A favourite with travellers, Heathrow has a fascinating history

The largest and busiest of its kind in the world, this airport started its life as a little village west of London and has grown into the behemoth we see today. This destination has seen both world wars and a myriad of firsts. Over 72 million people from all over around the world and all walks of life visit each year.

The start

We begin in the middle of World War I, and the area surrounding Hounslow Heath is being used as a training area and military airport for the British Flying Corps.

After the war, the airfield was to be the take off point for the world’s first international flight. And on 25 August 1919, a De Havilland DH-4A flew to Paris. Unfortunately the following year the airfield was closed because, compared to other airfields surrounding London, this one wasn’t in the best position.

But, around 1930, British aero engineer and aircraft builder Richard Fairey paid £15 000 to the Vicar of Harmondsworth for a 150-acre plot to build a private airport where he could assemble and test aircraft. An expensive hobby if ever I saw one.

The airfield had a single grass runway and a handful of buildings. Fairey’s Great West Aerodrome was largely used for test flights, while the commercial flights took off from nearby Heston and Hanworth Park airfields. 

You may be wondering what the difference between an airport and an airfield is. Well, I’ll tell you. Airports are what we imagine today, multiple runways, multiple terminals. Airfields are a single runway, sometimes paved, sometimes not, and not so much a terminal than a hanger where potential passengers can hang out at. 

Throughout the early 20th century, London suburbia had the aviation bug which saw multiple airstrips popping up all around the place. And this is how London Heathrow as we know it today got its start.

The airport got its name from the ancient agricultural village it used to sit near, Heath Row (two words). The village that existed since the medieval times has now been lost but is believed to have sat roughly where Terminal 3 is today.

The War

Once the Second World War was in full swing, the government requisitioned the land in and around Heath Row, the village, including the Great West Aerodrome, effectively evicting Fairey without compensation in the process. On the commandeered land was built RAF Heston, a base for long-range troop-carrying aircraft that were bound for the Far East. 

As the air force went about their business, they built an RAF-type control tower with the runways in a ‘Star of David’ pattern (perhaps a little up-yours to the Germans). The longest runway was a measly 2700 metres long and 90 metres wide.

The base, that was originally needed for long haul flights to support the war with Japan, led to the quaint little village of Heathrow being demolished and the land cleared for runways in 1944. Unfortunately the base was never completed, with the war ending before the construction could be finished. 

After the War

When the war ended, the RAF had an unfinished air force base and nothing to do with it. So they did the logical thing and handed over the aerodrome to the Air Ministry to act as London’s new civil airport. The handing over process happened quite nicely on the 1 January 1946 and London Airport officially opened for commercial air travel on 31 May that same year. Croydon Aerodrome had originally operated as London’s main airport since 1920, but London Airport took this on when it was announced as

“the world’s largest airport and the country’s largest post-war building scheme”.

The first plane to take off from this significant structure was a converted Lancaster bomber with the name ‘Starlight’, and flew to Buenos Aires. 

Within this first year, London Airport saw 9000 flights to 18 destinations. Not bad for a baby airport barely a year old. 

The terminals weren’t what we think of today when we hear the word. Rather they were marquees left over from the military and formed a tented village along the Bath Road. These rudimentary terminals did however provide creature comforts, such as floral-patterned armchairs, settees and small tables with vases of fresh flowers to brighten up the place a little. In order to reach the aircraft, the passengers had to walkover wooden duckboards to avoid getting their shoes all muddy from the airfield, poor things.

The growth

By the end of London Airport’s first year, roughly 63 000 passengers had travelled through the airport. By 1951, this number had risen to 796 000. 

It was determined that make-shift marquees weren’t going to satisfy passengers forever, and so British architect Frederick Gibberd was appointed to design more permanent buildings. His designs focused around a 122 ft control tower, with a ‘vehicular subway’ running underneath the original main runway and a passenger terminal called the Europa Building and an office block called the Queen’s Building. 

In 1955, the Queen opened the new terminal building, but not the one named after her, and the motorway under the runway to the central area was also opened. 

By 1961, the old marquee terminal had officially closed and a long-distance Oceanic Terminal had opened. Meaning that airlines either operated from the Europa Terminal or the Oceanic Terminal.

It wasn’t until 1966, that we start to see some resemblance with the present, when London airport was officially renamed as Heathrow Airport. It is reported that it was almost Swintonfield, after the Air Minister at the time, Lord Swinton, because authorities feared that foreigners and their accents wouldn’t be able to pronounce ‘Heathrow’. I would think that ‘Swintonfield’ is a bit harder to get the tongue around than plain old ‘Heathrow’, but what do I, a foreigner, know about such matters. 

Heathrow became somewhat diverse when a multi-faith chapel was built in 1968. Such a space saver, very IKEA.

Construction started in 1968 for a short-haul terminal, and Terminal 1 opened the following year in 1969. It’s also around this time that the Europa and Oceanic terminals were renamed as Terminals 2 and 3.

All three of the terminals were built within the two runways. The thinking at the time was that only the rich travelled, who could incidentally afford chauffeurs and would have no need for parking spots. This has caused a series of issues for current travellers.

