HEATHROW AIRPORT HISTORY

AIRPORT
In the days of the First World War from 1914 and up to 1919 the area that is now Heathrow Airport was used as a training area and military airport for the British Flying Corps (actually at Hounslow Heath). On 25th August 1919 the airfield, Hounslow Areodrome, was the take off point for the worlds first ever international flight by a De Havilland DH-4A to Paris, France. In 1920 the airport was closed due to variuos logistical reasons including bad communication possibilities, the bumpy nature of Hounslow Heath, its tendency to become boggy and muddy in Winter and its its frequent covering of mist.
In the 1930’s the area was born again as an airfield called the Great Western Aerodrome (also had other names such as Harmondsworth Aerodrome and Heath Row Aerodrome), it was owned by Fairey Aviation, a private company, and the airport was mainly for aircraft testing purposes. Charles Fairey had paid £15,000 for a 150 acre plot of clear land.
In 1944 the airfield was requisitioned by the government for use by the ministry of Air. At the time it was said the airport was needed for long haul flights to support the war with Japan. However it later emerged that it was always intended to be used for civil purposes and a requisition meant a public enquiry would be side stepped. The airport was used by the RAF on only two occasions. In 1940 Hurricane aircraft were based here during the Battle of Britain as safety measure, diverted from their normal base at Northolt. In 1945 Lancaster bombers, Halifax, DC-3, Anson and York aircraft were also diverted here for a period of time. With the end of the war in 1945 it was announced the airport would be used for civilian flights instead of military flights. By the end of 1945 the first runway had been built, the East-West runway at 9,000 ft long. Two more were on their way, and 1st of January 1946 became the opening day of the airports civilian life, after being officially handed over from military control. It was announced as 'the worlds largest airport and the country's largest post-war building scheme. This was no small project and £20,000,000 had been set a side for the entire Heathrow project on a 1,500 acre site.
As for when the airport first officially opened for commercial flights is a mater of debate. Though some flights had been taking off during the whole of the year three dates are out forward as being the official opening. 1st January 1946, 28th May 1946 and 31st May. The dates seem to depend on who the interested party is.
In its first year Heathrow saw 9,000 flights to 18 destinations and the airport rapidly expanded over the next few years. By 1951 796,000 passengers were using the airport annually significant as for the first time the numbers exceeded those from the nearby Northolt airport, and hit 1 million by the end of 1953 with 62,000 flights.

TERMINALS
However in those early days there were no terminals, just a tented village to provide the facilities for those early passengers. What today is terminal 2 was actually the site of the first true terminal building, the ‘Europa Building’, which saw its first passengers for short haul flights in April 1955 and was officially inaugurated on the 16th December 2005 by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. A section for domestic flights became known as the 'Britannic Building'.
In 1961 the airport constructed a terminal to handle long haul flights, ‘The Oceanic Building’, at a cost of £3 million pounds and on the site that is now terminal 3, opening on 13th November 1961. The terminal was only used for flight departures and was renamed to Terminal 3 in 1968. The terminal turned out to be uncomfortably hot in summer and very cold in winter. This went on for 20 years until in the 1980's refurbishment found a tile cutting machine had been left inside the utility ducts and was blocking the heating and air-conditioning system. This was removed and the problem of uncomfortable climate inside the terminal was solved.
In 1968 a new short haul terminal was brought into service which today is terminal 1, officially opened by the Queen in April 1969. The 'Europa building' was now renamed as Terminal 2 and the 'Oceanic building' would now be renamed Terminal 3.
At this point all three terminals had been built close together in the central area of the airport, inside the runways triangle. The thinking at the time was that little car parking facilities would be needed by travelling passengers. Flying at that time was still very much the preserve of the rich and it was believed most passengers would be chauffeur driven to the terminals for their flights. This thinking left a legacy that would haunt the modern day management as the closely built buildings limit the possible expansion of short term car parking facilities for this central area.
In 1970 terminal 3 was extended to allow its use for arrivals as well as departures. The extension was also notable as seeing the very first moving pedestrian walkways in the UK. Also in 1970 the airports two main runways were lengthened to a length of 2 and a half miles.
In April 1986 terminal 4 was officially opened. The terminal was mainly for the long haul home of British Airways. With the opening of terminal 4 saw the total separation of departing and arriving passengers for the very first time. The terminal was built on the South side of the airport away from the other terminals. At the same the other 3 terminals were upgraded and refurbished.
In June 2005 redevelopment work to Terminal 1 saw a doubling in the size of the terminal lounge with 1000 extra seats. 20% extra retail space was also added for 22 new stores.
In 2006 Heathrow constructed a brand new £100 million pounds glass fronted pier building at terminal 3. This was to accommodate four brand new aircraft stands able to accommodate the Airbus 380, the world’s largest passenger plane.
In March 2008 Terminal 5 opened on the far western side of the airport grounds.

