News

Heathrow T1 closes today

29 Jun 2015 by GrahamSmith

London Heathrow Terminal 1 will shut its doors later today after 47 years in operation.

The final departure from the terminal will be British Airways flight BA0970 to Hannover, which is scheduled to take-off at 2115.

British European Airways, a precursor to today's BA, was the first airline to operate from T1 in May 1968.

Heathrow Terminal 1 exterior in 1969

The exterior of Heathrow's Terminal 1 in 1969

The facility was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in April 1969 and was then the largest airport terminal in Europe. At full capacity, it handled nine million passengers each year.

Over the last year, the majority of T1 flights have been moved to the revamped Terminal 2, which opened last summer (see news, June 2014).

Eventually, T2 will be extended and this expansion will take over the space currently occupied by T1.

Heathrow Terminal 1 baggage carousel in 1969

A T1 baggage carousel in 1969

Heathrow Central Terminal Area in 2030

How Heathrow's Central Terminal Area will look in 2030

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: "The closure of Terminal 1 marks another important milestone in the transformation of Heathrow.

"Terminal 1 has served Britain well for nearly 50 years, but will soon make way for the expansion of Terminal 2, giving Britain a world class airport that we can all be proud of."

From tomorrow, all BA flights will operate from either Terminal 5 or Terminal 3.

Ian Howick, BA's director of Heathrow, said: "It is great news that we can once again look forward to having flights from just two Heathrow terminals and offer our connecting customers a quicker and simpler journey.

"We are continuing to modernise Terminal 3 with a new departures area under construction, which will include a new premium zone. We are also using Heathrow's new integrated baggage system which connects Terminal 3 and Terminal 5 together for the first time."

heathrow.com

Graham Smith

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