Heathrow can only get better. The airport today announced £3 billion of investment on top of the £11 billion invested over the past nine years. The plans include extending the building at Terminal 2 (above) and its completion.
The airport – which has 78 per cent of all long-haul flights from the UK – is also having a new baggage system and new taxiways and stands so that it can accommodate more of the most modern aircraft. There’ll be more self-service check-in kiosks and new self-service bag drops which will give passengers greater choice. Passengers will also get quicker connections with the waiting time for transfer security reduced to less than 10 minutes.
Since 2003, Heathrow has invested £11 billion – one of the UK’s largest private sector investments. Investment includes the construction of Terminal 5, the new Terminal 2 due to open in 2014, new baggage tunnels, and the refurbishment of Terminals 3 and 4.
Despite occasional instances of chaos and long queues, passengers appear to have noticed the difference. The proportion of passengers rating their journey as “very good” or “excellent” has increased from 48 per cent in 2007 to 72 per cent today. The airport has moved from the bottom to the top quartile of EU airports for passenger satisfaction, and in 2012 Terminal 5 was voted the world’s best airport terminal.
Heathrow Chief Executive Colin Matthews said: “Heathrow faces stiff competition from other European hubs and we must continue to improve the service we offers passengers and airlines. We have invested billions of pounds in new facilities such as Terminal 5 in recent years and passengers say they have noticed the difference. Our plan for a further £3 billion of private-sector investment will further improve the airport for passengers. The plan represents good value for money for airlines and passengers and comes at no cost to taxpayers.”
See www.heathrow.com
