Interesting Facts About London Heathrow airport

London's Heathrow Airport is one of the busiest in the world, connecting millions of passengers to destinations worldwide. Let’s understand the operational parameters of Heathrow.

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Heathrow airport has perhaps become a legend when it comes to airports. With many firsts to its credit, Heathrow has transformed the way world travels. Some of the facts about Heathrow are startling enough to send shock waves down your spine. So, read on and get ready for some shocks:

 • Heathrow started out as a tented village in 1946. Initially, it served 18 destinations with only a handful of airlines. On the eve of New Year 1946, the first departure took place to Buenos Aires through Lisbon.

 • The busiest airport is decided on the basis of which criteria is applied. With its 5 terminals, Heathrow had a head count of 66 million passengers. It is ahead of O'Hare Chicago and just behind Atlanta Airport in terms of sheer traffic. But in terms of genuine transient passengers, Heathrow is the biggest airport. This is set to increase with another runway to be unveiled soon.

• The total number of employees working at Heathrow is 72,000. This number is equivalent to the total population of Scunthorpe in Yorkshire. The BAA staff alone accounts for 4,385 personnel.

• Heathrow airport sits on 1227 hectares of land and has 5 terminals and 2 runways. Another runway has been approved recently in 2009. Most popular destinations include New York, Dubai, Amsterdam, Dublin and Hong Kong.

• In general, 92 airlines fly from Heathrow taking passengers to 181 different locations throughout the globe and 37% of these passengers use Heathrow as a central hub.

• Terminal 5 accounts for 24 million passengers and is the busiest terminal at Heathrow. British Airways is also based at this terminal. The next busiest is terminal no. 3 and it handles 20 million passengers annually.

• Approximately 50,000 vehicles pass through the tunnel and enter the Central Terminal Area at Heathrow.

• The total number of passengers departing and arriving every day at Heathrow average around 180,600. At Heathrow, the busiest day was 1 August, 2004 with 227,284 passengers landing at Heathrow.

• 92% or 60.6 million passengers are international and remaining 8% (around 5.3 million) are domestic passengers. Business travelers account for 33.7% of the total passengers every year.

• The total cargo transported from Heathrow stands at 1.3 million Metric tonnes for 2009.

• The two current runways together can stretch to 4.7 miles.Heathrow is one place which can only be experienced. The sheer attraction of the place mesmerizes anybody. The place is always buzzing with activity. It is like a city within a city and one which never sleeps.

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