Heathrow Airport - Articles and news items

TAM to move to London Heathrow Terminal 1

Airport news / 18 March 2010 /

TAM Airlines, the largest airline in South America, is to relocate its’ London Heathrow operations from Terminal 4 to Terminal 1 on Sunday, 28 March 2010. The move is part of TAM’s full integration into the Star Alliance. (more…)

Heathrow signs £800 million contract for Terminal 2

Airport news / 15 March 2010 /

The £1 billion home for Heathrow’s 20 million Star Alliance passengers has moved a step closer, as BAA signed its largest ever construction contract. (more…)

BAA Developing a Coherent Approach to Fire Safety Design

Issue 3 2009, Past issues / 26 May 2009 /

This is the first in a series of articles which describes some of the fundamental initiatives BAA have developed to ensure fire safety design is an integral part of the design process resulting in fire strategies that meets our operational and business requirements across our airports.

The layout of terminal facilities are designed and developed around processing operations as such the layout of facilities is largely pre determined by processes required to get passengers to and from aircrafts.

Airport Terminals are characterized by large undivided spaces with little physical separation between functional areas. Such design features could potentially make the facility very sensitive to a fire due to the potential for smoke spread throughout the concourse areas. (more…)

Transforming the passenger experience

Issue 2 2009, Past issues / 31 March 2009 /

With a £6billion investment programme underway, BAA has a very clear goal: to transform its airports for its airline customers and passengers. Working over seven airports, the capital programme will deliver world class facilities, more space for security and improved environmental performance. (more…)

T5: The Concept

Issue 2 2008, Past issues / 28 March 2008 /

An interview with Mike Davies CBE, Project Director T5. (more…)

Dealing with dynamic & complex logistics at T5

Issue 2 2008, Past issues / 28 March 2008 /

Restricted to the north and south by two of the world’s most heavily utilised runways, to the east by existing terminals and to the west by Europe’s busiest motorway interchange, space is at a premium at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 site. There’s little room and a large logistical challenge: how to complete one of Europe’s largest and most complex infrastructure projects at one of the world’s busiest airports.

BAA was given permission to construct the £4.3 billion Terminal 5 project in November 2001 following the longest public inquiry in British planning history. The inquiry laid down over 700 conditions including limits on the time and frequency of deliveries to site, the mandatory use of rail for bulk deliveries, and limits on noise, parking and transport. The T5 project also meets strict environmental targets around noise, dust and the recycling of waste.

In addition to the public inquiry, the challenging location of the T5 site has been a major factor governing the terminal’s construction. T5 is situated between Heathrow’s two runways with Terminals 1, 2 and 3 lying to the east and the M25, Europe’s busiest motorway, to the west. The airport’s radar system also imposed height limits restricting the size of cranes and other tall structures. Finally, although equivalent in size to London’s Hyde Park, the 260ha site has a limited amount of storage space for materials and equipment. (more…)

The T5 completion

Issue 2 2008, Past issues / 28 March 2008 /

The start of operations at Terminal 5 on 27 March 2008 marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Heathrow Airport. At a cost of £4.3bn, this has been a mammoth undertaking, successfully completed on time and on budget. Terminal 5 will redefine the passenger experience at Heathrow and set new standards both in terminal design and customer satisfaction.

Terminal 5 includes far more than a single building, the development includes: Terminal 5A, the main terminal building; Terminal 5B a satellite which provides additional capacity and pier-served aircraft stands, and Terminal 5C is a second satellite building which will open in 2010. All three buildings are linked underground by a Tracked Transit System (TTS), where driverless trains will shuttle passengers to their gates. The development provides Heathrow with the capacity to handle an additional 30 – 35 million passengers per annum. (more…)

Heathrow prepares for the A380

Issue 4 2005, Past issues / 25 November 2005 /

Heathrow will welcome the A380 into service next year, and in this article its had of projects discusses the modifications carried out to make this possible.

Heathrow airport is the world’s busiest international airport with 67 million passengers travelling through its four terminals every year and approximately 90 airlines currently flying in and out. BAA is to spend more than £3 billion in upgrading the airport over the next ten years (excluding Terminal 5 spend) and it has invested £450 million to re-develop the airport’s Terminal 3, to prepare it for the arrival of the new Airbus A380 aircraft.

A new era of air travel will begin when the A380 flights commence. The new aircraft will be able to carry a lot more passengers on each flight and as a result airport teams have had to plan in advance to ensure that they have the necessary facilities and services to handle the larger number of passengers who will be travelling through their terminals. (more…)