London Heathrow airport will reopen Terminal 4 on 14 June after being closed for two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The UK hub said the reopening was part of its plan to “ramp up” airport capacity ahead of the peak summer travel season.
Qatar Airways will be the first carrier to move to Terminal 4 followed by another 30 airlines over the next month. Heathrow said the move would also free up space in its other three terminals.
Heathrow’s CEO John Holland-Kaye added: “While we are still years away from passenger numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels, reopening Terminal 4 will give airlines at Heathrow extra space across the airport, helping them manage the impact additional travel documents continue to have on check-in times.
“To help ensure a smooth journey we will ensure head office colleagues are in the terminals helping passengers.”
During the two-year closure, Heathrow has been refurbishing parts of Terminal 4 including the upgrading of toilets, air conditioning and hold baggage screening machines.
The airport said it was currently recruiting up to 1,000 new security officers and other staff to cope with increasing passenger numbers.
Heathrow admitted that queues had been “longer than usual” at check-in, security, immigration and baggage reclaim at peak times during last week’s half-term holiday.
The airlines due to return to Terminal 4 in the coming weeks are: Air Algerie, Air Astana, Air Malta, Air Mauritius, Air Serbia, Azerbaijan Airlines, Bulgarian Air, El Al, Etihad Airways, Gulf Air, ITA Airlines, Kenya Airways, Korean Air, Kuwait Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Brunei, Saudi Arabia Airlines, TAROM, Tunis Air, Uzbekistan Airways and Vietnam Airlines.