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West Drayton 14-15 High Street, Uxbridge - 01895 250706 uxbridge-library@hillingdon.gov.uk West Drayton is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England. Formerly part of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District of Middlesex, the district became part of Greater London in 1965. Just south of West Drayton, London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the fourth busiest airport in the world (as of 2011) in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe. It is also the busiest airport in the EU by passenger traffic and the third busiest in Europe given the number of traffic movements, with a figure surpassed only by Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and Frankfurt Airport. The airport is owned and operated by BAA Limited, who also own and operate five other UK airports. BAA is owned by ADI Limited, an international consortium led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group, which also includes Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and GIC Special Investments. Heathrow is a primary hub for BMI and British Airways as well as a base for Virgin Atlantic Airways. Heathrow lies 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) west of Central London, and has two parallel east-west runways along with four operational terminals on a site that covers 12.14 square kilometres (4.69 sq mi). Terminal 5 was officially dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II on 14 March 2008 and opened to passengers on 27 March 2008. Construction of a new Terminal 2 complex to replace the old terminal building and adjacent Queen's Building began in 2009 with the first phase expected to open in 2014. Terminals 3 and 4 underwent major refurbishments between 2007-2009. In November 2007, a consultation process began for the building of a new third runway and a sixth terminal, which was controversially approved on 15 January 2009 by UK Government ministers. The project was subsequently cancelled on 12 May 2010 by the Cameron Government but is now under review again. The airport holds a Civil Aviation Authority Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P527), which allows flights for public transportation of passengers or for flying instruction. The airport is surrounded by the built-up areas of Harlington, Harmondsworth, Longford and Cranford to the north and by Hounslow and Hatton to the east. To the south lie East Bedfont and Stanwell while to the west Heathrow is separated from Colnbrook in Berkshire by the M25 motorway. As the airport is west of London and as its runways run east-west, an airliner's landing approach is usually directly over the city of London. Other leading European airports, such as those at Madrid, Frankfurt and Paris, are located north or south of their respective cities to minimise the overflying problem. Along with Biggin Hill, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Southend and City, Heathrow is one of seven airports serving the London area although only Heathrow, Biggin Hill and City are located within Greater London. In its early years what is now London Heathrow Airport was the Great West Aerodrome, sometimes known as Heathrow Aerodrome. Before the construction of the airport, Heathrow was a hamlet, an isolated row of cottages on the northwestern edge of the historic highwaymen's lair of Hounslow Heath, and roughly where Terminal 3 is today. The name Heathrow was first recorded around 1410 as La Hetherewe. During the First World War, Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was established as a Royal Flying Corps (RFC) airfield, about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Heathrow, and was the only London aerodrome with customs facilities in 1919 and 1920. After it closed, Croydon Airport became the principal London Airport. In 1925, Norman MacMillan, an RAF officer, made a forced landing and take-off at Heathrow. He noted the flatness of the land and its suitability for an airfield. The land around was at the time used for market gardening. The Air Ministry gave Fairey notice to cease using Northolt in 1928. Fairey Aviation needed an airfield for flight testing of aircraft designed and manufactured at its factory in North Hyde Road, Hayes. Norman MacMillan, now Fairey's chief test pilot, remembered the forced landing and take-off at Heathrow in 1925, and recommended the suitability of the area for an aerodrome. MacMillan flew aerial surveys of the site. In 1929 Fairey Aviation started by buying 148 acres (60 ha) of farmland in four adjoining plots near southeast of the hamlet of Heathrow from four local landowners, for about £1,500, at the typical 1929 market rate of £10 per acre. The site was bounded to the north-east by Cain's Lane, to the south by the Duke of Northumberland's River, and to the west by High Tree Lane. The airfield boundaries were south of the Bath Road, north-west of the Great South West Road, and about two miles west of the western end of the Great West Road. The airfield was about three miles by road from the Hayes factory. In June 1930 the Great West Aerodrome, as it came to be known, was declared operational. A hangar was built. Fairey planned to relocate its factory at Hayes to the site. The Great West Aerodrome was used for aircraft assembly and testing. Commercial traffic used Croydon Airport, which was London's main airport at the time. That year Fairey bought 29 acres (12 ha) more land at Heathrow. From 1935 to 1939 the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) held its annual garden party fly-ins at the airfield, at the invitation of Richard Fairey, chairman and managing director of Fairey Aviation Company Ltd, and a past president of the RAeS. The events were aviation society gatherings combined with promotion and display of aircraft and their manufacturers, before the development of aircraft industry shows in Britain, from 1947. Richard Fairey, who started in business with model aircraft, also allow weekend use of the airfield by model aircraft clubs. More people were said to visit Heathrow on that one day than they did for the rest of the year. What became the airport was used by the RAF during the Second World War, but only for diversions. No. 229 Squadron Hurricanes from RAF Northolt were sent to the Great West Aerodrome while there was a threat of enemy attack on Northolt, and in 1945 several bombers including Lancasters and Halifax were diverted there. Richard Fairey was knighted as Sir Richard Fairey in 1942, and held the position of Director General of the British Air Mission, based primarily in Washington, DC. Fairey Aviation bought 10 more acres of land in 1943 to add to the total of 230 acres (93 ha) bought in 1929, 1930, 1939 and 1942. The company's intention was to relocate its production facilities from Hayes to the aerodrome. In 1943 the Air Ministry, headed by the Secretary of State for Air (Sir Archibald Sinclair), secretly developed plans to requisition the airfield under wartime legislation - the Defence of the Realm Act (1939). The plans were stated to be designed to suit the considerable needs of long-range bombers, such as USAAF Boeing B-29s, but they were actually based on recommendations from professor Patrick Abercrombie for a new international airport for London. The project was headed by Harold Balfour (then Under-Secretary of State for Air, later Lord Balfour of Inchrye), who kept the true nature of it hidden from parliament. It was not until January 1944 that the decision and plans were finally revealed. The wartime legislation provided no obligation to pay compensation; Fairey Aviation was offered compensation at the 1939 farming land market rate of £10 per acre; that was rejected. Sir Richard wrote to his co-chairman of Fairey Aviation: "It is manifestly so much easier for the Civil Aviation authorities to look over the airports near London, that the foresight of private companies has made available, and then using government backing forcibly to acquire them, than to go to the infinite trouble that we had in making an aerial survey to find the site, buying the land from different owners, and then building up a fine airfield from what was market-gardening land. And why the haste to proceed? I cannot escape the thought that the hurry is not uninspired by the fact that a post-war government might not be armed with the power or even be willing to take action that is now being rushed through at the expense of the war effort." Feel free to Email me any additions or corrections LINKS AVAILABLE TO YOUR SITE

