Flights Direct

The long awaited Terminal 5 is due to open on March 27 and relieve the congestion at Heathrow airport.

Having battled against major problems with lost baggage, long queues for check-in and security, Heathrow Airport is more than ready for the opening of the new terminal.

The formal opening of the £4.3 billion wing will be held on March 14 with the opening done by the Queen. Terminal 5, which will be in the exclusive use of the British Airways, has taken more than 18 years to complete.

Heathrow airport has been handling 67 million passengers a year, while it’s only planned to handle 45 million passengers.

Terminal 5 will have 12,000 bags-an-hour handling system, 96 fast-bag drop counters, 96 automated check-in kiosks and 50 normal check-in counters. There are also 20 security channels compared to the 12 at Terminal 4.

The air transport industry continues to grow steadily as the demand for flights grows around the world.

Airports around the world serve 4 billion passengers every year, and it’s expected that by 2025 there will be 9 billion people passing through airports.

A report from the Airports Council International (ACI) shows that in January 2008 there was a 4 % overall increase in air traffic, and a 7% increase in international air traffic, compared to January 2007.

In the UK, new air routes are announced almost weekly, as demand for flights continues to grow. The latest announcement came from Flybe, who will be operating extra flights from Aberdeen to London Gatwick next summer.

The airline reported “unprecedented demand” for increasing the service, and have responded by adding two extra return flights at the weekend for the summer season.