Some 53 years after opening Heathrow”s first passenger terminal ” the Europa Building, now T2 ” the Queen today (14 March) returned to do the same for the new ”4.3bn ($8.7bn) Terminal 5.
She and the Duke of Edinburgh were met by hundreds of airport and construction workers in front of giant screens showing images of the creation of the building. Also present were Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly and [BAA owner] Ferrovial executive chairman Rafael del Pino.
BAA chairman Sir Nigel Rudd said: ”Terminal 5 marks the start of a new beginning for Heathrow, for BAA and for our millions of passengers. It will breathe new life into Heathrow, allowing us to continue our transformation of the rest of the airport, and will put Heathrow and BAA back where they belong - at the leading edge of global travel.”
British Airways (BA) will have sole use of T5, and the carrier”s chief executive Willie Walsh added: ”T5 is a fantastic facility and our customers will really enjoy the space, comfort and convenience it offers. Exclusive use of the terminal will allow us to greatly improve the levels of service we can offer.
”We and BAA have an opportunity to make air travel, both into and out of the UK, once again a calmer and much more enjoyable experience. We intend to take full advantage of that opportunity and can't wait to open the doors to our customers.”
The building opens on 27 March, with a capacity to handle 30m passengers a year.
At an industry lunch yesterday, BAA commercial director Dr Duncan Garrood told guests: ”It”s a landmark project delivered on time and on budget ” and that trips easily off the tongue, it”s been said very frequently ” but I”d ask you to benchmark that performance against the track record of others.
”Heathrow was designed to manage 45m passengers, and now handles 70m. T5 ” the most immediate and obvious relief of pressure on the stressed facilities ” could have been built years ago if a more investment-friendly planning system had been in place.”
And he confirmed the bad news regarding delays of the opening of Heathrow East.
”Because of the various airline moves this year we look unlikely to be able to complete HE in its entirety by the time of the Olympics in 2012. We are hoping part of it will play a role, but we”re not quite sure what that looks like yet ” it could be using just departures or arrivals ” but we don”t know how much traffic will come in at that time yet.
”Our goal is that by the Olympics over 70% of passengers will be travelling through new facilities that do not exist today. The dilapidated T2 ” now more than 50 years old ” will finally be demolished, and Heathrow East will be finished to an even higher standard than T5,” said Garrood.