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Heathrow Airport Facts and Figures Heathrow generates over £5 billion in wages alone each year for the British economy, supporting over 250,000 jobs across the country. Around 108,000 of these jobs are generated by the airport in the local area, of which 68,000 are physically on airport. History
- Heathrow Airport started life as a tented village in 1946 serving only 18 destinations with a handful of airlines making just 9,000 flights a year.
- The airport is named after the village or hamlet of Heathrow, located approximately where Terminal 3 now stands.
- In 2000/01 the airport handled around 64 million passengers making it by far the busiest international airport in the world, with over 90 airlines serving around 160 destinations world-wide, operating an average of 1,250 flights per day.
- The first departure took place on 1January 1946 bound for Buenos Aires via Lisbon, which was its first refuelling stop on a long haul flight to open up Britain's first air link with South America. Key Facts
- The airport handles more international passengers than any other airport in the world and offers flights to many international destinations including 33 flights to Paris and 23 flights to New York each day.
- The most popular country for flights from Heathrow is the United States of America.
- The busiest routes are New York, Paris, Amsterdam and Dublin.
- The busiest day at Heathrow recorded this year was Sunday 29 July 2001 when 213,000 passengers passed through the airport.
- The airport covers approximately 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres). Passenger Investments In recent years an average of £1 million has been invested every day in facilities and customer service developments at Heathrow Airport. Recent examples include:
- Over half a billion pounds on public transport initiatives such as the £450m Heathrow Express rail-link connecting Heathrow Airport to London Paddington in just 15 minutes, every 15 minutes.
- A quarter of a billion pounds in baggage improvements including the revolutionary underground transfer tunnel between Terminals 1 and 4.
- Over the last five years £960 million has been invested in airport facilities, including for example the new Terminal 3 Southwing, the domestic baggage reclaim hall and international arrivals in Terminal 1, the complete redevelopment of Terminal 2 departures and the Terminal 4 arrivals improvements. The Terminals Terminal 1
- Terminal 1 was formally opened in 1969 by Her Majesty The Queen.
- Today it is home to 13 airlines.
- Almost £20m was invested in customer service projects in 1997-8 including the re-development of the domestic baggage reclaim hall and the International arrivals concourse.
- In 1999 the total number of passengers using the terminal was 24.6 million.
Terminal 2
- Terminal 2 was Heathrow's first Terminal and was originally known as the 'Europa' Building. It was first opened for short haul flights in 1955.
- Today it is home to 28 airlines.
- Around £86m has been invested in Terminal 2 in the last five years culminating in a total re-development of airside, check-in and landside departure facilities.
- In 1999 the total number of passengers who used Terminal 2 was 8.2 million.
Terminal 3
- Terminal 3 was opened for long haul flights in 1961 and was known as the Oceanic building.
- Today it is home to 43 airlines.
- In 1998 BAA Heathrow invested £27.5m in the development of a new Southwing which has created an additional 30 check in. Further investment plans include a £60m redevelopment and upgrade of the main departures building and £2m upgrade of the arrivals concourse.
- Terminal 3 handles approximately 15.5 million passengers.
Terminal 4
- Terminal 4 was formally opened by Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales in April 1986.
- Today it is home to six airlines.
- During 1998 £12.5 m was invested in upgrading the landside arrivals and baggage reclaim areas. A £12.7m coaching gate facility was completed in July 1999 improving the service for passengers arriving/departing from remote aircraft stands. Since 1996, Terminal 4 has invested £30m on improvements to the Baggage system.
- Approximately 14.2 million passengers pass through Terminal 4 each year. Community Investment BAA Heathrow is committed to developing its community relations programmes which aim to generate environmental, educational or employment opportunities for local communities. The company contributes over £5m directly to local community projects every year e.g. noise and vortex.
- In 2000/01 Heathrow employees spent over 2,100 voluntary hours on local community activities and team building exercises.
- The Heathrow Airport Consultative Committee (HACC) provides a forum to local authorities, airport user groups, interest groups, and business organisations to discuss all aspects of Heathrow's operations. Fun Facts
- Over 80 million items of baggage pass through the airport each year.
- Every day over 26,000 cups of tea, 6,500 pints of beer and 6,500 sandwiches are sold to the public at Heathrow.
- Whisky is the most popular spirit - on average a bottle is sold at Heathrow every seven seconds.
- Duty free liquor and tobacco sold at Heathrow is up to 50% cheaper than in the high street for non-EU passengers. Perfume is up to 40% cheaper.
- Heathrow accounts for almost 10% of perfume sales in the UK and sells over 400 different fragrances. Chanel no.5 is currently the most popular.
- There are great places to eat at Heathrow: Pret A Manger for a quick snack, The Seafood Bar which offers a range of exquisite fresh seafood while you wait for your flight washed down with a glass of champagne and top London restaurant Chez Gerard has opened its first airport outlet.
- The grass on the airfield is kept 8" high to prevent birds settling as at this height the birds are unable to spot predators.
- The Heathrow Lost Property Office receives approximately 200 telephone enquiries per day.
- Approximately 20 mobile telephones are lost per day at Heathrow.
- Some of the most peculiar items of lost property found at Heathrow include a glass eye, a suitcase of dead fish, a false leg and the whole front of a Ford Escort car.
- The most valuable items found to date include a briefcase containing £37,000, a laptop computer worth £4,000 and gold bars.
