Heathrow airport has announced the carriers which will use the forthcoming Terminal 2 from 2014.
Star Alliance members will move into the new terminal, along with Aer Lingus services, and Virgin’s forthcoming domestic flights.
The airport said the decision followed a nine-month consultation with airlines, prompted by the sale of Bmi to BA’s owner IAG.
When T2 opens in 2014, Star Alliance carriers will move from a mixture of T1, T3 and T4 into the new terminal, and it is understood the existing BA (ex-Bmi) services currently operating from T1 will consolidate into T3 and T5.
Aer Lingus will also operate from the new T2, as will Virgin Atlantic’s forthcoming domestic services to Manchester and Scotland.
It means Virgin passengers connecting to or from long-haul services will have to transfer between T2 and T3, although Heathrow says it will “continue to work with Virgin Atlantic on how its services might be co-located in the future”.
The airport also said that it is “still in discussion with those airlines which currently operate from Terminal 1 and are not members of the Star Alliance (El Al, Icelandair, Cyprus Airways, Germanwings and Transaero), about their future location when Terminal 1 closes”.
Heathrow said that 18 separate options were considered for the new terminal, and assessed against agreed criteria before coming to today’s decision, which it says will allow all passengers to travel through new or refurbished terminals from 2016.
Earlier this year Business Traveller reported from the topping out event at the new Heathrow Terminal 2 - for details and images from the event click here.
For more information visit heathrowairport.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
