London Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
	; Heathrow Terminal 5 building
IATA: LHR – ICAO: EGLL
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	BAA
Operator	Heathrow Airport Limited
Location	London Borough of Hillingdon
Elevation AMSL	83 ft / 25 m
Coordinates	51°28′39″N 000°27′41″W / 51.4775°N 0.46139°WCoordinates: 51°28′39″N 000°27′41″W / 51.4775°N 0.46139°W
Website	www.heathrowairport.com
Runways
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft Movements	478,693
Passengers	67,054,745
	Sources: UK AIP at NATS; Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority

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"Heathrow" and "LHR" redirect here. For other uses, see Heathrow (disambiguation) and LHR (disambiguation).

London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow (IATA: LHR, ICAO: EGLL), located in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the largest and busiest airport in the United Kingdom. It is the world's third busiest airport for passenger traffic and it handles the most international passenger traffic in the world.^[3] Heathrow is owned and operated by BAA, which also owns and operates six other UK airports.^[4] BAA is itself owned by an international consortium led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group.^[5] Heathrow is the primary hub of British Airways, bmi and Virgin Atlantic.

Located 12 NM (22 km; 14 mi) west^[1] of Central London, England, Heathrow originally was designed to have six runways in three pairs spaced approximately 120 degrees apart but now has just two parallel main runways running east-west and five terminals. The site covers 12.14 square kilometres (4.69 sq mi). Terminal 5 was officially opened by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II on 14 March 2008 and opened to passengers on 27 March 2008. Construction of Heathrow East, to replace Terminal 2 and The Queen's Building, began in 2008, and is expected to be completed by 2012. Terminals 3 and 4 will also be refurbished during this period.^[6] In November 2007 a consultation process began for the building of a new third runway and was controversially ^[7] approved on 15th January 2009 by UK Government ministers.^[8]

Heathrow Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P527) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.^[9]

[edit] Location

Heathrow

The location of Heathrow airport within Greater London

Heathrow is located 12 NM (22 km; 14 mi) west^[1] of central London, England, near the southern end of the London Borough of Hillingdon and in the now historic county of Middlesex. The airport stands on a parcel of land that was designated part of the London Metropolitan Green Belt. To the north, the airport is surrounded by the built-up areas of Harlington, Harmondsworth, Longford and Cranford.

Qantas Boeing 747-400 descending near London Heathrow Airport

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.

The airport's location to the west of London, and the east-west orientation of its runways, means that airliners usually approach to land directly over the city. Other leading European airports, such as those at Madrid, Frankfurt and Paris, are located north or south of their cities, in order to minimise the overflying problem. Another disadvantage of the site is that it is low-lying, at 83 feet (25 m) above sea level, and can be prone to fog.^{[citation needed]}

Heathrow is one of six airports serving the London area, along with Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Southend and City although only Heathrow and City Airports are located within Greater London.

[edit] History

[edit] 1930s and 1940s

Aviation at the location of what is now Heathrow Airport began during World War I, when the site was used as a military airfield. By the 1930s the airfield, then known as the Great Western Aerodrome, was privately owned by Fairey Aviation Company, and was used for aircraft assembly and testing.^[10] Commercial traffic used Croydon Airport, which was London's main airport at the time.

In 1943, Heathrow came under the control of the Air Ministry, to be developed as a Royal Air Force transfer station.^[10]^[11] Construction of runways began in 1944, on land that was originally acquired from the vicar of Harmondsworth. The new airport was built by Wimpey Construction,^[12] and was named after the hamlet Heath Row, little more than a row of isolated cottages on Hounslow Heath frequented by highwaymen; which was demolished to make way for the airport, and which was located approximately where Terminal 3 now stands.^[13]

A map of Heathrow from before WWII

A map of Heathrow from 1948

The Royal Air Force never made use of the airport, and following the end of World War II control was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 1 January 1946. The first civil flight that day was to Buenos Aires, via Lisbon for refuelling.^{[citation needed]} The official opening ceremony was performed on 25 March 1946 by Lord Winster, the Minister of Aviation. On 16 April a Panair Lockheed L-049 Constellation landed after a flight from Rio de Janeiro, the first aircraft of a foreign airline to land at Heathrow. The first BOAC scheduled flight departed for Australia on 28 May. This route was operated as a joint route with Qantas.^[14] 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 the piston-engined planes of that era, were each slightly longer than a mile in length, arranged in a 6-point star pattern to allow for all wind conditions.

