Heathrow's Fifth Terminal is set to open in March 2008
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow (IATA: LHR, ICAO: EGLL) is one of the busiest airports in the world.

History
Heathrow started in the 1930s as the Great Western Aerodrome. Privately owned by Fairey Aviation, it was used primarily for aircraft assembly and testing.Harold Balfour (later Lord Balfour), then Under-Secretary of State for Air (1938-1944), wrote in his 1973 autobiography Wings over Westminster, that he deliberately deceived the government committee that a requisition was necessary in order that Heathrow could be used as a base for long-range transport aircraft in support of the war with Japan. In fact, Balfour wrote that he always intended the site to be used for civil aviation and used a wartime emergency requisition order to avoid a lengthy and costly public inquiry. The Royal Air Force never made use of the airport and control was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 1 January 1946 - the first civil flight that day being to Buenos Aires, via Lisbon for refuelling. The airport opened fully for civilian use on 31 May 1946 and by 1947 Heathrow had three runways, with three more under construction. These older runways, built for piston-engined planes, were short and angled to allow for all wind conditions.

1930s and 1940s
In 1953, the first concrete slab of the first modern runway was ceremonially placed by Queen Elizabeth II. She also opened the first permanent terminal building, the Europa Building (now known as Terminal 2), in 1955. The Oceanic Terminal (now known as Terminal 3) opened on 13 November 1961.[1] At this time the airport had a direct helicopter service from central London and gardens on the roof of the terminal building. Terminal 1 was opened in 1968, completing the cluster of buildings at the centre of the airport site.
The location of the original terminals in the centre of the site has since become a constraint to expansion. The decision to locate them here reflected an early assumption that airline passengers would not require extensive car parking, as air travel was then only affordable to the wealthy - who would, of course, be chauffeur-driven.
The location of the airport to the west of London was unfortunate, because prevailing westerly winds require approaching airliners to fly low directly over much of the city for 80% of the year. Other leading European airports such as those at Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris were deliberately located north or south of their cities to minimise the overflying problem. Another negative factor of the site is that it is low lying, at 83 feet (25 metres) above sea level, and so is relatively prone to fog.

1950s and 1960s
In 1977, the London Underground was extended to Heathrow; connecting the airport with Central London in just under an hour via the Piccadilly Line. On 23 June 1998 the Heathrow Express train was inaugurated, providing a direct rail service to London's Paddington station via a specially constructed line between the airport and the Great Western Main Line.
Terminal 4 was built away from the three older terminals, to the south of the southern runway. It opened in 1986 and became the home for then newly-privatised British Airways. In 1987, the British government privatised the British Airports Authority (now known as "BAA Limited") which controls Heathrow

1970s and 1980s

On 19 May 1974, the IRA planted a series of bombs in the Terminal 1 car park injuring 2 people.[2]
On 17 April 1986 semtex explosives were found in the bag of a pregnant Irishwoman attempting to board an El Al flight. The explosives had been given to her by her Jordanian boyfriend and father of their unborn child Nizar Hindawi, and the incident became known as the Hindawi Affair.[3]
In 1994, over a six day period, Heathrow was targeted three times (8 March, 10 March and 13 March) by the IRA, who fired twelve mortars. Heathrow was a symbolic target due to its importance to the UK economy and the disruption caused when areas of the airport were closed over the period. Coverage of the incident was heightened by the fact that the Queen was being flown back to Heathrow by the RAF on 10 March.
On 6 November 2006 new security measures came into effect for all passengers departing from UK airports: UK Department for Transport Terrorism and security measures
Routine policing of the airport is the responsibility of the aviation security unit of the Metropolitan Police, however the army, including armoured vehicles of the Household Cavalry, has occasionally been deployed to the airport during periods of heightened security. Heathrow's reputation for thefts has led to it sometimes being referred to as 'Thiefrow'.
Scotland Yard's Flying Squad foiled an attempt by seven men to steal £40 million in gold bullion and a similar quantity of cash from the Swissport warehouse at Heathrow on 17 May 2004. Accidents involving Heathrow
Heathrow now has four passenger terminals (Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4) and a cargo terminal. The fifth passenger terminal, Terminal 5 is expected to open on 27 March 2008,

Heathrow today
The operator of Heathrow, BAA, claims that Heathrow is the "world's busiest international airport",