The Air Ministry requisitioned the aerodrome, although the role that Fairey Aviation was fulfilling in the war effort meant the Ministry of Aircraft Production would only sanction the action if another site could be found for test flights. Fairey moved to Heston Aerodrome, and stayed there until 1947, when it moved to White Waltham airfield in Buckinghamshire. That proved especially inconvenient for the company, as the airfield was over 20 miles (32 km) from Hayes. As the aerodrome at Heathrow had been bought under the Defence of the Realm Act 1914, it meant the Government did not have to pay compensation when compulsorily acquiring land. Fairey sought compensation through legal proceedings that continued until 1964. Until their conclusion, the former Fairey hangar at the airport could not be demolished.

The Air Ministry requisitioned the airfield, surrounding farms, roads and houses in April 1944, ostensibly to accommodate military bombers. Construction of the new airport by Wimpey Construction began.

Eviction notices were issued in May 1944 with airfield construction work subsequently beginning. Heathrow's domestic and farm buildings were demolished with the roads across the site. No RAF aircraft became based there, although the facilities common on RAF bases had been built. Several bombers including Lancasters and Halifax were diverted there during the war. Construction was ongoing at the end of the war; plans had already changed by then from tenuous wartime military use to overt development into an international airport.

Ownership of the site was transferred from the (military) Air Ministry to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 1 January 1946. Lord Winster, the Minister of Aviation, performed the official opening ceremony on 25 March 1946. The first aircraft to use the new airport was a British South American Airways (BSAA) Avro Lancastrian named Star Light.

On 16 April 1946, the first aircraft of a foreign airline, a Panair Lockheed 049 Constellation, landed after a flight from Rio de Janeiro. BOAC's first scheduled flight was an Avro Lancastrian headed for Australia on a route operated jointly with Qantas.

The newly-named London Airport opened for civilian use on 31 May 1946.