[edit] 1950s and 1960s

Heathrow in 1965. Nearest the camera are two BOAC aircraft - a Vickers VC10 (with the high tail) and a Boeing 707.

Heathrow in the 1960s

In 1953, the first slab of the first modern runway was ceremonially placed by Queen Elizabeth II. She also opened the first permanent terminal building, the Europa Building (now known as Terminal 2), in 1955. On 1 April 1955, a new 38.8-metre (127 ft) control tower designed by Frederick Gibberd was opened, replacing the original RAF control tower.

The Oceanic Terminal (renamed as Terminal 3 in 1968) opened on 13 November 1961, to handle flight departures for long-haul routes.^[15] At this time the airport had a direct helicopter service from central London; there were also public viewing facilities and gardens on the roof of the Europa Building ^[16] By the time Terminal 1 was opened in 1968, completing the cluster of buildings at the centre of the airport site, Heathrow was handling 14 million passengers annually.

The location of the original terminals in the centre of the site has since become a constraint to expansion. The decision to locate them there 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 often be chauffeur-driven.^[17]

In the late 1960s a 160 acres (0.65 km²) cargo terminal was built to the south of the southern runway, connected to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 by a tunnel.

[edit] 1970s to 1990s

In 1970, Terminal 3 was expanded with the addition of an arrivals building. Other facilities were also added, including the UK's first moving walkways.^[18] Heathrow's two main runways, 09L-27R and 09R-27L, were also extended to their current lengths in order to accommodate new large jets such as the Boeing 747. The other runways were closed to facilitate terminal expansions – except for Runway 23, which was preserved for crosswind landings until 2002.

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

Aircraft stands at Heathrow's Terminal 5

Continued growth in passenger numbers to 30 million annually by the early 1980s led to the need for more terminal space. Terminal 4 was constructed to the south of the southern runway, next to the existing cargo terminal, and away from the three older terminals. It was connected with Terminals 1, 2 and 3 by the already-existing Heathrow Cargo Tunnel. Terminal 4 was opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales in April 1986, and became the home for then newly-privatised British Airways.

In August 1982, the "Airport Spur" section of the M4 was opened to give the airport a direct link with the motorway and provide motorway access to airport users from as far away as the West Country and South Wales. Four years later, the M25 was completed as the London Orbital Motorway giving a direct motorway link to much of the rest of the country.[1]

In 1987, the UK government privatised the British Airports Authority (now known as "BAA Limited") which controls Heathrow^[19] and six other UK airports.^[20]

During the 1980s and 1990s, since privatisation, BAA has expanded the proportion of terminal space allocated to retailing activities, and has invested in the development of retail activity. This has included expanding terminal areas to provide more shops and restaurants, and routing passengers through shopping areas, in order to maximise their exposure to retail offerings.