Busiest airport claims
Further information: Bovingdon stack and Cranford protocol
Aircraft destined for Heathrow usually enter its airspace via one of four main 'reporting points': Bovingdon (BNN) over Hertfordshire, Lambourne (LAM) over Essex, Biggin Hill (BIG) over Bromley and Ockham (OCK) over Surrey. When the airport is busy, aircraft will orbit in the associated holds. These reporting points/holds lie respectively to the north-west, north-east, south-east and south-west of the London conurbation.
Heathrow Approach Control (a mile north of the airport at the London Terminal Control Centre in West Drayton) then guides the aircraft to their final approach. Much skill is required by controllers to merge aircraft from the four holds into one single stream of traffic, sometimes as close as 2.5 nautical miles apart. Once an aircraft is established on its final approach, control is handed over to Heathrow Tower.
To reduce noise nuisance to people beneath the approach and departure routes, the use of runways 27R and 27L is swapped at 3 pm each day, when the wind is from the west. When easterly landings are in progress there is no alternation; 09L remains the landing runway and 09R the departure runway. Sometimes landings are allowed on the nominated departure runway, to help reduce airborne delays and to position landing aircraft closer to their terminal, thus reducing taxi times.

Heathrow's landing patterns

Access
Also, there are HotelHoppa buses which connect the terminals with hotels in the Heathrow area, these come quite frequently.

London Underground Piccadilly Line with three stations (Terminals 1-3, Terminal 4 and Hatton Cross) and a further terminal opening in March 2008 (Terminal 5). As of 2007, the standard journey time from the Terminals 1-3 station to central London is around 40-50 minutes (for example, 48 minutes to Piccadilly Circus).
Heathrow Express: a non-stop service directly to London's Paddington station, which is considerably quicker and more expensive; as of April 2007 trains leave every 15 minutes for a 15-minute journey costing £14.50–£23.50. The Heathrow Express is also used for transferring people between the central area of Heathrow (Terminals 1, 2 and 3) and Terminal 4 which has its own station. This section is free of charge.
Heathrow Connect service to Paddington calling at many National Rail stations en route; as of December 2006 trains leave every 30 minutes for a 25-minute journey costing £7 The Heathrow Connect train stops at Heathrow Central for Terminals 1, 2 and 3; only the Heathrow Express goes to Terminal 4.
Long-distance coach services operated by National Express to various parts of the UK, including Victoria Coach Station in London.
BAA also licences Hotelink to operate a door-to-door London hotel shuttle service with a desk in each terminal.
There are four RailAir coach services connecting nearby railway stations with the airport using dedicated non-stop coaches. These run to:

• Reading railway station, connecting with railway services to the West Country, South Wales, Midlands and south coast of England
  Feltham railway station, for destinations on the South West Trains network in south-West London, Surrey and Berkshire, including Windsor (this has now been discontinued and replaced by the 285 bus service, as advertised on South West Trains)
  Woking railway station, for places in Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire
  Watford Junction railway station, for Virgin Trains and Silverlink services to Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, the Midlands, north-west England and Scotland
  Heathrow airport also has one of the United Kingdom's bigger bus stations, with many local bus services (Transport for London) to nearby London suburbs. Public transport
  Heathrow is accessible via the nearby M4 motorway and A4 road (terminals 1–3), the M25 motorway (terminals 4 and 5), and the A30 road (terminal 4). There are drop off and pick up areas at all terminals and short and long stay multi-storey car parks. Additionally, there are car parks not run by BAA lying just outside the airport claiming to offer cheaper parking. The largest one is Purple Parking, with capacity for 9,000 cars. Very often, these are connected to the terminals by shuttle buses. Heathrow airport is also served by taxi services; these may be somewhat more expensive than using public transport.
  Four parallel tunnels under one of the runways connect the M4 motorway and the A4 road to Terminals 1–3. The two larger tunnels are each 2 lanes wide and are used for motorised traffic. The two smaller tunnels were originally reserved for pedestrians and bicycles; to increase traffic capacity the cycle lanes have been modified to each take a single lane of cars, although bicycles still have priority over cars. Pedestrian access to the smaller tunnels has been discontinued, with the free bus services being the alternative.
  Other tunnels, not open to the general public, connect parts of the Airport. The Heathrow Cargo Tunnel connects Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to Terminal 4 as well as to Perimeter Road. The Heathrow Airside Road Tunnel connects Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to the site of Terminal 5 and provides access to future T5 gates that are currently in use as remote stands.
  
  Car
  There are (mainly off-road) bicycle routes almost to the terminals. Free bicycle parking places are available in car parks 1 and 1A, though use of the left-luggage services may be more secure. Free specialist maps showing cycle routes are published by Transport for London - 'London Cycle Guide' areas 8 and 13 cover Heathrow.
  One coach on each Heathrow Connect train has an area reserved for wheelchairs and bicycles (wheelchairs have priority). Heathrow Express trains have space for 3 bicycles. There are rush-hour restrictions: unfolded bicycles are NOT allowed on trains due to arrive at Paddington between 07:45 and 09:45, or departing between 16:30 and 18:30, Monday to Friday.
  If luggage and conditions permit, it is very much cheaper (about 1/3 the price) to travel by train between Paddington and Hayes & Harlington and then cycle the remaining two miles.
  
