London’s Heathrow airport today announced plans to revamp terminal 2 to become a hub for the Star Alliance group of airlines. The terminal, originally built as the Europa building in 1955 is the oldest of all the terminals which currently hosts airlines including Air France, Czech Airlines & Olympic Airlines will be demolished later this year to make space for a new terminal building.
Passengers departing Terminal 2 will find 11,300m2 of floor space, accommodating self-service check-in machines, fast-bag drops, traditional check-in desks and 15 security search lanes.
In a two-level departure lounge, ten-metre high windows will provide excellent views of Heathrow’s airfield and the nine new aircraft parking stands, a third of which are configured to accommodate a new generation of aircraft such as the A380. [read more]
The new terminal building will not only provide more space but will also be substantially ‘greener’ using 40% less carbon than the existing terminal. You can read more about the plans here.
News of the terminal expansion is part of Heathrow’s £4.8 billion investment programme and comes as the airport starts to see a rise in the number of passengers using the airport with July recording the third busiest month ever at the airport with long haul flights, excluding North America, up 5.5%. The number of people taking domestic flights has continued to drop. BAA reported that Glasgow was their worst performing airport, seeing a 13% drop in passenger numbers with Stansted the worst performing London airport due to cutbacks from low cost airlines Easyjet & Ryanair.
See also: Flyawwway’s Heathrow Guide