OTHER
October 1968 was the year the airports multi faith chapel was built. Actually built underground with a tall cross marking the spot above ground.
18th June 1972, Passenger plane on route to Brussels crashes shortly after take off.
19th May 1974, the IRA planted a series of bombs in the Terminal 1 car park injuring 2 people.
16th December 1977 saw the opening of the Piccadilly tube line extension out to the 3 Heathrow central area terminals. This was the first major airport in the world to be linked in such a way from a major city.
November 1983: £25 million pounds worth in gold stolen from warehouse at Heathrow. Known as the Brinks Mat robbery it was the largest ever robbery in the UK at the time.
23rd June 1985: Air India flight on route from Heathrow to Delhi explodes in flight as the result of a terrorist bomb over the Atlantic ocean just South of Ireland.
12th April 1986: Piccadilly line extension to Terminal 4 opens.
21st December 1988: Pan-am flight on route to New York from Heathrow explodes in mid air over Lockerbie in Scotland, destroyed by a terrorist bomb.
9th March 1994, IRA fires 5 mortars into the grounds of the airport. None exploded.
11th March 1994, IRA fires 4 mortars into the airport grounds. Again none exploded.
13th March 1994, 4 more mortars fired by the IRA and again none exploded.
1994 saw the opening of the Flight Connections Centre making Heathrow the first airport in the world to have dedicated facilities for passengers making transfer connections.
7 June 1995: First landing by a Boeing 777 operated by United Airlines.
In 1999 Paddington Station was connected to Heathrow terminals 1,2,3 and 4 by a non-stop trains service owned by BAA, the Heathrow Express.
26th November 2003, The last ever flight by the iconic Concorde took place from the airport.
2006 New control tower comes into operation. Located at the end of a pier in Terminal 3. Cost was £50 million pounds. The tower stands 87 metres (285ft) high. The previous control tower by Terminal 1 wasn't high enough to have views over Terminal 5. The Control Towers glass cab at the top is over 5 storeys high and weighs 840 tons.
May 2007: Go ahead given for a new terminal called Heathrow East to replace terminals 1 and 2.
August 2006: Heathrow became the first UK airport to use finger print identification to speed up security checks. It was first trialled on a voluntary basis.
21 April 2007: Switch to new control tower is the first such change in the past 50 years. The tower was required to allow for the opening of terminal 5 in 2008.
August 2007: Report shows the airport operating at near 50% over capacity, designed to handle 45 million passengers a year it was handling 68 million annually.
15th October 2007: Two planes, a British Airways Boeing 747and a Sri Lankan Airlines Airbus A340 had 'minor' collision. The Sri Lankan plane lost a 5 foot wing tip section.
November 2007: Public consultation launched by UK government into 3rd runway and 6th terminal.
December: Terminal 4 sees the arrival of the Yotel capsule cabins for short stay accommodation of a few hours or longer if need be.
17th January 2008: Flight BA038 from Beijing lost engine power 30 seconds before landing. Just managing to glide over the boundary fence, landing on the grass and sliding to a halt just at the tip of the southern runway. The Boeing 777 was carrying 136 passengers and airline 16 crew. There were just 3 minor injuries.
14th March 2008: Terminal 5 opened by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
>>>Terminal 5 history
18th March 2008: First commercial giant airbus A380 flight lands at Heathrow. Singapore airlines SQ308.
27th March 2008: Terminal 5 opens to the public. Flight BA026 from Hong Kong is the first plane to use the terminal.