  Bicycle
  Heathrow Airport has Anglican, Catholic, Free Church, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Jewish Chaplains. There is a multi-faith prayer room and counselling room in each terminal, in addition to St. George's Interdenominational Chapel in Terminal 2, where Christian services take place. The chaplains organise and lead prayers at certain times in the prayer room. There is an Anglican Service every Tuesday and Wednesday, daily Catholic Mass and Free Church prayers in the Chapel.
  
  Worship
  
  Future of Heathrow
  The possibility of a fifth terminal at Heathrow emerged as early as 1982, when there was debate over whether the expansion of Stansted or the expansion of Heathrow (advocated by BA) was the way forward for the UK aviation industry. T5 will have dedicated aircraft stands for the new Airbus A380 in the first satellite terminal (Concourse B), which opens alongside the main terminal. It has also been announced that the first flight to use the terminal will be a British Airways flight from Hong Kong, most likely Flight 26 or 32.
  
  Terminal 5
  In February 2007, BAA announced that they would be refurbishing Terminal Three. The changes aim to improve passenger experiences, reduce traffic congestion and improve security. The changes are expected to be completed by the end of 2007.
  
  Refurbishment of Terminal Three
  BAA announced in November 2005 that Terminal 2 will be closed down when Terminal 5 opens to allow the Heathrow East scheme to be completed. This will see Terminal 2 and the Queen's Building offices being replaced by a new terminal capable of handling 30 million people, five million less than Terminals 1 and 2. Work is planned to start in 2008 and to be completed by 2012, in time for the London Olympics. The plan envisages the complete realignment of piers more logically, and to provide for an increase in capacity, in a site taking up roughly the same amount of space as T5. The entire project is set to cost £1-1.5bn. on the condition that the project meets a number of 'green' targets.
  
  Heathrow East Terminal
  Mixed mode operations, in which aircraft land and take-off on the same runway, could raise theoretical aircraft movements from the current 480,000 to as many as 550,000 yearly movements, according to British Airways CEO Willie Walsh.
  
  Mixed mode operations
  The major airlines at Heathrow, in particular British Airways, have long advocated a third full-length runway at Heathrow. Those who opposed Terminal 5 similarly oppose a third runway. On 16 December 2003 Transport Secretary Alistair Darling released a white paper
  
  Third Runway and Terminal 6
  When Terminal 5 opens in 2008, Heathrow's terminal system will undergo major changes in order to simplify and streamline the transfer process for passengers. The transfer of airlines between terminals will be sequential and well planned. The transfer will be completed over a period of 10 months starting from March 2008. (Aeroflot, Air Algerie, Air Astana, Air France, Air India, Air Malta, Air Mauritius, Air Seychelles, Air Transat, Alitalia, Avianca, Bellview Airlines, Biman Bangladesh, China Eastern Airlines, Clickair, Continental Airlines [pending slot availability], Cyprus Airways, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Egyptair, El Al, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Gulf Air, Icelandair, Iran Air, Jat Airways, Jet Airways, Kenya Airways, Kıbrıs Türk Hava Yolları (Cyprus Turkish Airlines), KLM, Korean Air, Kuwait Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Libyan Airways, Luxair, Middle East Airlines, Northwest Airlines [pending slot availability], Olympic Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Rossiya Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Sudan Airways, Syrian Arab Airlines, TAM Linhas Aéreas, Tarom Airlines, Transaero, Tunisair, Turkmenistan Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways, Varig, Yemenia)
  Terminal 5 - British Airways Re-organised terminal formats
  
  Airlines and destinations
  
  Aer Lingus (Belfast [begins January 14], Cork, Dublin, Shannon [ends January 13])
  Asiana Airlines (Seoul-Incheon)
  bmi (Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Belfast-City, Brussels, Cairo [begins October 28], Dublin, Durham Tees Valley, Edinburgh, Glasgow-International, Hanover, Inverness, Jeddah, Jersey, Leeds-Bradford, Lyon, Manchester, Moscow-Domodedovo, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Riyadh, Venice)
  
  
  
  • bmi operated by BMED (Addis Ababa, Aleppo, Alexandria, Almaty, Amman, Ankara, Baku, Beirut, Bishkek, Dakar, Damascus, Ekaterinburg, Freetown, Khartoum, Tbilisi, Tehran, Yerevan) [begin October 28]
    British Airways (Aberdeen, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin-Tegel, Bucharest-Otopeni, Budapest, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Glasgow-International, Hamburg, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Istanbul-Atatürk, Johannesburg, Kiev-Boryspil, Larnaca, Lisbon, Los Angeles, Madrid, Manchester, Milan-Linate, Milan-Malpensa, Moscow-Domodedovo, Munich, Newcastle, Nice, Prague, Rome-Fiumicino, St. Petersburg, San Francisco, Sofia, Stockholm-Arlanda, Stuttgart, Tripoli, Tokyo-Narita, Warsaw, Vancouver)
    
