Sporting pink t-shirts so that they can be easily spotted in the crowds, the volunteers have donated their time to give London 2012 visitors the warmest welcome and send off possible.
Complementing the work of Heathrow employees, who will be busy ensuring the safe arrival, transfer and departure of almost 80% of all Games visitors, the volunteers will be greeting athletes and VIPs, helping spectators find their way and managing fans as they seek a peek of their sporting heroes.
Aged from 18 to 80, many of the volunteers are multilingual, and as a team speak more than 20 languages. Almost 90 per cent of the volunteers come from communities local to Heathrow, including Hillingdon, Hounslow, Slough, Ealing and Spelthorne. They have taken part in training sessions and test events to make sure that they are ready for what will be the busiest period in the airport’s history, including:
· 16 July and 22 August – the peak days for arriving Olympic and Paralympic athletes
· 13 August – the day after the Olympic closing ceremony and the airport’s busiest ever day
· 10 September – the peak day for departing Paralympic athletes, VIPs and spectators
On the main arrival and departure days, between 300 and 350 volunteers will be greeting and waving off visitors at the airport. The volunteer welcome service will operate from today until Sunday 9 September.
Joanne John, Team Heathrow volunteer manager, said: “We are so grateful for the efforts of the Team Heathrow volunteers in helping us extend the warmest of welcomes to Games visitors. In return for giving up their time, we hope that it will be a valuable and exciting experience, with plenty of opportunities to make new friends, enhance CVs and learn new skills.”
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The Team Heathrow volunteers
Joanne John, 31, a volunteer herself and former Team GB bobsleigher, will be managing Heathrow’s 1,000 volunteers. Having suffered an injury whilst training for the Vancouver Games in 2010, she retired from racing but wanted to be part of the London 2012 excitement. Speaking about the important role the volunteers will play, she said: “Athletes can be lazy. It sounds odd, but for them it’s all about saving energy. So they’ll want the fastest route through the airport, the right information at the right time.
“Striving for Olympic Gold is the pinnacle of an athlete’s career, and I want our volunteers to be there to help them reach their goal.”
Heathrow’s Olympic & Paralympic challenge
The London 2012 Games will create Britain’s biggest peacetime transport challenge. At Heathrow in particular, around 80 per cent of all Games visitors are expected to pass through the airport, enough to fill 250 jumbo jets.
BAA has independently invested £20million as part of its preparations for the Games, including:
- The construction of a dedicated Games Terminal for athletes departing after the Olympic Games. Equivalent in size to three Olympic swimming pools, the terminal has 31 check-in desks and seven security lanes to help deal with the high number of departures.
- Providing check-in and baggage collection at the Olympic and Paralympic Village;
- Building extra lifts to reunite Paralympians with their wheelchairs on arrival;
- Recruiting and training 1,000 volunteers to meet and greet passengers arriving for the Games and assisting all passengers on their journey;
- Making multilingual staff available for arriving and departing passengers;
- Providing media facilities where journalists can file stories.