[edit] Accidents and incidents

On 3 March 1948, Sabena Douglas DC3 Dakota OO-AWH crashed in fog. Three crew and 19 of the 22 passengers died.^[21]
On 31 October 1950, British European Airways Vickers Viking G-AHPN crashed at Heathrow after hitting the runway during a go-around. Three crew and 25 passengers died.^[22]
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 four other occupants were killed.
On 27 October 1965, BEA Vickers Vanguard G-APEE, flying from Edinburgh, crashed on Runway 28R while attempting to land in poor visibility. All 30 passengers and six crew on board died.^[23]
On 8 April 1968, BOAC Flight 712 Boeing 707 G-ARWE, departing to Australia via Singapore, suffered an engine fire just after take-off. The engine fell from the wing into a nearby gravel pit in Staines, before the plane managed to perform an emergency landing with the wing on fire. However, the plane was consumed by fire once on the ground. Five people – four passengers and a stewardess – died, while 122 survived. Barbara Harrison, a flight attendant on board who helped with the evacuation, was posthumously awarded the George Cross.^[24]^[25]
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, as did eight horses that were on board. Trident G-ARPT was written off^[26], and Trident G-ARPI was badly damaged, but subsequently repaired, only to be lost in the Staines crash in 1972.
On 18 June 1972, Trident G-ARPI, operating as BEA548, crashed in a field close to the Crooked Billet Public House, Staines, two minutes after taking off. All 118 passengers and crew on board died.
On 5 November 1997, a Virgin Atlantic Airways Airbus A340-300, G-VSKY, made an emergency landing with an undercarriage malfunction. Part of the undercarriage collapsed on landing, and both aircraft and runway were damaged. Recommendations made as a result of the accident included one that aircraft cabin door simulators should more accurately reproduce operating characteristics in an emergency, and another that cockpit voice recorders should have a two-hour duration in aircraft registered before April 1998.^[27]
On 17 January 2008, a British Airways Boeing 777-236ER, G-YMMM, operating as flight number BA038 from Beijing to London, crash-landed at Heathrow. The aircraft landed on grass short of the south runway, 27L, then slid to the edge of the runway and stopped on the threshold. News pictures showed the undercarriage collapsed and the left wing visibly damaged. Eighteen minor injuries were confirmed, with 13 people being admitted to hospital, and Runway 27L was closed for a short time. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined, and is being investigated by the AAIB, but a preliminary report issued by the AAIB, at 12:42 GMT on 18 January 2008, stated that the engines had failed to respond to the flight crew's input 2 miles (3.2 km) from touchdown and at an altitude of 600 feet (180 m).^[28]^[29]

[edit] Terrorism and security incidents

On 8 June 1968, James Earl Ray, the man who had assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr., was captured and arrested at Heathrow Airport while he was trying to leave the United Kingdom on a false Canadian passport.^[30]
On 19 May 1974, the IRA planted a series of bombs in the Terminal 1 car park. Two people were injured by the explosions.^[31]
On 26 November 1983, the Brinks Mat robbery occurred, in which 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.^[32]
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. The incident became known as the Hindawi Affair.^[33]
On 21 December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 from Heathrow to New York/JFK was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 on board and 11 other people on the ground.
In 1994, over a six-day period, Heathrow was targeted three times (8 March, 10 March and 13 March) by the IRA, who fired 12 mortars. Heathrow was a symbolic target due to its importance to the UK economy, and much disruption was caused when areas of the airport were closed over the period. The gravity of the incident was heightened by the fact that the Queen was being flown back to Heathrow by the RAF on 10 March.^[34]
In March 2002, thieves stole US $3 million that had arrived on a South African Airways flight.^[35]
In February 2003, the British Army was deployed to Heathrow, along with 1,000 police officers, in response to intelligence reports suggesting that al-Qaeda terrorists might launch surface-to-air missile attacks at British or American airliners.^[36]
On 17 May 2004, 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 10 August 2006, the airport became the focus of changes in security protocol, following the revelation of a supposed al-Qaeda terrorist plot. New security rules were put in force immediately, causing 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 rule was later relaxed to allow the carrying on board of liquid medications and baby milk, provided that they were tasted first by passengers at the security checkpoint.^{[citation needed]}
On 25 February 2008, Greenpeace activists protesting against the planned third runway managed to cross the tarmac and climb on top of a British Airways Airbus A320, which had just arrived from Manchester Airport. At about 09:45 GMT the protesters unveiled a banner, saying "Climate Emergency – No Third Runway", over the aircraft's tailfin, and by 11:00 GMT four arrests had been made.^[37]
On March 13, 2008, a man with a rucksack scaled the perimeter fence onto runway 27R, and ran across the grounds, resulting in his subsequent arrest. A controlled explosion of his bag took place, although nothing suspicious was found, and the Metropolitan Police later said that the incident had not been terrorism related.^[38]

[edit] Heathrow today

British Airways aircraft at Terminal 5

Ambient colour-shifting lights at Terminal 3's entrance

Heathrow Airport is used by over 90 airlines which fly to 170 destinations worldwide. The airport is the primary hub of British Airways, BMI and Virgin Atlantic.

