The opening of Terminal 5, and the transfer of British Airways’ services into the new facility, provides room for the transformation of the rest of Heathrow. BAA is investing £4 billion (€5bn) over the next five years. By 2012, the refurbishment of Terminals 1, 3 and 4, and the opening of Heathrow East, will all have taken place.
Prior to the opening of the £4.3 billion (€5.4bn) Terminal 5 on 27 March, London-Heathrow was handling 68 million passengers through facilities originally designed for 45 million. Moving British Airways’ 30 million passengers into Terminal 5 creates more room for the 38 million passengers using the other terminals. BAA Heathrow is taking the opportunity to move 54 of its airlines. This will simplify the transfer journey a lot, as more passengers will transfer between flights through the same terminal. As BAA design director David Bartlett put it: “Terminal 5 gives us space on the chessboard to attack the Central Terminal Area. Once we consolidate BA in Terminal 5, we will have that space.”
Bartlett describes Terminal 5 as “the enabler of the transformation of Heathrow”. “One of the key things going forward is that the other terminals will be less congested. We are also improving the transfer passenger experience by relocating 54 airlines so that they are located in the same terminal as their alliance partners,” he said.
Transformation works have already begun as part of an ambitious programme that will see Terminals 1, 3 and 4 refurbished and the eventual replacement of Terminals 1 and 2 with a new facility called Heathrow East.
“That work is only made possible by Terminal 5,” explained Mark Bullock, managing director, BAA Heathrow. “It is not the end of the journey, it is the beginning.” Bullock’s favourite description of Terminal 5 is that it is the ‘golden key’ that unlocks the gates of possibility for the rest of the airport. BAA is investing £4 billion (€5bn) over the next five years on the transformation of Heathrow. By 2012, the refurbishment of Terminals 1, 3 and 4, and the opening of Heathrow East, will all have taken place. “In 2012, Terminal 5 will be one of Heathrow’s oldest pieces of terminal infrastructure; 70% of passengers will be travelling through facilities that don’t exist today.”
Heathrow East – environmentally-sensitive
Terminal 5 and its first satellite building – T5B – herald the start of the journey. The second satellite building – T5C – will open in 2010. It will be linked with the other Terminal 5 buildings by a state-of-the-art underground transit system and baggage tunnels. Although Terminal 1 will close when Heathrow East is fully open, it is being refurbished in 2008/09 – this involves renovation of the check-in area, baggage system and arrivals concourse, as well as extension of the gate areas. A major upgrade of Terminal 4 is also underway. Terminal 4 is Heathrow’s youngest terminal – it opened in 1986. While in good structural condition, the building is in need of refurbishment. A terminal extension and forecourt redevelopment will provide a fresh face to the front and accommodate increases in check-in capacity. New lounges are designed to improve the passenger experience, while the immigration hall, departures and arrivals concourses will be renovated.
Heathrow East, the first phase of which is scheduled to open in time for the London Olympics in 2012, will replace both Terminals 1 and 2 with a modern, environmentally-friendly facility. It will reduce CO2 emissions by around 40% compared with the buildings it will replace. It is also designed for reduced water consumption and increased waste recycling. The building will require less energy, generating decentralised energy through onsite combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP), and will also use onsite renewable energy such as biomass gasification and photovoltaic solar panels.
The energy centre for Heathrow East has been developed in conjunction with the London Climate Change Agency. It will house the combined cooling heating and power system (CCHP) that uses waste heat from electricity generation to warm and cool the building. All of these project plans and environmental attention to detail shall combine to make London-Heathrow a thoroughly different airport in five years time.