It was in 1970, that some real growth started, Terminal 3 was extended to accommodate for arrivals as well as departures, and the two runways were lengthened to be almost double their original length at 4kms. 

1977 saw the continued growth of the airport when the Piccadilly line was extended into the main terminal building. This was the first time a major airport was linked to a major city, no doubt increasing the ability of travellers to access the airport.

It was also around this time that the Tory government started to disassociate itself from the British Airports Authority, who ran Heathrow. This lead to the Privatised BAA, which took over the running and maintenance, to build shops in order to generate revenue. 

In 2009, Heathrow hired philosophical writer Alain de Botton to write a book about the lives of those that travel through and work in and around the airport. In his book, A Week at the Airport,  he says that

“some people complain that Heathrow is a giant shopping mall with an airport attached. What’s wrong with that?”

What is wrong indeed? Especially when throughout the 1980s and 90s, Heathrow grew into a major employer with over 70 000 staff and 27 million passengers using Heathrow annually. The airport is more like a town, it even has its own local newspaper, Skyport. 

The demand for air travel created the opportunity for a 4th terminal. In order to keep things consistent Terminal 4 opened in 1986. It is located an inconvenient distance from the central terminal complex. The 10-20 minute transfer time meant that a tube line was opened to extend to Terminal 4. 

Being a major airport, Heathrow naturally has many people waiting for a connection. So the big brains at Heathrow decided that dedicated facilities were needed for passengers who find themselves in this particular situation. A Flight Connections Centre was opened in 1994, the first of its kind in the world. 

1999 saw the Heathrow Express commute passengers from Paddington Station to Terminals 2, 3 and 4. What a damn party that must have been. 

Open Skies agreements arranged in the 2000s meant more freedom for overseas carriers to fly in and out of Heathrow. With old mate de Botton commenting

“other airports are easier to use, Heathrow wins out by its diversity”.

However, it hasn’t all been rosy times and clear skies. Heathrow has seen seven fatal plane crashes killing a total of 219 people between 1948 and 1972 when a British European Airways plane ploughed into a field in Staines, just south-west of the airport. This flight, touch wood, marks the last fatal crash at Heathrow. 

Not knowing what to do with its illegal immigrants, the government built a detention centre next to the airport in 2001. The Harmondsworth centre was primarily used for foreigners awaiting deportation. When the centre filled up in 2004, another ‘immigration removal centre’ was opened next door. 

Heathrow, along with airports all around the world, changed again in the early 2000s. A post 9/11 world meant that the viewing galleries were closed and armed police now patrol in and around the airport. 

But, this didn’t damper the spirits of air travellers. By the time Heathrow celebrated its 60th anniversary, it had handled 1.4 billion passengers and over 14 million flights.

When Heathrow needed another terminal to handle demand, they turned to good old number 5. Taking 7 years to complete, Terminal 5 opened for operations in March of 2008. It is home to British Airways and is larger than all previous 4 terminals put together. It has also received several awards since opening. Many of those for ‘World’s Best Airport Terminal’.

2010 saw another example of the world’s love for Heathrow. On one particularly wintry day in London, the airport was unable to clear the snow from the runways and everything had to stop. Author, Alan Gallop has written a couple of books on the subject of Heathrow and wrote of the incident:

“An airport serving a great city like London without proper snow clearing vehicles? Yet, airlines would rather be at Heathrow than any other London Airport”.

As we progress throughout the 2010s, we see more construction: 4 June 2014, saw the opening of a brand new Terminal 2: The Queen’s Terminal. After 47 years of back-breaking service, it was Terminal 1 who had to give up its life to allow for the expansion of Terminal 2. It’s just take, take, take with Terminal 2.

Most recently in 2015, the Airports Commission made a recommendation for a third runway. This controversial plan was backed by UK MPs in 2018, but in February 2020, this was ruled illegal after the ministers didn’t take into account the UK government’s commitments to tackle climate change. 

Though Heathrow has had a lifetime of excitement and growth, the old airport doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. 

The latest figures show that today Heathrow can boast about itself as the UK’s largest and the world’s busiest international airport. It is the hub of the civil aviation world carrying over 72 million passengers and 1.4 million tons of cargo every year and servicing 180 routes to over 90 countries. 

What a time to be an airport!

What a time to be an airport indeed. At the time of writing we are what feels like in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, but who can know how long this madness will last. And Heathrow, like all airports throughout the word, are doing their best to limit the spread, flatten the curve and keep their staff and passengers safe. 

Heathrow has now moved to single runway operations, which means that they are only using one runway for both landing and taking off, where before the pandemic one runway would be for landing and the other for taking off. They have also moved to close Terminals 3 and 4 and move those airlines that lived in Terminals 3 and 4 to their temporary home of Terminals 2 and 5. Its shocking that there has been such a ‘significant reduction in passenger traffic’, that all passengers still flying are able to adhere to social distancing laws. 

This is a turbulent time, so the full effects of the Coronavirus on air travel in general is still a long way off from being realised. But one thing is for certain, it won’t be good. Now to end on a positive note, the world is seeing dramatically reduced pollution levels because of the decrease in air travel. 

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