BAA Chairman Sir Nigel Rudd today brought down the curtain on one of Heathrow’s oldest landmarks, as he started the demolition of the Queens building to make way for the airport’s new Terminal 2.
Terminal 2 will cost £1 billion, and once completed will be the home of Star Alliance at Heathrow.
Sir Nigel Rudd said: “The Queens building has long sat at the heart of Heathrow, but the past must make way for the future, as we prepare to construct a new home for the Star Alliance member airlines serving Heathrow.
“We are proud to be rebuilding Heathrow and investing in what is undoubtedly one of the UK’s most important assets. In a few years' time, Heathrow will be largely new, and passengers and airlines will be using bright, modern and practical facilities which allow us to deliver higher standards of service.”
Lee Hock Lye, Vice President Product and Services for Star Alliance, said: “Today marks a significant step forward in our endeavour to have a home under one roof for all our member carriers at Heathrow, which will finally allow us to operate from one of the worlds largest aviation hubs on at least an equal footing with others.”
The new Terminal 2 will provide higher standards of facilities and customer service, and will be one of the world’s most sustainable airport buildings.
For the first time, all 25* Star Alliance airlines at Heathrow will be operating in one terminal, reducing the need for transfers across the airport, and a number of features will improve Heathrow’s environmental performance. Overall the Star Alliance member carriers offer 190 daily flights to 72 destinations in 41 countries for Heathrow.
Large north-facing windows in the roof will flood the terminal with natural light, reducing the need for artificial lighting without generating uncomfortable levels of heat. Solar panels on the roof will further reduce energy consumption, and a new energy centre partially fuelled by renewable resources will provide heating and cooling.
Terminal 1, meanwhile, has been completely modernised so that Star Alliance member airlines and their passengers can enjoy the best possible airport experience.
A £60 million investment has seen all areas completely refurbished in order to create a spacious, more contemporary terminal. Examples include, among others, the Star Alliance-branded Zone K check-in area used by five member carriers, and the Star Alliance First and Business Class Lounge.
Until the opening of the new Terminal 2, the Star Alliance member carriers will be operating from Terminals 1 and 3.
The Queens Building was designed by architect Frederick Gibberd, who had been commissioned by the Ministry of Transport in 1950 to create designs for what was then Britain’s newest civil airport.
Originally called the Eastern Apex Building, it was opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 1953 and renamed in her honour.
The building provided space for airport and airline offices; briefing rooms, a meteorological office and facilities for the airport’s press corps. On its roof were gardens and a viewing platform, which in 1956 became one of London’s most visited attractions. At one stage it attracted more visitors than Windsor Castle, Madame Tussauds and the Tower of London.
Gibberd’s designs for the then new £22 million central terminal also included an air traffic control tower and the Europa Building, which was eventually renamed Terminal 2.
The current Terminal 2 will close at the end of 2009 so that it can also be demolished.
* Based on current member carriers and confirmed future members Aegean Airlines, Air India, Continental and TAM.
