The Queen has today officially opened the new Heathrow Terminal Five building despite a security breach less than 24 hours ago, when an intruder ran onto a runway at the London airport. The terminal, which is expected to cater for up to 30 million passengers a year at a cost of £4.3 billion, will be open for business on 27th March.
In a ceremony involving hundreds of Heathrow staff and construction workers, the Queen arrived at the terminal this morning. Among 800 invited guests, other high profile attendees included Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly, Executive chairman of BAA owner Crupo Ferrovial Rafael del Pino and British Airways chairman Martin Broughton.
BAA chairman Sir Nigel Rudd said: "Terminal 5 marks the start of a new beginning for Heathrow, for BAA and for our millions of passengers. It is, by any standard, a triumph of ambition, commitment and collaboration.
"It will breathe new life into Heathrow, allowing us to continue our transformation of the rest of the airport, and will put Heathrow and BAA back where they belong - at the leading edge of global travel."
The Queen’s Heathrow visit comes more than 50 years after she originally opened the first Heathrow terminal in 1955. Terminal 5, the result of over 15 years of planning, has been built exclusively for British Airways and is expected to ensure a quicker passage through check-in and security for passengers. In fact, British Airways have made the claim that no passenger should have more than one person in front of them during check-in.
Heathrow Terminal five has a controversial history, having been plagued by protesters throughout its development and Heathrow Airport managing director Mark Bullock is not expecting this to change now despite its official opening, declaring that if protesters turned up “we will be ready for them”.
BAA chairman Sir Nigel Rudd was upbeat about unveiling of a Terminal 15 years in the making: “Terminal Five marks the start of a new beginning for Heathrow, for BAA and for our millions of passengers...It is by any standard a triumph of ambition, commitment and collaboration.”
"It will breathe new life into Heathrow, allowing us to continue our transformation of the rest of the airport and will put Heathrow and BAA back where they belong - at the leading edge of global travel.”