Of Heathrow's 67 million annual passengers, 11% travel to UK destinations, 43% are short-haul international travellers, and 46% are long-haul. The busiest single destination in terms of passenger numbers is New York, with over 3.5 million passengers travelling between Heathrow and JFK / Newark airports in 2007.^[2] The airport has five passenger terminals (Terminals 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) and a cargo terminal. Terminal 5 opened to passengers on 27 March 2008 and will be fully completed with the opening of its second satellite building in 2010.^[39]

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 decommissioned in 2005 and now forms part of a taxiway.

The Heathrow Academy (the airport's Visitor Centre)

In 2006, the new £105 million Pier 6 was completed at Heathrow's Terminal 3 ^[40] in order to accommodate the Airbus A380 superjumbo, providing four new aircraft stands. Other modifications totalling in excess of £340 million ^[40] have also been carried out across the airfield in readiness for the Airbus A380, and the newly opened Terminal 5 is also fully compatible with the A380. The first A380 test flight into Heathrow took place on 18 May 2006,^[41] but following delays to the aircraft's production, scheduled services did not commence from Heathrow until 18 March 2008, when Singapore Airlines Flight 380, the first A380 in passenger service, registered 9V-SKA of Singapore Airlines touched down from Singapore carrying 470 passengers, marking the first ever European commercial flight by the Airbus A380.^[40]

A new 87 metres (285 ft) high £50 million air traffic control tower entered service on 21 April 2007, and was officially opened on 13 June 2007 by Secretary of State for Transport Douglas Alexander.

Policing of the airport is the responsibility of the aviation security unit of the Metropolitan Police, although the army, including armoured vehicles of the Household Cavalry, has occasionally been deployed to the airport during periods of heightened security. Heathrow's reputation for thefts has led to it sometimes being referred to as 'Thiefrow'.

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 which is located in an underground bunker adjacent to the old control tower, where Christian services take place. The chaplains organise 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.

Heathrow airport has its own resident press corps, consisting of six photographers and one TV crew, serving all the major newspapers and television stations around the world.^[42]

[edit] Operations

A Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-300 seen near Heathrow

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.^[43] Each is defined by a VOR radio-navigational beacon. 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.

Air traffic controllers at Heathrow Approach Control (based in Swanwick, Hampshire) then guide the aircraft to their final approach, merging aircraft from the four holds into a single stream of traffic, sometimes as close as 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) apart. Considerable use is made of continuous descent approach techniques to minimise the environmental effects of incoming aircraft, particularly at night.^[44] Once an aircraft is established on its final approach, control is handed over to Heathrow Tower.

Because aircraft generate significantly more noise on departure than when landing, there is a preference for westerly operations during daytime operations.^[45] In this mode aircraft depart towards the west and approach from the east over London, thereby minimising the impact of noise on the most densely populated areas.

A radar tower situated in Heathrow's central terminal area

Heathrow's two runways generally operate in segregated mode whereby arriving aircraft are allocated to one runway and departing aircraft to the other. To further 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 if 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 due to the Cranford Agreement. Occasionally 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.

Night-time flights at Heathrow are subject to restrictions. Between 11.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. the noisiest aircraft (rated QC/8 and QC/16) cannot be scheduled to operate at all. In addition, between 11.30 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. (the night quota period) there are three limits:

A limit on the number of flights allowed;
A quota count system which limits the total amount of noise permitted, but allows operators to choose to operate fewer noisy aircraft or a greater number of quieter planes;^[46]
A voluntary ban on QC/4 aircraft.

[edit] Regulation

Further information: Landing slots

As BAA owns London's three major airports^[47] and therefore has a monopolistic position, the amount it is allowed to charge airlines to land aeroplanes at Heathrow is heavily regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Until 1 April 2003, the annual increase in landing charge per passenger was capped at inflation minus 3%. From 2003 to 2007, charges increased by inflation plus 6.5% per year, taking the fee to £9.28 per passenger in 2007. In March 2008, the CAA announced that the charge would be allowed to increase by 23.5% to £12.80 from 1 April 2008, and by inflation plus 7.5% for each of the following four years.^[48]

In addition, air traffic between Heathrow and the United States was 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 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. American Airlines and British Airways considered the slots too valuable and dropped the plans.^[49] The Bermuda bilateral agreement conflicted 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. A new "open skies" agreement was signed by the United States and the European Union on 30 April 2007, and came into effect on 30 March 2008.

