London Heathrow Terminal 2 – The Queen's Terminal
| London Heathrow Terminal 2 The Queen's Terminal | |
|---|---|
 Terminal 2A under construction in March 2013 | |
  Location within Greater London | |
| Alternative names | Heathrow Terminal 2, Heathrow East Terminal (formerly), Heathrow T2 |
| General information | |
| Type | Airport terminal |
| Coordinates | 51°28′13″N 0°27′07″W / 51.47029°N 0.45205°WCoordinates: 51°28′13″N 0°27′07″W / 51.47029°N 0.45205°W |
| Construction started | July 2010[1] |
| Estimated completion |
2014 (Phase 1) 2020s (Phase 2) |
| Cost | £2.3 billion[2] |
| Client | Heathrow Airport Holdings |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Steel frame |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Luis Vidal |
| Architecture firm | Luis Vidal + Architects |
| Other designers | Pascall+Watson, Foster and Partners and Grimshaw Architects |
| Main contractor | HETCo (a joint venture between Ferrovial Agroman and Laing O'Rourke and Balfour Beatty.[3] |
London Heathrow Terminal 2 – The Queen's Terminal is a new airport terminal at London Heathrow Airport, the main airport serving London, United Kingdom. The new development was originally named Heathrow East Terminal, and occupies the sites where the previous Terminal 2 and the Queen's Building stood. It was designed by Luis Vidal + Architects (LVA) and opened on 4 June 2014. Terminal 1 is due to close to passengers in 2015, although as Terminal 1's baggage system is used by Terminal 2, part of it will remain operational. At some point later, estimated to begin building in the 2020s, Terminal 2 will be expanded on the current Terminal 1 site.
The original Terminal 2 opened in 1955 as the Europa Building and was the airport's oldest terminal.
Original terminal
The first building to be known as Terminal 2 was Heathrow's oldest terminal, and opened as the Europa Building in 1955. It had an area of 49,654 square metres (534,470 sq ft) and in its lifetime saw 316 million passengers pass through its doors. Originally designed to handle around 1.2 million passengers annually, in its final years of operation it often accommodated around 8 million.
On 20 April 1984, a bomb exploded in the baggage area of T2, injuring 22 people including 1 seriously.
Despite the best efforts of maintenance staff and various renovations and upgrades over the years, the building became increasingly decrepit and unserviceable. It was closed on 23 November 2009;[4] Air France flight AF1881 to Paris was the last flight to depart from the terminal. The building was demolished in 2010,[5] and the resulting space was combined with the adjacent area where the Queen's Building stood until its demolition in 2009 to form the site for the new terminal.
New terminal
The new terminal development was approved by the then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and Hillingdon Council in May 2007.[6] Terminal 2A was designed by Luis Vidal + Architects (LVA). Construction is being undertaken by a joint venture of Ferrovial and Laing O'Rourke.[7] Terminal 2B was designed by Grimshaw Architects and constructed by Balfour Beatty.[8]
After a period of phased moves,[9] the terminal has become home to Star Alliance, as part of Heathrow Airport's plan to maximise the efficiency of the airport by reducing transfer times and improving the passenger experience.[10] The new terminal will have capacity for 30 million passengers each year.[11]
The new terminal's design continues the "toast rack" principle employed in the construction of Terminal 5, a layout that maximises use of the airport's land by placing the terminal building and its satellites perpendicular to the runways.[12] Like Terminal 5, much of the building was constructed off-site, helping to overcome many of the logistical constraints of building in one of the world's busiest international airports.
Construction of the terminal is spread across two phases. The first phase, started in 2009 and completed in June 2014, has involved the demolition of the old terminal and construction of half of the main terminal building, and the completion of the 522-metre (1,713 ft) satellite building Terminal 2B. The second phase is due to begin after the demolition of Terminal 1 and will involve the construction of the second half of Terminal 2 in its place. It had originally been expected that the second phase would be completed around 2019, but in February 2013 Heathrow Airport Ltd. confirmed the project would not be expected to be complete until the next decade.[13] Once complete the terminal will have a footprint and operational capacity very similar to that of Terminal 5.
In June 2013 it was announced that the terminal would be known as Terminal 2 – The Queen's Terminal.[14] The terminal features a sculpture designed by Richard Wilson, called 'Slipstream'. It has been designed to resemble a stunt aircraft in flight, and has been described as the longest permanent sculpture in Europe.[15]
Artwork, "Emergence", spirals 13 metres high above sea food bar, Caviar House & Prunier, a landmark sculpture for Heathrow Terminal 2, as designed by Cinimod Studio.
