Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 2 welcomed its first passengers this week following a £2.5Bn expansion and upgrade project.

The terminal is now capable of providing capacity for 20 million passengers a year. Once fully occupied it will operate 332 daily flights to 54 global destinations.

United Airlines is the first carrier to move into the new terminal. Over the next six months the terminal will become home to 26 airlines. A Royal opening of Terminal 2 – also known as ‘The Queen’s Terminal’ – will take place on 23 June.

Heathrow says it has learnt lessons from the opening of Terminal 5 in 2008 which saw a disastrous baggage systems failure on the first day. More than 180 trials have taken place over the last six months involving the successful passing of 100,000 bags through Terminal 2’s baggage system.

Heathrow development director John Holland-Kaye said: “Opening a new terminal is one of the most complex challenges that any airport can undertake. Our measure of success is not everything running perfectly on day one – there will inevitably be things we can improve. Our real measure of success is whether Terminal 2 comes to be rated by passengers as one of the world’s best airport terminals for years to come.”

If Government supports building of a third runway at Heathrow, the airport says that Terminal 2 will be further extended.

Photo: Heathrow Airport

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