Whilst the cost of landing at Heathrow is determined by the CAA and BAA, the allocation of landing slots to airlines is carried out by Airport Co-ordination Limited (ACL).

[edit] Traffic and statistics

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

The operator of Heathrow, BAA, claims that Heathrow is the "world's busiest international airport",^[50] but it is only the world's third-busiest by total passenger traffic, after Atlanta-Hartsfield-Jackson and Chicago O'Hare, which are also international airports. However, Heathrow has the highest number of international passengers.

In 2008 Heathrow was the busiest airport in Europe in terms of total passenger traffic (13.6% more passengers than at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and 25.6% more than at Frankfurt Airport),^[51] but it was third behind Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt in terms of plane movements (12.9% fewer landings and take offs than at Charles de Gaulle, and 2.2% fewer than at Frankfurt).^[52] Heathrow airport was fourth in terms of cargo traffic (after Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt and Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport).^[53]

**Busiest International Routes out of London Heathrow Airport (2008)^[2]**
Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	% Change
1	John F. Kennedy International Airport	2,802,870	▼1
2	Dublin Airport	1,812,028	▼8
3	Amsterdam Airport Schiphol	1,709,135	▼5
4	Dubai International Airport	1,652,441	▲5
5	Hong Kong International Airport	1,493,864	▲3
6	Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport	1,489,167	▼17
7	Los Angeles International Airport	1,461,079	▲4
8	O'Hare International Airport	1,460,816	▼9
9	Frankfurt Airport	1,271,421	▼12
10	Madrid Barajas Airport	1,152,504	▼2
11	Singapore Changi Airport	1,066,606	▼1
12	Washington Dulles International Airport	1,041,176	▼1
13	Toronto Pearson International Airport	992,579	▼3
14	San Francisco International Airport	985,575	▼5
15	Munich Airport	983,287	▼8
16	Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport	955,302	▼3
17	OR Tambo International Airport	944,731	▼6
18	Copenhagen Airport	939,950	▲4
19	Stockholm-Arlanda Airport	893,181	▼1
20	Newark Liberty International Airport	882,931	▲24

American Airlines Boeing 777 landing at Heathrow

Concorde G-BOAB in storage at London Heathrow Airport, following the end of the Concorde era. This aircraft flew for 22,296 hours between 1976 and 2000. The control tower is in the background

Heathrow's facilities were originally designed to accommodate either 45 or 55 million passengers annually according to BAA (55 million the figure presented to the T5 Inquiry, 45 million the figure used for the consultation into the third runway). With numbers currently approaching 70 million the airport has become crowded and subject to delays, for which it has been criticised in recent years,^[54] and in 2007 the airport was voted the world's least favourite alongside Chicago O'Hare in a TripAdvisor survey.^[55] However, the opening of Terminal 5 in 2008 has relieved some pressure on terminal facilities, increasing the airport's terminal capacity to 90 million passengers a year.

With only two runways operating at over 98% of their capacity, Heathrow has little room for more flights, although the increasing use of larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 will allow some increase in passenger numbers. It is difficult for existing airlines to obtain landing slots to enable them to increase their services from the airport, or for new airlines to start operations.^[56] In order to increase the number of flights, BAA has proposed using the existing two runways in 'mixed mode' whereby aircraft would be allowed to take-off and land on the same runway.^[57] This would increase the airport's capacity from its current 480,000 movements per year to as many as 550,000 according to British Airways CEO Willie Walsh.^[58] BAA has also proposed building a third runway to the north of the airport, which would significantly increase traffic capacity (see Future expansion below).^[59]

However with passenger traffic at Charles de Gaulle growing by 5.8% to 59.3 million during the 12 months to September 2007, compared with Heathrow's fall of 0.4% to 67.6 million during the same period,^[60] it is possible that CDG ---- with its four runways operating at only 73.5% capacity ---- could overtake Heathrow by 2010.^[61]

[edit] Terminals

[edit] Terminal 1

Main article: Heathrow Terminal 1

Terminal 1 was opened in 1968 and was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II in May 1969. In 2005, a substantial redesign and redevelopment of Terminal 1 was completed, which saw the opening of the new Eastern Extension, doubling the departure lounge in size and creating additional seating and retail space. Terminal 1 handles most of Heathrow's domestic and Irish routes along with some long haul routes and European routes.

