History
of Heathrow
Heathrow today is a far cry from its humble beginnings of a tent
in a grass field way back in 1946. The name Heathrow originates
from a small village, which stood where Terminal 3 is today.
At this time
only a few airlines operated from the airport with only 9000 flights
a year.
Heathrow is now the busiest airport in the world with the second
highest capacity for freight. A staggering 63 million passengers
travel through its 4 terminals to over 180 destinations averaging
a mind boggling 1250 flights a day. In terms of size it is a
town with a direct work force of over 60,000 employees.
As with many of UK airports Heathrow the Second World War had
a big influence on Heathrow when the Air Ministry requisitioned
the
site
and developed it has a major airport base for the RAF. This
development work was still incomplete when the war ended and
London needed
a large international airport on its doorstep and the partially
built
at Heathrow was ideal.
Another runway was built and the tented reception was replaced
in 1950. Passenger numbers quickly increased and in 1955
the Queen opened
a new building, which is today the site of terminal 2. At
the same time the tunnel, which still provides the main passenger
access
into the terminal, was constructed. This tunnel whilst more
than adequate
at the time now struggles to cope the traffic flows and is
a constant problem.
The problem of the traffic flows should be overcome by the
building of Terminal 5, which will be connected directly
to the M25 by
a new spur. This terminal is designed to take 30 million
passengers, which
will nearly half the traffic flow through the tunnel.
After terminal 2 came the Oceanic terminal or better known
as terminal 3 followed by the opening of a new terminal
1 in 1968.
Terminal
4 on the south side of the airport was completed in 1986,but
still the airport could not keep up pace with demand
and in the mid nineties
terminal 5 was already on the drawing board.
This is one of the largest construction undertakings
in the UK requiring a complete re-think on the way
construction previously behaved with
disputes on pricing and measure now controlled by BAA
rather than a project management company.
Terminal 5 should come into service in 2008 and British
Airways will transfer all flights to this terminal.
The move will
transform the
flying experience for the 30 million British Airways
passengers who pass through Heathrow airport each
year. For most,
the whole experience
will be faster, smoother and simpler.
A single terminal operation will enable the airline to offer those
passengers connecting between British Airways' services easier
transfers and reduced connection times - as significantly fewer
passengers will need to move between separate terminals.
The move into a state-of-the-art terminal will also enable the
airline to deliver better customer service using new and innovative
technology.
Terminal 5 will comprise a main terminal building with up to 20
aircraft stands. Built on five levels, it will include separate
check-in concourses, a public transport interchange, a lower level
arrivals concourse and extensive landside and airside retail malls.
In addition two satellites reached by an underground transit train
from the main building will each have a further 16 aircraft stands.
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