The Major Facts about Heathrow Airport in London
Heathrow Airport was started in 1930 and by then it was known as the Great West Aerodrome. It is currently the airport in Britain, full of activities and the largest in the city. While many people have passed through it, only a few or none have even thought about the airport itself.
Heathrow Airport has a history and interesting facts that you might not have heard from any other place. First, Heathrow saw a major expansion which started in 1944 which was meant to make the airport handle military flights that could take soldiers to the Far East. However, when World War II ended, the airport was turned to handle commercial flights. So what major facts can you learn about Heathrow Airport?
Here are 6 facts that we thought you should know about Heathrow Airport in London.
6 Facts about Heathrow Airport in London
- The Heathrow Airfield Is Monitored Via Windowless Control Room In Case The TowerIs Not Working Properly.
Just some meters away from the Airfield, there is a virtual windowless control room which acts as a back up to monitor operations of flights when the control tower fails. The virtual Windowless control room is located in a secure place where it’s almost impossible to see it.
It looks similar to the visual control room that is located at the top of the control tower within the airport. It has all the technology that is in the control tower so operations are not interfered with in case the control tower fails to operate.
- The Statistics
The Heathrow Airport is situated in 1,227 hectares of land. Within the airport are 6 terminals plus 2 runways which handles 80 airlines differently. As of 2014, statistics released by Easirent Heathrow Car Hiring showed that the airport served about 73.4 million passengers. The airport also handles more cargo approximated to be above 1.5 million tons a year.
- It Was Started in 1930
The Heathrow Airport was designed by a British engineer known as Richard Fairey as a one grass runway and it developed rapidly with buildings. During the start of World War II, the government seized land that belonged to the surrounding people including that of Fairey to be used as a military aerodrome to handle flights that were sending soldiers to the Far East.
But when the war ended before it could be completed, it was turned to be handling commercial flights in 1946. By then it was called London airport, until 1966 when the name was changed to Heathrow Airport.
- Heathrow Airport Has a Posh Terminal
At the south side of the airport, there is the Windsor Suite which is meant to serve the Royal Family (the Queen’s family), heads of state and celebrities. Terminal 6 is also reserved for VIPs and is opened during special occasions.
This is where the mother of Meghan Markel’s mum and Doria Ragland passed through when she attended the UK for the Royal wedding. No one knows exactly where the Windsor Suite is located and the amount Guests pay for using the terminal 6 is different from that paid by ordinary passengers.
The terminal is controlled by the VIP Concierge team that is responsible to facilitate the movement of the passengers. There are procedures just like the other terminals and once everything is done, they are taken to the flight using private vans.
- Heathrow Airport Has no Terminal 1
Well, probably this is something most people have never observed but you will see signs of Terminal 2, 3, 4, and 5 only and there is no sign of Terminal 1. Terminal 1 was opened in 1968 and was later closed in 2015. It is believed that the last plane to be served on Terminal 1 was a British Airways flight which was destined to Hanover in Germany. When the terminal was closed, all the flights that used it were relocated to Terminal 2.
- Heathrow Has Taller Control Tower
Erected in 2007, the Heathrow control tower is 87 metres high. The airport handles flights from 81 airlines which head to two hundred and four destinations in eighty-five countries. The most traveled to destinations are New York, Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt.
Conclusion
Although Heathrow is recognized as the world’s busiest airport handling millions of passengers per year, only a few knew these facts. We hope you’ve known them and when traveling, observe some of the things we have mentioned in this article.
