LONDON HEATHROW: A ”100m revamp of Heathrow”s Terminal 3 international departure lounge has been opened, the culmination of a five-year project to totally redevelop the terminal”s airside departure facilities, adding over 500 more seats and extra security channels. Terminal 3 is Heathrow”s second busiest terminal handling 17.3m passengers a year. The redevelopment has involved a complete overhaul of the terminal”s international departure lounge with major renovations taking place at night time to avoid significant disruption to passengers. The opening event also marked completion of the second phase of Terminal 3”s Pier 5 extension that connects with a new gate lounge to provide pier service to previously remote stands. The project so far has cost ”33m and has also included part reconfiguration of the pier stands to accommodate the new Airbus A380 aircraft which comes into service in 2006. BAA Heathrow is also investing ”40m to upgrade Terminal 3 landside arrivals over the next year. www.baa.com