Heathrow International Airport (LHR)

About Heathrow International Airport

Heathrow International Airport is located in the London Borough of Hillingdon on the western edge of Hounslow, 15 miles west of London. Heathrow International Airport is the UK’s largest and busiest airport and although in recent years passenger growth has been less than London’s two other major airports, it is currently handling almost twice as many passengers as Gatwick Airport which is the UK’s second busiest. In 2006 more than 67.3 million passengers used Heathrow making it the busiest International Airport in the world.

Parking at the Airport

There are four parking options at each of Heathrow’s terminals. They are Business Parking; Short Stay Parking; Long Stay Parking; and Valet Parking.
For travellers who require parking for a number of days and wish to use a car park which is close to the terminal they are flying from and has a fast and frequent transfer service, Heathrow’s Business car parks are ideal. The Business car parks are located closer to the terminals than the long stay car parks.
Heathrow’s Short Stay car parks are located next to each of the terminals and are recommended for those who require parking for 5 hours or less.
The Long Stay car park at Heathrow is situated on the Eastern Perimeter Road and is accessed easily from all main routes into the airport. It is ideal for all travellers who need to park for 2 or more days. There is a coach transfer service to and from all of the terminals. For Terminals 1,2 & 3 the transfer takes 15 minutes and the coach runs every 10 minutes. For Terminal 4 the transfer takes 8 minutes and the service operates every 12 minutes.
Valet parking at Heathrow is available at all of the terminals. It is suitable for all travellers who require a quick and convenient airport parking service. On arrival at the airport leave your car with the Valet Parking representative at the designated drop off point outside your terminal. Whilst away your car is parked at a BAA approved car park and it is then returned to you at the terminal forecourt when you fly back into Heathrow.

Facilities and Services

Heathrow International Airport has services to over 180 international scheduled destinations across the world. There are four passenger terminals at Heathrow and a fifth terminal will open to the public in March 2008. All of the terminals have passenger facilities which include airport information; baby change facilities; Business Lounges; car hire; Chapel; currency exchange; fax; Internet access; left luggage; lost property; medical assistance; porters; postal services; telephones; trolleys and facilities for passengers requiring special assistance.
The terminals also offer an excellent range of high street retail and catering outlets including Boots; Dixons Tax Free; HMV; M&S Simply Food; Pizza Express; Sony; Starbucks and TGI Friday, as well as Harrods and many designer stores.
Heathrow International Airport has many executive lounges, located in each of the terminals. Some are available to any type of passenger for a small fee, whereas others are exclusive lounges operated by airlines for their premium passengers.

Getting To The Airport

By road - Heathrow International Airport is located fifteen miles to the west of Central London and is close to both the M4 and M25 motorways. Passengers travelling to the centre of the airport for Terminals 1,2, and 3 should take the M4 and exit at junction 4a. This exit will take you directly to the airport’s entrance tunnel. Terminal 4 is situated on the perimeter of the airport. Terminal 4 passengers should take the M25 and exit at junction 14, following the airport signs along the A3113 to Heathrow’s southern perimeter road and the terminal. The M4 and M25 motorways interchange at junction 4b/15.
By rail - Heathrow Airport has two railway stations. They are Heathrow Airport Terminals 1,2 and 3; and Heathrow Airport Terminal 4. Both are served by London Underground’s Piccadilly Line and the Heathrow Express direct service from London’s Paddington Station. The station at Terminals 1, 2 and 3 is also served by the Heathrow Connect service that also connects Paddington Station with the airport and the stations in between. Both the Heathrow Express and the London Underground will call at Terminal 5 station when it is open in 2008.
By bus/coach - there are four Railair services that connect Heathrow International Airport with Reading; Watford Junction; Woking and Feltham stations. Passengers are transferred from these stations by coach or bus. National Express Coach Services and various other operators provide frequent coach connections with more than 500 local and national destinations. The airport is also served by many local buses, which call in to either, the Central bus station, Terminal 4 bus station, or Hatton Cross bus station. A night bus, N9 connects the airport with Central London throughout the night.

History of Heathrow International Airport

Heathrow’s aviation history began during the First World War and the location remained as a military airfield until 1919. Between the wars the airfield was privately owned by Fairey Aviation and was known as the Great Western Aerodrome. At this time Croydon Airport became London's primary civil aviation authority facility. However at the outbreak of World War II, services were transferred to Bristol Airport. During the war it was decided that Heathrow would be a more preferrable site for London’s principal airport and in 1944 work began on Heathrow’s runways.

In 1946, Heathrow was transferred from military to civil control. It officially opened on 31 May. There were no terminal buildings and passengers checked in at a temporary tent village on the north side of the airfield. International communications were handled by a row of telephone boxes and a mobile post office. The only facilities were armchairs, a bar, a WH Smith shop and some chemical toilets!

However by the end of its first year of operation, Heathrow was serving 18 destinations, with 60,000 passengers and 2,400 tons of cargo passing through the airport. As traffic grew the tents were replaced by pre-fabricated concrete buildings.

In 1951 construction began on two terminals and an Air Traffic Control tower in the centre of the airport and the following year the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), Heathrow’s main airline was joined by British European Airways (BEA) and several other European operators. The Queens Building was opened and used for pilot facilities, offices, restaurants and a viewing area. In 1955, the Europa building (now T2) opened and the new Control Tower became operational. All three buildings were inaugurated by HM The Queen on December 16th 1955. The access tunnel from the A4 to the main central area was also opened. The tunnel is just under 1/2 a mile long and runs 40 feet below Heathrow’s northern runway.

The Oceanic Terminal (T3) opened in 1961 for long haul flights and in 1968 another terminal was completed. It was called Terminal 1 and the European terminal (the Europa Building) and the Oceanic terminal were renamed Terminals 2 and 3 respectively. This completed the group of buildings at the centre of the airport’s site. At the same time Heathrow developed a 160 acres cargo site on the southern side of the airport which is linked by the tunnel to the central terminal area.

In 1970 the first 747 Jumbo Jet arrived at Heathrow. To aid the introduction of these large passenger airliners, Terminal 3 was expanded and the airport’s two main runways were extended. Other milestone events happening at Heathrow in the 1970’s include the building of the central bus station, the introduction of supersonic flights with Concorde and the extension of the London Underground’s Piccadilly Line into the heart of the central area.

With the ever growing volume of passengers and the lack of space in the central area for any further expansion, a new terminal was constructed on the south eastern side of the airport close to the already established cargo area. In 1986, Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince and Princess of Wales opened the newly completed Terminal 4, a state-of-the-art facility that cost £200 million. A programme of renovation was then embarked on for the central area terminals.

In 1996, Heathrow celebrated its 50th anniversary and HM The Queen opened the refurbished Terminal 2 departures lounge. The £450 million Heathrow Express direct rail link was opened in 1998 connecting the airport to central London's Paddington Station, with services arriving and departing every 15 minutes.

In 2001, following the longest public inquiry in British planning history, the Government gave approval for BAA to build a fifth terminal at Heathrow. Construction on the Terminal 5 site, which is situated within the airport's existing western boundary, began in 2002. The first phase of the terminal will open in March 2008. When fully complete in 2011, the terminal will have the capacity to handle 30 million passengers a year.