| Heathrow
Airport Parking - Airport History
Please find below a brief history
of Heathrow Airport which we hope that you will find useful.
Heathrow is the world's busiest international airport. Regarded
as the hub of the aviation world, over 90 airlines have made Heathrow
their base. It offers a unique shopping environment with a huge range
world famous designer brands and familiar high street stores, restaurants
and bars, all guaranteeing value for money.
Heathrow Airport started life as The Great Western Aerodrome.
It was privately owned by the Fairey Company and being a small grass airfeild
it was used mainly for test flying. London's commercial flights took off
from nearby Heston and Hanworth Park airfields.
Number of terminals :4 (Terminals1,2,3 & 4)
Number of passengers :Over 64 million
Number of airlines : Over 90
Number of destinations :approximately 170
Number of runways: two main plus a cross wind runway
Wartime priorities changed the course of Heathrow's history.
In 1944 it was requisitioned by the Air Ministry to be developed as a
major transport base for the Royal Air Force. Before the work was completed
the war ended and with it came the prospect of a huge expansion in civil
aviation.
One runway was already in use when the airport was taken over by the
Ministry of Civil Aviation in 1946, having had its first passenger flight
on 1st January. By the following year, three runways had been completed
and work had begun on another three, these were subsequently abandoned
and deemed unnecessary.
As traffic boomed at Heathrow Airport it found itself with an
ever-increasing demand for passenger facilities. This was partially solved
in 1955 when the Queen inaugurated a new building, known today as Terminal
2.
Next came the new Oceanic terminal handling long-haul carriers, a function
it still performs as Terminal 3, followed by the opening of Terminal 1
in 1968. Increased congestion in the central area led to the birth of
Terminal 4 in 1986 on the south side of the airport.
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