The first flight to arrive at the terminal was United Airlines flight UA958 from Chicago, landing at 5:49 AM local time on 4 June 2014.[16] All Star Alliance airlines, excepting only the most recent member Air India are scheduled to have transferred by 22 October 2014. Aer Lingus moved all its flights to Heathrow to Terminal 2 on 9 July 2014.[17]
On 17 September 2014, Singapore Airlines shifted its operations to the new Terminal 2 building.[18] On 25 March 2015, Icelandair shifted its operations to the new Terminal 2 building. [19]
The gates in the new T2 are numbered in concourse A (gates 3-26) and concourse B (gates 28-49)
Progress
Phase 1 was once expected to be completed in 2012, in time for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games but, as construction started much later than proposed it only opened in June 2014.[11]
As of January 2013, Terminal 2A was declared weather tight and the internal fit out of the building was well under way. In Spring 2013 systems installation commenced. The first phase of Terminal 2 B was completed in November 2009 and its six gates have been operational since early 2010. Until Terminal 2 was completed, passengers accessed the first part of Terminal 2B via a temporary "bridge" from Terminal 1 (and continue to do so).[20]
Demolition of the original airport control tower which formed part of the Central Terminal Area of the airport began in January 2013 and was completed in Autumn 2013, to make way for connecting roads that have been built to link with the new Terminal 2. Air traffic control operations had moved to a new control tower in 2007 but part of the building remained in use as office space.[21]
Energy efficiency
The new Terminal 2 will produce 40% less carbon dioxide emissions than the buildings it replaces.[22] 20% of this target will be achieved through energy efficiency design technology elements, such as high levels of insulation, LED lighting and passive lighting. Also large north-facing windows in the roof will flood the building with natural light, reducing the need for artificial lighting, without generating excess heat. Photovoltaic (solar) panels on the roof will further reduce dependency on energy supplies. The second 20% carbon reduction will be due to the new T2 Energy Centre, via biomass CHP fuelled by woodchips from local renewable resources, will provide heating and cooling to both T2 and T5.[22]
Airlines and destinations
Star Alliance
Terminal 2 is the base for Star Alliance members that fly from Heathrow. All airlines transferred from other terminals by 22 October 2014, excepting only Air India which has joined Star Alliance since the timetable of moves was announced and for which no date to transfer, from Terminal 4, has yet been given. There is no common alliance lounge in the terminal, Lufthansa has a lounge in the main terminal and Air Canada, Singapore Airlines and United in the satellite. (In the main terminal there are also an Aer Lingus and a Plaza Premium pay-as-you-go lounge.)
Non alliance
Four non-alliance airlines also use the terminal: Germanwings, a Lufthansa subsidiary that has replaced Lufthansa on flights to German destinations other than to Frankfurt and Munich; Aer Lingus, flying to Ireland (Republic and Northern Ireland); Icelandair, flying to Iceland, which has multiple code-share and interline agreements with Star Alliance members, such as SAS and Lufthansa; and Virgin Atlantic Little Red's domestic flights (which are due to cease in 2015).
Terminal 2 is the only terminal, other than Terminal 5, that is set up to handle domestic and Irish flights.
Airbus A380 and Boeing 747
Singapore Airlines is the only operator of the Airbus A380 at Terminal 2. In summer 2014 two of its four daily flights used this aircraft.
Thai Airways International is the only foreign operator of the Boeing 747 at Heathrow Terminal 2. In summer 2014 one of its two daily flights used this aircraft. However, from 1st July 2015 Thai will swap the Boeing 747 for the A380. United Airlines often uses a single daily 747 on its Chicago to Heathrow route during the summer tourist season.
References
- ↑ Heathrow's new terminal 2: timeline Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ↑ Parker, Andrew (17 February 2012). "Milestone for Heathrow Terminal 2 revamp". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
- ↑ Heathrow's new terminal 2: Frequently asked questions Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ↑ Last call for Heathrow Terminal 2, BBC News. 23 November 2009.
- ↑ "Demolition work begins at Heathrow's Terminal 2". BBC News. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
- ↑ "Green light for Heathrow terminal". BBC News. 31 May 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ↑ Laing O'Rourke/Ferrovial sign £800m Terminal 2 deal CN Plus, 15 March 2010
- ↑ Infrastructure Intelligence 30 June 2014
- ↑ "Heathrow: Airline moves". Heathrow Airport Holdings.
- ↑ "Terminal 2 The Queen's Terminal". Heathrow Airport Holdings. 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Heathrow Terminal revamp unveiled". BBC News. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ "Capital Investment Plan 2010" (PDF). BAA Ltd. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
- ↑ Gardiner, Joey (15 February 2013). "Delayed Heathrow Terminal 2 project could be worth £5bn | Magazine News". Building. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ↑ "Heathrow Terminal 2 named Queen's Terminal". BBC News. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
- ↑ "Heathrow terminal sculpture unveiled in Hull". BBC News. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
- ↑ "Heathrow airport's new Terminal 2 opens to passengers". BBC News. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ↑ move to Terminal 2 at Heathrow
- ↑ London Heathrow Terminal 2: Our new home
- ↑
- ↑ "Balfour wins £460m Heathrow T2 extension". Construction Enquirer. 11 August 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- ↑ "Old control tower demolition". Heathrow Airport. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Energy efficiency at the new terminal 2". Heathrow Official Airport Website. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heathrow Terminal 2. |
- Heathrow Airport: Introducing Heathrow's new Terminal 2
- Queen opens new Heathrow Terminal 2 on 23rd June 2014
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