Heathrow airport is one of four airports that are almost dotted like the four points of the compass in and around London. There’s London Gatwick to the south of London, City Airport in the east of London and the Beetle’s most hated airport, Stansted, and home of the infamous Ryanair to the north of London. LHR or London Heathrow is some 24km or 15 miles to the west of London.

Before WW2, the airstrip at Heathrow was little more than a grass strip and a tent a little walk away. Back then, it was called The Great Western Aerodrome and was privately owned by the Fairey company and used largely for test flying. London’s commercial flights took off from nearby Heston and Hanworth Park airfields.

As was the case with many airports in large cities, WW2 changed the nature and importance of these otherwise small airstrips. The UK Air Ministry requisitioned the airstrip in 1944 with a view to it being developed as a major transport base for the Royal Air Force. The war ended before the work was completed but this new airstrip with its modern amenities lent itself to cater for the massive post war demand for civil aviation. One runway was ready for use and when the Ministry of Civil Aviation took it over in 1946 a tented terminal was quickly put in place. By 1947, three other runways had been completed and work on another three, subsequently abandoned as unnecessary, was going on. A new and permanent building arose in the central area at the start of the 1950s, replacing the army surplus tent.

In 1955, Terminal 2 was constructed to cope with the ever increasing demand for flight travel. 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, a 10 minute transfer away by tube.

Today, Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports and has 60,000 workers.

Terminal 1: is for all domestic flights, most UK airline departures to Europe plus EL AL and South African Airways flights.

Terminal 2: is for most non-UK carriers’ flights to Europe and some long haul destinations.

Terminal 3: is the long haul terminal for US, South American, Asian and Asia Pacific airlines plus most African carriers.

Terminal 4: is for British Airways long haul and Concorde flights and BA flights to Amsterdam, Athens, Paris, Moscow and Tel Aviv. KLM and Qantas also use T4.