A 'historic day' as Terminal 5 opens
27 March 2008March 27th has been described as a "historic day" as the state-of-the-art, £4.3 billion Terminal 5 opens at London Heathrow airport.
The brand new facility, which will be used solely by flag-carrying airline British Airways, is expected to handle more than 40,000 people on its first day of business.
Some 380 flights are set to move in and out of the terminal throughout the day - 30 long-haul services and 350 short-haul and domestic transfers.
The first people to use Terminal 5 landed at the facility at 04:50 in the morning, on a flight from Hong Kong that was captained by Lynn Barton, who was the first female pilot to join British Airways in 1987.
Paris Charles de Gaulle airport was the destination for the first passengers to fly out of the new terminal, on a service that departed at 06:20.
Terminal 5 has the capacity to handle up to 30 million customers a year and Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, suggested that the facility could lead to fewer people having to rely on their travel insurance to cover delays and other problems at Heathrow.
"This is an historic day for British Airways and for UK aviation," Mr Walsh said. "The new terminal gives British Airways a great opportunity to offer the highest levels of service and put Heathrow back on the global travel map.
"I know that our customers will love the space, comfort and convenience that Terminal 5 offers and I believe that people can look forward to a much calmer and more enjoyable way of travelling in the months ahead."
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