Information on London Heathrow Airport



London Heathrow Airport is the worlds busiest international airport and is located 15 Miles (24 Kms) west of Central London near the southern end of the London Borough of Hillingdon and in the historic county of Middlesex. The airport is also next to Junction 4a of the M4 Motorway or Junction 14 of the M25 London Orbital Motorway. London Heathrow has 2 parallel runways and 5 terminals. Terminal 1, 2 and 3 are connected by walkways, Terminals 4 and 5 are accessible via an express train service. The site covers 4.69 square miles (12.14 square kilometres) with Terminal 5 being officially opened on 14th March 2008 by Queen Elizabeth II and opened to passengers 27th March 2008. London Heathrow is one of six airports serving the London area, along with London Gatwick, London Stansted, London Luton, London Southend and London City, although only Heathrow and City Airports are located within Greater London. The airport stands on a parcel of land that was designated part of the London Metropolitan Green Belt, to the north the airport is surrounded by built up areas of Harlington, Harmondsworth, Longford and Cranford, to the east are Hounslow and Hatton, to the south are East Bedfont and Stanwell and to the west the M25 motorway seperates the airport from Colnbrook in Berkshire. Heathrow airport is 83 feet (25m) above sea level and is therefore prone to fog.

In the 1930s the airfield was know as the Great Western Aerodrome and was privately owned by Fairey Aviation Company and used for aircraft assembly and testing, commercial traffic used Croydon Airport which was London's main airport at the time. In 1943 Heathrow cam under the control of the Ministry of Air and it was to be developed as a Royal Air Force transfer base and in 1944 construction of the runways began. The land was orininally acquired from the vicar of Harmondsworth. Wimpey Construction built the airport which was named after the hamlet of Heath Row, which was demolished to make way for the airport and was located where terminal 3 now stands.

The Royal Air Force never made use of the airport and at the end of World War II the airport was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation January 1st 1946 with the first civil flight on that day to Buenos Aires via Lisbonnfor refuelling. On March 25 1946 Lord Windsor Minister of Aviation offically opened Heathrow Airport. The very first aircraft from a foreign airline landed on 16th April 1946, a Panair Lockheed L049 Constellation from Rio de Janeiro. May 28th 1946 saw the first BOAC scheduled flight to Australia and operated as joint route with QANTAS.

Queen Elizabeth II ceremonially place the first slab of the modern runway in 1953 and in 1955 she opened the first permanent terminal building, the Europa Building now know as Terminal 2. A new 127ft (38.8m) control tower was opned on 1st April 1955 replacing the original RAF tower.

On 13 November 1961 the Oceanic Terminal (renamed as Terminal 3 in 1968) opened and this was to handle flight departures for long haul routes, the airport also had rooftop gardens and a direct helicopter service. Terminal 1 also opened in 1968 thus completing the cluster of building that made up the centre of Heathrow Airport.

In the late 1960s a cargo terminal of 160 acres (0.62Km2) was built to the south of the southern runway and was connected to Terminals 1,2 and 3 via a tunnel.

Terminal 3 was expanded in 1970 with the addition of an arrivals building along with other facilities that included the UK's first moving walkways but due to the original locations of Terminals 1, 2 and 3 being at the centre of the site this has hampered expansion as in the early days air travel was only affordable to the wealthy who woulbe be chauffeur driven and thus the airport wouldn't need extensive parking.

The Piccadlliy line of the London Underground network was extended in 1977 to join Central London with London Heathrow Airport with a journey time of just under and hour, and on 23 June 1998 the Heathrow Express train was inaugurated via a specially constructed line between the airport and the Great Western Railway Main Line and connecting London Heathrow Airport with London Paddington Terminus Station.

With continued growth annually of 30 million passenger numbers by the early 1980s further expansion of London Heathrow Airport was needed and Terminal 4 was built next to the existing Cargo Terminal, away from the three older terminals and was connected by the existing Heathrow Cargo Tunnel and in April 1986 HRH The Prince of Wales offically opened terminal 4.

