Heathrow wing opens as protests fail to take off
HEATHROW’S controversial £4.3billion terminal five was opened by the Queen yesterday amid tight security after an intruder ran on to a busy runway.
Armed police with sniffer dogs patrolled throughout the building for fear that the ceremony might be disrupted by green protesters. [>
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Police held a man who scaled a 15ft perimeter fence and ran on to the runway on the eve of the opening – but yesterday went off without a hitch.[>
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The new terminal will become fully operational on March 27. [>
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It will be used exclusively by British Airways and handle up to 30 million passengers a year, increasing Heathrow’s annual passenger numbers to about 95 million. Fifty-three years after she opened Heathrow’s first terminal, the Queen toured the new soaring glass and metal building with Prince Philip and described it as a “21st century gateway to Britain”.[>
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The royals also shared a joke with the BA crew of the Boeing 777 which crash-landed at Heathrow in January. [>
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Green campaigners fear terminal five will pave the way for a third runway, a sixth terminal and up to twice as many passengers. But Heathrow is among the world’s worst airports for delays because of overcrowding.[>
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Sir Nigel Rudd, chairman of the airport’s operator BAA, said: “London deserves a first class airport. We are starting today. This is a new beginning.”[>
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He said plans to replace ageing terminals one and two would mean that 70 per cent of passengers would be using new terminals within four years.[>