27th Mar 2007 08:00
BAA Limited27 March 2007 27 March 2007 HEATHROW'S TERMINAL 5 TO OPEN ONE YEAR FROM TODAY Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 will open to the world's passengers on Thursday 27March 2008 - exactly one year from today. Airport operator BAA and British Airways are today (Tuesday) announcing theopening date for Terminal 5 (T5), which will become a new home for BritishAirways, serve around 30 million passengers a year and be a stunning new gatewayto the UK. With 366 days to go (leap year in 2008), over 90% of construction-related workis complete and the project remains on time and on budget. An intensive six-month period of proving trials will begin in September thisyear, when over 16,000 people will be recruited to act as passengers andthoroughly test every aspect of the building including car parking, check-in,baggage systems, IT systems and security. "London is a world city, a global financial centre and needs a world classairport," said Tony Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of BAA Heathrow. "T5 is already a testament to the skill and hard work of the thousands ofpeople, including architects, planners, construction workers, airport andairline staff, who have together made the building happen. With just 366 days togo there is still much to do, but we're confident we are on track to deliver aworld-class experience that Heathrow's passengers deserve. "68 million passengers will fly through Heathrow this year in aging terminalfacilities designed to accommodate around 45 million. When T5 opens and 30million passengers move out of existing terminals, for the first time we willhave space to breath in the central terminal area and have a once in a lifetimeopportunity to redevelop the rest of the airport and bring it up to a comparablestandard to T5. "By 2012, we aim to have either re-built or redeveloped our existing facilitiesand returned Heathrow to its rightful status as the world's leadinginternational airport. We will be proud to welcome the world's Olympians throughour gates." Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of British Airways, who will be the sole airlineoccupant of T5, said: "This is a historic breakthrough which will transform theairport experience for our customers. T5 will mean less queuing, faster baggagesystems and better punctuality. For comfort and convenience, it will exceed thebest you can find at any other airport. "The next twelve months will be extremely busy as we continue with ourpreparations for the move. Our plans are on track and we will be ready for 27March, 2008 when the first flights begin." T5's first passengers will step off a British Airways morning arrival from HongKong and around 40,000 customers will go through the new terminal on its firstday of operation. The T5 complex features 60 new aircraft stands, two satellite buildings (thesecond to be completed by 2010), rail links to London Underground and HeathrowExpress, a new multi-storey car park and extensive landscaping. Designed by 2006 Stirling Prize winner the Richard Rogers Partnership, T5combines functionality with finesse. The building's design meets the needs ofthe passenger from the moment they arrive at the airport to boarding theiraircraft. It offers space, convenience, comfort and spectacular views across theairfield for virtually every step of the passenger's journey. Construction on the £4.3 billion terminal complex began in 2002. Since when,the project has successfully moved 9 million cubic metres of earth; erected theroof of UK's biggest free-standing building; transported the 900-tonne top cabof a new 87m high control tower 2km across the airfield; bored over 13km oftunnels for rail and baggage; diverted two rivers; and installed over 30,000 sqmetres of glass facades. All T5's footprint is contained within a former sewageworks at the western end of the existing airport, situated between the tworunways, adjacent to the M25. FEATURES OF T5 • T5 is the biggest free standing building in the UK. The main terminal building is 40m high, 396m long and 176m wide. Its single span 18,500 tonne roof was lifted into position over eleven months, and is held up by 22 huge steel leg structures. The facades are fully-glazed with 5,500 glass panels which lean out at 6.5 degrees, which combined with the wave-form roof, give the building its distinct shape. • The T5 baggage system is the biggest, single-terminal baggage handling system in Europe. It is highly sophisticated but has been designed for performance and reliability so only includes the best of proven technology. Transfer and late bags, are assigned a priority routing through a separate high speed baggage system and delivered direct to the aircraft stand of the departing flight. • T5 has is own dedicated railway station with 6 platforms, two for the Heathrow Express, two for LU Piccadilly Line and two which are built and safeguarded in advance of a scheme to link Heathrow by rail to the West (AirTrack, a scheme under consideration would connect to the west with the main line at Staines.) • British Airways is moving towards 80% of passengers using online check-in or using a self service kiosk when they arrive at the terminal. The latest technology is also being applied to fast bag drop facilities. There will be 96 self service kiosks and 140 customer service desks, including 96 fast bag drops. Passenger flows have been extensively modelled to ensure there is minimal queuing at every stage. • Waste heat from the existing combined heat and power station at Heathrow is being piped to T5 through an underground pipeline and will provide T5 with 85% of its heat on demand. • Water from T5's rainwater harvesting and groundwater boreholes is being used for non-potable uses, reducing the demand on the mains water supply by 70%. The harvesting scheme re-uses up to 85% of the rainfall that falls on the T5 campus. • Prestigious retailers signed up for T5 include Harrods, Paul Smith, and Tiffany and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey is opening his first airport-based restaurant there. • The first people recruited to work at T5 are already in post and on site - facilities managers responsible for maintaining the building when it is operation. • A small army of cleaners are now beginning the mammoth cleaning process, making sure the terminal's extensive steel work and glass facades are gleaming for passengers when it opens. - ends - For media enquiries please contact the BAA press office on: 020 8745 7224 or BA press office on 020 8738 5100 PHOTOGRAPH TO ACCOMPANY PRESS RELEASE AVAILABLE FROM PA PHOTOS. NOTES FOR EDITORS British Airways will move into T5 in two planned stages one month apart. Mostshort-haul and all long-haul operations from T1, the short-haul from T4 and theMiami flights from T3 will move to T5 on 27 March 2008. One month later the T4long-haul services (with the exception of Australian services) will followsuit. The airline will co-locate a small number of services (around eight percent) with its oneworld alliance partners close-by in T3. Plans to replace Terminals 1 and 2 with a building of the scale of T5 arewaiting approval from the local planning authority, while major refurbishmentsto the forecourts of Terminal 3 are already underway. A £6bn investmentprogramme is planned for Heathrow over the next 10 years. Work on Terminal 4 will include, the redevelopment the check-in area, selfservice ticket desks and bag drop facilities, an overhaul of the baggage systemand improved lounge facilities. Following the opening of T5, over 50 of Heathrow's 90 airlines will movelocation enabling airline alliance groupings to operate from the same terminal. 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