Heathrow airport is used by over 90 airlines that fly to 170 destinations worldwide and on March 27th 2008 saw London Heathrow open it's latest and most modern terminal, Terminal 5 which has its own dedicated motorway spur off the M25 between junctions 14 and 15. The new terminal include a 3,800 space multi storey car park, with a distant long stay car park for business passengers that will be connected to the terminal by a personal rapid transit system which is due to open 2009. Terminal 5 also boasts a shared train station for both the Heathrow Express and the LOndon Underground Piccadilly Line.

Terminal 5 connects with Terminal 1, 2 and 3 via the Heathrow Airside Road Tunnel.


Access to and from London Heathrow Airports five Terminals




*Heathrow Express: Non stop service from London Paddington station to Terminal 5 or Heathrow Central (Terminals 1, 2 & £) every 15 minutes.

*Heathrow Connect: Service to Paddington calling at up to five National Rail Stations every 30 minutes using Heathrow Central Station (Terminals 1,2 & 3) and terminating at Terminal 4.



*London Underground Piccadilly Line: Four tube stations serve the airport - Terminals 1,2,3: Terminal 4: Terminal 5 and Hatton Cross with the standard journey time from Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 tube station to Central London is 40-50minutes.

*Long distance coach services operated by National Express to various parts of the UK including London Victoria Coach Station.

*Door to Door London Hotel Shuttle bus service operated by Dot2Dot from each Terminal and Hotel Hoppa buses connect each Terminal with Hotels in the Heathrow area.
  
*Two RailAir coach services connecting nearby railway stations with the airport using dedicated non stop bus services to:

*Reading Railway Station, connecting with railway services to the West Country, South Wales, Midlands and South Coast of England.

*Woking Railway Station, for places in Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire.

*Heathrow Airport has one of the UK's biggest bus stations with amny local bus services to nearby London suburbs.

Heathrow is accessible via the nearby M4 motorway and A4 raod to terminal 1,2 & 3, the M25 motorway to terminals 4 & 5 and the A30 road to terminal 4 with drop off and pick up areas at all five terminals along with short and long stay multi storey car parks.

Alternatively you can book a Private Taxi through us at TaxiTransfers4U.co.uk and rest assured there will be no need to worry about finding our driver when you arrive, even if your flight is delayed there won't be a problem as the driver will be keeping an eye on the flight arrival time, after landing and collecting your bags our driver will be waiting in the arrivals hall with a welcome board with your name on it, where he/she will meet and greet you and help you with your luggage before taking you onto your designated destination.

So whether you're on business, pleasure or vacation the historical city of London is only 30 minutes away, our drivers are experienced and know all the sight seeing attractions that make London so popular with tourists.

Please remember to confirm all your flight details before leaving for the airport and to insure you have all your documentation for your trip. TaxiTransfers4U.co.uk wish you a pleasant journey and hope to see you in the future.

Now that Terminal 5 is open the allocation of airlines to terminals at London Heathrow Airport will change. The new arrangements will largely be based around which alliance each airline belongs to. THe transfer will be completed over a 26 months starting March 2008 so for up to date flight information please check with www.heathrowairport.com

By Taxi

Take the strain out of getting to and from the airport by booking your airport taxis through us at www.TaxiTransfers4U.co.uk and rest assured there will be no need to worry about finding our driver when you arrive, even if your flight is delayed there won't be a problem as the driver will be keeping an eye on the flight arrival time, after landing and collecting your bags our driver will be waiting in the arrivals hall with a welcome board with your name on it, where he/she will meet and greet you and help you with your luggage before taking you onto your designated destination.

Please remember to confirm all your flight details before leaving for the airport and to insure you have all your documentation for your trip. Taxi Transfers 4U wish you a pleasant journey and hope to see you in the future.