Heathrow’s first terminal is being razed to the ground. Demolition work started today in order to make way for its new, £1 billion replacement - Terminal 2.
The new terminal will be home to Star Alliance airlines, and 20 million passengers will use its modern facilities every year. Locating one alliance at the new terminal will reduce connecting times for passengers, providing an improved, faster service and strengthening Heathrow's competitive position.
The original Terminal 2 closed to passengers at the end of last year, after 55 years. Since then, it has been prepared for demolition.
Colin Matthews, chief executive of BAA, said: “Heathrow is changing for the better, and there is much still to do. Our brand new Terminal 2 will offer a better service to airlines and millions of passengers."
Originally called the Europa Building, the airport’s first terminal opened in 1956 and became a backdrop to the glitterati as icons from the stage and screen passed through its doors. Stars and royalty passing through included The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Gwyneth Paltrow, Princess Margaret and Princess Grace of Monaco.
In 1980, tapes from the classic TV show Dallas containing the ‘who shot JR?’ storyline arrived amid tight security at Terminal 2. In 2006, Matt Damon filmed scenes from the Bourne Ultimatum in the terminal’s arrivals hall.
Further information from: - Heathrow press office, 0208 745 7224
Notes to editors
A short history of Terminal 2
- 1951 - Construction of Terminal 2 started. The architect was Frederick Gibberd (who also designed the former Heathrow control tower, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and London Central Mosque). The cost for the central terminal area improvements including the road tunnel was £21 million
- April 17 1955 - The terminal opened and was officially inaugurated by Her Majesty the Queen on December 16 1955 along with the adjacent Queens Building (the former office block, now demolished) and the former control tower. The terminal was named the ‘Europa Building’
- 1957 - The first non-stop flight from Heathrow to California set a new record for distance and time
- 1961 - The Oceanic Building (now Terminal 3) opened for long haul flights. The Europa Building became home to short haul flights
- 1964 - The Beatles famously travelled through the terminal
- 1965 - The M4 Motorway to Heathrow airport opened
- 1968 - A cargo tunnel opened in 1968, linking Terminal 2 and the rest of central area to the 160 acre cargo site on the south side of the airport
- 1969 - The building was renamed ‘Terminal 2’ when Terminal 1 was opened
- 1977 - The London Underground link provided the world's first direct connection with an airport
- 1998 - The Heathrow Express direct link to Paddington was opened in 1998.
Terminal 2 at a glance
- Terminal 2 was 49,654 square metres in size
- Terminal 2 was originally designed to accommodate 1.2 million passengers annually but in its last years regularly saw around 8 million passengers a year
- Over the course of its history, Terminal 2 saw 316 million passengers pass through
- The busiest day ever at Terminal 2 was July 19 2003 with 35,918 passengers
- The busiest year at Terminal 2 was 2002 with 86,824 flights
- Airlines operating from T2 in February 2009 (the last month when a full schedule operated) were: Aeroflot, Air Algerie, Air Astana, Air France, Air Seychelles, Air Transat, Alitalia, Arik Air, Atlas Blue, Austrian Airlines, Azerbaijan Airlines, Bellview Airlines, Bulgaria Air, China Eastern Airlines, Clickair, Croatia Airlines, CSA Czech Airlines, Iberia, Jat Airways, Libyan Airlines, Lufthansa, Olympic Airlines, Rossiya Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Swissair, Syrianair, TAP Portugal, TAROM, Tunisair, Uzbekistan Airways and Yemenia
- Heathrow Airport handles an average of 180,000 passengers and 1350 flights daily. It is the world's busiest international airport and serves over 180 destinations on around 90 airlines.
