Heathrow Terminal 5

A few days ago I took my first visit to Heathrow’s new Terminal 5; British Airways new international hub. I have used all of the other terminals at Heathrow previously both as a passenger and whilst dropping off or picking up friends and family so was eager to see how different the new terminal is and how it compares to its siblings, especially after all the press hype during the build up to the new terminal opening, and the coverage of the problems it faced during its initial months of operation.

Sadly, my visit to Terminal 5 was not as a passenger, I would love to say that I was jetting off somewhere exotic but unfortunately not this time (although actually I could do with a holiday…). No, I went to Terminal 5 to drop off some of my family who were flying off to Houston and then again a few days later to pick them up on their return.

We’ve all read the stories about the complete disaster affecting traveller’s luggage amongst other things when the terminal first opened. Being fair to BAA, when any large scale engineering project takes place I think it’s fair to assume that there will always be some teething problems. Unfortunately, this project was always going to be in the public eye and as such, the teething problems were plastered all over the tabloids and news screens, a shame really. Yes it was a huge problem at the time but in hindsight, I don’t recall any of the stories covering the good points, the efficiency of the terminal itself and huge steps forward compared to the other terminals at Heathrow.

So what is it like today? Well, on entering the new terminal I have to say I was impressed. All of the other terminals at Heathrow are in my experience crowded, not very well laid out and hectic to say the least. Whilst I would never say the experience was traumatic, I have always made sure I left in plenty of time to allow for the airport ‘process’ itself when flying from Heathrow (or any other major international airport for that matter). When we arrived at Terminal 5, I’d waved goodbye to my family through the security gates within around 5 minutes. No queues. No fuss. No crowd. Now in case you were wondering, this was around 11am during a weekday so stereotypically a busy time at the airport. I thought perhaps this was just down to ‘luck’ on the day, I mean surely Terminal 5 cannot be this efficient compared to the other 4 terminals? Now that would be something.

A few days later I head back to the airport to pick up. I arrive early as the flight is due in at 7:30 in the morning, which of course is a very busy time for arriving international flights. I was expecting to find the usual hustle and bustle in the arrivals lounge but again, it was peaceful, none of the stress I was used to after experiencing the other terminals. Looking at the arrivals board there were major international flights arriving every few minutes, each with hundreds of people on board and yet people were coming through from customs a few at a time, orderly, and without the rush that I was expecting. In the arrivals lounge itself the people waiting for loved ones and the line of executive car drivers standing with their name boards never looked large enough to even call a crowd. No queue at Costa Coffee (which I made use of, needless to say…). No stress. I have to say I was impressed, it was just as calm and stress free as it had been a few days previously. Even the new arrivals information boards were super efficient informing you when a plane had landed, when it had arrived at its allocated gate, when passenger bags were arriving in the collection lounge and then again, when all bags had been delivered. It made waiting for people super easy. There was no need to stand endlessly waiting as you knew quite accurately when people would be walking out into the lounge.

It seems to me that behind the scenes, behind the embarrassing bag fiasco that once was, Terminal 5 is the definition of engineering efficiency. The building itself is impressive; a vast open plan space, modern and fresh. Terminal 5 is nothing like any of the other terminals at Heathrow. It has a modern and welcoming presence that I have only ever felt at airports such as Dubai or Kuala Lumpur before. I think the designers should be proud of what they have achieved. I’m sure some people will have had different experiences, and I’m sure even more awaits airside; both positive and negative. But for me, my first experience of the new terminal is definitely a good one.

My closing sentence was going to be something along the lines of ‘I look forward to travelling through Terminal 5 as a passenger soon’, but given that I do not rate British Airways as a long haul airline (in fact, I think they are pretty poor), I doubt I’ll be air side in Terminal 5 anytime soon. Ah well…