[edit] Terminal 2

Terminal 2 is Heathrow's oldest terminal and was opened as the Europa Building in 1955. Terminal 2, as well as the adjacent Queens Building, will be demolished in order to make way for the new Heathrow East Construction project opening in 2010.

[edit] Terminal 3

The centralised waiting area in Terminal 3

Terminal 3 was opened as The Oceanic Terminal on 13 November 1961 to handle flight departures for long-haul routes.^[15] At this time the airport had a direct helicopter service to Central London from the gardens on the roof of the terminal building. The Oceanic Terminal was renamed as Terminal 3 in 1968 and was expanded in 1970 with the addition of an arrivals building. Other facilities were also added, including the UK's first moving walkways. In 2006, the new £105 million Pier 6 was completed^[40] in order to accommodate the Airbus A380 superjumbo; both Singapore Airlines and Emirates now operate regular flights from Terminal 3 using the Airbus A380.

Redevelopment of Terminal 3's forecourt by the addition of a new four lane drop-off area and a large pedestrianised plaza, complete with canopy to the front of the terminal building was completed in 2007; these improvements were intended to improve passengers' experiences, reduce traffic congestion and improve security. BAA also have plans for a £1bn upgrade of the rest of the terminal over the next ten years.^[62]

[edit] Terminal 4

Main article: London Heathrow Terminal 4

Terminal 4 arrivals

Terminal 4 is situated to the south of the southern runway next to the cargo terminal, and is connected to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 by the Heathrow Cargo Tunnel. Until 2008 it was used mainly by British Airways, but from 2009 will become the Heathrow base for airlines of the SkyTeam alliance.

Following the transfer of most of British Airways' flights to Terminal 5 during 2008, Terminal 4 is undergoing a £200m upgrade to enable it to accommodate 45 airlines and serve as the base for the SkyTeam alliance. The forecourt has been upgraded to reduce traffic congestion and improve security. An extended check-in area will open in late 2009, and piers and departure lounges are being renovated. Two new stands to accommodate the Airbus A380 are being constructed, and a new baggage system is being installed.^[63]

[edit] Terminal 5

Main article: London Heathrow Terminal 5

Terminal 5 interior

Terminal 5 is situated between the northern and southern runways at the western end of the Heathrow site, and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 14 March 2008^[64] some nineteen years after its inception. The first two weeks of the terminal's operation were disrupted by a number of problems with the terminal's IT systems, coupled with insufficient testing and staff training, which caused over 500 flights to be cancelled.^[65]

Built at a cost of £4.3 billion, the new terminal consists of a four storey main terminal building (Concourse A) and two satellite buildings linked to the main terminal by an underground people mover transit system. The first satellite (Concourse B) includes dedicated aircraft stands for the Airbus A380; Concourse C is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2010.^[39] In total, Terminal 5 has 60 aircraft stands and capacity for 30 million passengers annually. There are more than 100 shops and restaurants.^[66]

The transport network around the airport has been extended to cope with the increase in passenger numbers. A dedicated motorway spur has been built from the M25 between junctions 14 and 15 to the terminal, which includes a 3,800 space multi-storey car park. A more distant long-stay car park for business passengers will be linked to the terminal by a personal rapid transit system, which will open in 2009.^[67] New branches of both the Heathrow Express and the Underground's Piccadilly Line serve a new shared Heathrow Terminal 5 station.

