It's only 18 more days before this year's Olympics will kick off in London and Heathrow will be handling 80 per cent of the visitors going to the Games, including athletes, officials and the media. Up to 138,000 passengers are expected to be departing from the airport on Monday, August 13, the day after the closing ceremony, making it a historical record.
As reported earlier (click here for story), Heathrow has invested over £20 million (US$31 million) to construct a temporary Games Terminal (pictured below) to manage the extra demand brought in by the Games. The facility, with 31 check-in desks and seven security lanes, is dedicated to handling the 19,850 athletes participating in the Games. It is to ensure that to ordinary travellers using Heathrow during the Olympic period, it will feel like a normal peak summer day.
Still, on August 13-15, Heathrow is set to experience its busiest passenger volumes, with a 39 per cent increase of direct departing passengers, from 90,000 to 125,000. It also expects an 85 per cent increase in direct departing bags from 100,000 to 185,000. Passengers using the airport during Games time are adviced to adhere to the recommendation of arriving at the airport at least two hours before departure time for check-in and immigration procedures. To avoid the anticipated traffic jam, it is also advisable to take the Heathrow Express for the airport.
For more information, visit www.heathrowairport.com
Michelle Fong
