Terminal 5 Welcomes First Passengers

Heathrow's Terminal 5 opened for business today as the first passengers arrived from Hong Kong. The British Airways flight arrived eight minutes early, landing at 4.42am and was captained by the first BA female pilot Lynn Barton. Following this arrival, the first departure was a flight to Paris scheduled for 6.20am.

The £4.3 billion facility is set to welcome over 40,000 BA passengers on its opening day, handling 380 flights, 190 departures and 190 arrivals. Of today’s Terminal 5 flights, 350 will be short haul or domestic whilst the remaining 30 will be long-haul flights.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said: "This is an historic day for British Airways and for UK aviation. Everyone involved in the project should be extremely proud of their achievements in creating this fantastic facility...The new terminal gives British Airways a great opportunity to offer the highest levels of service and put Heathrow back on the global travel map.

"I know that our customers will love the space, comfort and convenience that Terminal 5 offers and I believe that people can look forward to a much calmer and more enjoyable way of travelling in the months ahead."

BAA Heathrow managing director Mark Bullock said: "This is an incredibly exciting day for BAA and one which marks a turning point for Heathrow...We have waited over 20 years to welcome passengers to Terminal 5 and during that time Heathrow has got increasingly congested. 

"Terminal 5 signifies a new beginning for Heathrow and I am immensely proud that we open the doors of this magnificent building today, exactly when we said we would."

Over the next five years, BAA is to invest approximately £4 billion in developing Heathrow, which will include the closure of Terminal 2.