[edit] Heathrow East Terminal

Plan of the future of Heathrow airport after the completion of Heathrow East

In November 2005 BAA announced that after the opening of Terminal 5 in 2008, it planned to demolish Terminals 1 and 2 and the Queen's Building administrative centre between them, and replace them by a new Heathrow East terminal.^[68] The new terminal will provide an increase in capacity, being capable of handling 30 million people ---- five million fewer than currently use Terminals 1 and 2, although considerably more than the design capacity of the existing buildings. The plan envisages the complete realignment of piers more logically and the building of new ones on the now defunct cross-wind runway, in a site taking up roughly the same amount of space as Terminal 5. Planning permission was granted in May 2007 on condition that the project meets a number of 'green' targets.^[69]

The construction of new aircraft stands began in early 2009 to allow Terminal 2 to be demolished later in the year, enabling construction of the main terminal to begin. Originally planned to be completed by 2012 in time for the London Olympics, this is now unlikely.^[70] The entire project is set to cost £1-1.5bn.^[71]

[edit] Terminal 6 and Runway 3

See Expansion of London Heathrow Airport.

[edit] Access

[edit] Public transport

Heathrow Express train at Paddington station

Heathrow rail services

Heathrow
Express

Heathrow
Connect

London Paddington

Ealing Broadway Interchange to Central and District lines

West Ealing (closed Sundays)

Hanwell (closed Sundays)

Southall

Hayes & Harlington

Piccadilly Line

Heathrow Central (rail) & Terminals 1, 2, 3 (tube)

Free transfer between terminals on Heathrow Connect

Heathrow Terminal 4 rail & tube (Heathrow Connect Terminus)

Free transfer between terminals on Heathrow Express

Heathrow Terminal 5 (Heathrow Express Terminus)

to London Waterloo

Staines (proposed Heathrow Express Terminus)

to Reading, Woking and Guildford

Heathrow
Airtrack

All Heathrow stations have step-free access

Heathrow Express: a non-stop service directly to London's Paddington station; trains leave every 15 minutes for the 15 mile journey, either from Terminal 5 or Heathrow Central (Terminals 1, 2, 3). Passengers transferring between these two stations on the Heathrow Express may use the service free of charge.
Heathrow Connect: a service to Paddington calling at up to five National Rail stations en route - trains leave every 30 minutes for the 25-minute journey. Heathrow Connect services use Heathrow Central station (Terminals 1, 2, 3) and terminate at Terminal 4 - passengers transferring between these two stations at Heathrow may use the service free of charge.
London Underground Piccadilly line: four tube stations serve the airport - Terminals 1, 2, 3; Terminal 4; Terminal 5 and Hatton Cross. The standard journey time from the Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 tube station to Central London is 40-50 minutes.

Long-distance coach services operated by National Express to various parts of the UK, including Victoria Coach Station in London.
A door-to-door London hotel shuttle bus service is operated by Dot2Dot from each terminal, and HotelHoppa buses connect each terminal with hotels in the Heathrow area.
There are two 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
- Woking railway station, for places in Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire
Heathrow Airport has one of the United Kingdom's biggest bus stations, with many local bus services (Transport for London) to nearby London suburbs.
ULTra Personal Rapid Transport is currently being constructed as a trial shuttling passengers to and from Terminal 5. The initial trial will have 18 pods running. ULTra are small transportation pods that can fit four adults, two children, and their luggage and will be able to carry passengers directly to their departure gate once they type in their flight number. The pods are battery powered and will be initially used on a four kilometre track. If the trial is successful there are plans for a roll out airport wide.^[72]

[edit] Car

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) just outside the airport, these are connected to the terminals by shuttle buses. Heathrow airport is also served by taxi services.

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 two 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.

[edit] Bicycle

There are (mainly off-road) bicycle routes to some of the terminals.^[73] But despite its recent construction there are no cycle routes connecting to Terminal 5. Free bicycle parking places are available in car parks 1 and 1A.

[edit] Future expansion

Main article: Expansion of London Heathrow Airport

In January 2009 the Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon announced that the UK government support the expansion of Heathrow by building a third runway (2200m) and sixth terminal building.^[74] This decision follows the 2003 white paper on the future of air transport in the UK,^[75] and a public consultation in November 2007.^[76] This was a controversial decision which met widespread opposition because of its greenhouse gas emissions, destruction of local communities, and noise and air pollution.

A plan to make Heathrow an international railway exchange has also been proposed with the potential construction of Heathrow Hub railway station.^[77]