    
    
    • British Airways operated by GB Airways (Casablanca, Fez, Málaga, Marrakesh)
      Cyprus Airways (Larnaca, Paphos)
      El Al Israel Airlines (Ovda [seasonal], Tel Aviv)
      Finnair (Helsinki)
      Icelandair (Reykjavik-Keflavik)
      LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw)
      South African Airways (Cape Town, Johannesburg)
      Transaero (Moscow-Domodedovo)
      Varig [begins late, 2007] Terminal 1
      
      Aeroflot (Moscow-Sheremetyevo)
      Air Algérie (Algiers)
      Air Astana (Almaty)
      Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
      Air Seychelles (Seychelles)
      Air Transat (Toronto-Pearson)
      Alitalia (Milan-Linate, Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino)
      
      
      
      • Alitalia Express (Milan-Linate)
        Austrian Airlines (Vienna)
        
        
        
        • Tyrolean (Vienna)
          Azerbaijan Airlines (Baku)
          Avianca (Bogóta) [begins 2008]
          Bellview Airlines (Freetown, Lagos)
          China Eastern Airlines (Shanghai-Pudong)
          Clickair (La Coruña, Valencia)
          Croatia Airlines (Split, Zagreb)
          Czech Airlines (Prague)
          Hemus Air/Bulgaria Air (Sofia)
          Iberia (Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Valencia)
          Iran Air (Tehran)
          Jat Airways (Belgrade)
          Libyan Airways (Tripoli)
          Lufthansa (Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart)
          Luxair (Luxembourg)
          Nouvelair (Monastir)
          Olympic Airlines (Athens)
          Rossiya (St. Petersburg, Moscow-Vnukovo)
          Royal Air Maroc (Casablanca, Marrakesh, Tangier)
          Sudan Airways (Khartoum)
          Swiss International Air Lines (Zürich)
          Syrian Arab Airlines (Damascus)
          TAP Portugal (Faro, Funchal, Lisbon, Porto)
          TAROM (Bucharest-Otopeni)
          Tunisair (Tunis)
          Ukraine International Airlines (Kiev-Boryspil)
          Uzbekistan Airways (Amritsar,Tashkent)
          Yemenia (Sanaa) Terminal 2
          
          Air Canada (Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montréal, Ottawa, St. John's [ends September 4 [5]], Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver)
          Air China (Beijing)
          Air India (Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Chicago-O'Hare, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, New York-JFK)
          Air Jamaica (Kingston, Montego Bay) [ends October]
          Air Mauritius (Port Louis)
          Air New Zealand (Auckland, Hong Kong, Los Angeles)
          All Nippon Airways (Tokyo-Narita)
          American Airlines (Boston, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth [begins March 29], Los Angeles, Miami, New York-JFK, Raleigh/Durham [begins March 29])
          Biman Bangladesh (Dhaka, Dubai)
          British Airways (Miami)
          Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong)
          Cyprus Turkish Airlines (Izmir)
          EgyptAir (Cairo, Luxor)
          Emirates (Dubai)
          Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa, Rome-Fiumicino)
          Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi)
          EVA Air (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan)
          Gulf Air (Bahrain, Muscat)
          Japan Air Lines (Osaka-Kansai, Tokyo-Narita)
          Jet Airways (Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Delhi, Mumbai)
          Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon)
          Kuwait Airways (Kuwait, New York-JFK)
          Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur)
          Middle East Airlines (Beirut)
          Pakistan International Airlines (Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore)
          Qatar Airways (Doha)
          Royal Brunei Airlines (Bandar Seri Begawan, Dubai)
          Royal Jordanian (Amman)
          Saudi Arabian Airlines (Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah (seasonal), Riyadh)
          Scandinavian Airlines (Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Kiruna [begins December 18], Oslo, Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda)
          Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
          Thai Airways International (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi)
          Turkish Airlines (Antalya, Istanbul-Atatürk, Izmir)
          Turkmenistan Airlines (Amritsar,Ashgabat)
          United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles)
          Virgin Atlantic Airways (Boston, Cape Town, Chicago-O'Hare, Delhi, Dubai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Lagos, Los Angeles, Miami, Mumbai, Nairobi, New York-JFK, Newark, Port Louis [begins October 29], San Francisco, Shanghai-Pudong, Sydney, Tokyo-Narita, Washington-Dulles) Terminal 4