalia Express (Milan-Linate)
• Austrian Airlines (Vienna)
• Avianca (Bogotá) [Begins 2008]
• Azerbaijan Airlines (Baku)
• Bellview Airlines (Freetown, Lagos)
• China Eastern Airlines (Shanghai-Pudong)
• Clickair (La Coruna, Valencia)
• Croatia Airlines (Split, Zagreb)
• Czech Airlines (Prague)
• Hemus Air (Sofia)
• Iran Air (Tehran)
• Iberia (Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Valencia)
• Icelandair (Reykjavík-Keflavík)
• Jat Airways (Belgrade)
• Libyan Airways (Tripoli)
• Lufthansa (Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart)
• Luxair (Luxembourg)
• Olympic Airlines (Athens)
• Rossiya (St. Petersburg, Moscow-Vnukovo)
• Royal Air Maroc (Casablanca, Marrakesh, Tangier)
• Sudan Airways (Khartoum)
• Swiss International Air Lines (Zürich)
• Syrian Arab Airlines (Damascus)
• TAP Portugal (Faro, Funchal, Lisbon, Porto)
• Tarom (Bucharest-Otopeni)
• Tunisair (Tunis)
• Ukraine International Airlines (Kiev-Boryspil)
• Uzbekistan Airways (Tashkent)
• Yemenia (Sanaa)

Terminal 3

Terminal 3 has a large centralised waiting/shopping area

Departures area in Terminal 3

• Air Canada (Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montréal, Ottawa, St. John's [seasonal], Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver)
• Air China (Beijing)
• Air India (Ahmedabad, Chennai, Chicago-O'Hare, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New York-JFK, Hyderabad)
• Air Jamaica (Kingston, Montego Bay)
• Air Mauritius (Mauritius)
• Air New Zealand (Auckland, Hong Kong, Los Angeles)
• All Nippon Airways (Tokyo-Narita)
• American Airlines (Boston, Chicago-O'Hare, Los Angeles, Miami, New York-JFK)
• Biman Bangladesh (Dhaka, Dubai)
• British Airways (Miami)
• Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong)
• Cyprus Turkish Airlines (Izmir)
• EgyptAir (Cairo, Luxor)
• Emirates (Dubai)
• Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa, Rome-Fiumicino)
• Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi)
• EVA Air (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan)
• Gulf Air (Bahrain, Muscat)
• Japan Air Lines (Osaka-Kansai, Tokyo-Narita)
• Jet Airways (Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Delhi, Mumbai)
• Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon)
• Kuwait Airways (Kuwait, New York-JFK)
• Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur)
• Middle East Airlines (Beirut)
• Pakistan International Airlines (Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore)
• Qatar Airways (Doha)
• Royal Brunei Airlines (Bandar Seri Begawan, Dubai)
• Royal Jordanian (Amman, Agada)
• Saudi Arabian Airlines (Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah (seasonal), Riyadh)
• Scandinavian Airlines (Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Kiruna [Begins 18 December[3], Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda, Oslo)
• Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
• Thai Airways International (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi)
• Turkish Airlines (Antalya, Istanbul-Atatürk, Izmir)
• Turkmenistan Airlines (Ashgabat)
• United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles)
• Virgin Atlantic Airways (Boston, Cape Town, Chicago-O'Hare, Delhi, Dubai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Lagos, Los Angeles, Miami, Mumbai, Nairobi [Starts June 1], New York-JFK, Newark, San Francisco, Shanghai-Pudong, Sydney, Tokyo-Narita, Washington-Dulles)

Terminal 4

Terminal 4 arrivals

File:DSCF1934d submitted.jpg

British Airways aircraft at Terminal 4

• Sri Lankan Airlines (Colombo, Male)
• British Airways (Abu Dhabi, Abuja, Accra, Amsterdam, Bahrain, Baltimore/Washington, Bangalore, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Basel/Mulhouse, Beijing, Belgrade, Boston, Brussels, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cairo, Calgary, Cape Town, Chennai, Chicago-O'Hare, Copenhagen, Dhaka, Dar es Salaam, Delhi, Denver, Detroit, Doha, Dubai, Entebbe, Geneva, Grand Cayman, Harare, Houston-Intercontinental, Islamabad, Kolkata, Kuwait, Lagos, Luanda, Lusaka, Lyon, Mauritius, Mexico City, Montréal, Mumbai, Muscat, Nairobi, Nassau, New York-JFK, Newark, Oslo, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Providenciales, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Seattle/Tacoma, Shanghai-Pudong, Singapore, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver [Moves to Terminal One on 1 June], Vienna, Washington-Dulles, Zürich)
  • British Airways operated by BMED (Addis Ababa, Aleppo, Alexandria, Almaty, Amman, Ankara, Baku, Beirut, Bishkek, Dakar, Damascus, Ekaterinburg, Freetown, Khartoum, Tbilisi, Tehran, Yerevan) [All end Summer 2007, when bmi take over BMED]
• Brussels Airlines (Brussels)
• Continental Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental) [Begins March 30, 2008, pending slot availability [4]
• Delta Air Lines (Destinations TBA, likely Atlanta and New York-JFK) [Begins March 30, 2008 [5]
• Kenya Airways (Nairobi)
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Amsterdam)
  • KLM cityhopper (Eindhoven, Rotterdam)
• Qantas (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Singapore, Sydney)
• Air Malta (Luqa)
• TAM Linhas Aéreas (São Paulo-Guarulhos)

External links

• Heathrow Airport official website
• Heathrow Airport Consultative Committee