By 1947 Heathrow runways formed a triangle consisting of 100/280 (9,200 feet (2,800 m) long), 156/336 (6,300 feet (1,900 m) long), and 52/232 (6,700 feet (2,000 m) long). A parallel runway farther west soon replaced 156/336 thereby expanding the planned terminal area inside the triangle. The temporary "prefab" passenger and cargo buildings were at the northeast edge of the airport, just south of Bath Road.[26]

In the early 1950s three more runways were completed to make a Star of David pattern within which two runways would always be within 30° of the wind direction.

Princess Elizabeth returned to the United Kingdom as Queen Elizabeth II on 7 February 1952. She arrived on the BOAC Argonaut Atalanta, on an area of the airport now covered by the Brasserie Restaurant of the Heathrow Renaissance Hotel.

In 1953 Queen Elizabeth II ceremonially laid the first slab of a new runway that year and in 1955 she opened the first permanent passenger terminal, the Europa Building, later known as Terminal 2. These terminal buildings stood in the middle of the star pattern of runways and required construction of an access tunnel under them. On 1 April 1955 a new 38.8 metres (127 ft) control tower designed by Frederick Gibberd opened to replace the original 1940s tower.

In December 1953, passenger traffic reached 1 million, with a total of 62,000 flights completed over the year.

By 1961, the runway lengths were: 10L 9313 ft, 10R had been extended west to 11000 ft, 5L 6255 ft, 5R 7734 ft, 15R 7560 ft, 15L not in use.

On 13 November 1961, the Oceanic Terminal (renamed as Terminal 3 in 1968) opened to handle long-haul flight departures. At that time the airport had a direct helicopter service from central London while there were public viewing facilities and gardens on the roof of the Europa Building.

The legal dispute between Fairey Aviation and the government over compensation, which started in early 1944, was finally settled in 1964, with Fairey awarded the sum of £1,600,000. Fairey's 1930 hangar, in legal limbo for 20 years, and used as the Heathrow Airport fire station and as backdrop for an advertising billboard for BOAC, was then finally demolished.

Terminal 1 opened in May 1968, completing the cluster of buildings at the centre of the airport site. By this time Heathrow was handling 14 million passengers annually. The terminal was formally inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II in May 1969.

The location of the original terminals in the centre of the site subsequently became a constraint on expansion. Built for easy access to all runways, it was assumed that passengers using the terminals would not need extensive car parking, as air travel was beyond all but the wealthy who would often be chauffeur-driven to the airport with the chauffeur leaving with the car once his passengers had departed.

In the late 1960s, a 160-acre (0.65 km2) cargo terminal was built to the south of the southern runway, connected to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 by the Heathrow Cargo Tunnel.

Terminal 3 was expanded with the addition of an arrivals building in 1970. Other new facilities included the UK's first moving walkways. Heathrow's two main east-west runways, 09L-27R and 09R-27L, were also extended to their current lengths to accommodate new large jets such as the Boeing 747. The other runways were closed to facilitate terminal expansion, except for Runway 23, which remained available for crosswind landings until 2002.

In 1977, the London Underground Piccadilly line was extended from Hounslow West via Hatton Cross to Heathrow, putting the airport within just under an hour's journey of Central London.

By the early 1980s, annual passenger numbers had increased to 30 million, and required more terminal space. As a result, Terminal 4 was constructed to the south of the southern runway, next to the existing cargo terminal and away from the three older terminals with connections to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 provided by the existing Heathrow Cargo Tunnel.

The London orbital motorway (M25) opened in 1986 and provided a direct motorway link to much of the country.

Terminal 4 was opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales on 1 April 1986, and became the home of the newly privatised British Airways.

The UK government privatised the British Airports Authority in 1987 (now known as "BAA Limited") which controls Heathrow and six other UK airports. Following privatisation, during the late 1980s and 1990s BAA expanded the proportion of terminal space allocated to retail activities and invested in retail development activities. This included expanding terminal areas to provide more shops and restaurants, and routing passengers through shopping areas to maximise their exposure to retail offerings.

On 7 February 1996 Concorde G-BOAD left Heathrow and crossed the Atlantic Ocean creating a new world record time between New York and London of 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds.

In May 1997, the planning stage of the Terminal 5 Public Planning Inquiry ended at a total cost of £80m. Testimony was heard from 700 witnesses and 100,000 pages of transcripts were recorded. In total the consultation process took 524 days; eight years elapsed from the first application to final government approval – the longest ever planning process in UK history.

The Heathrow Express began providing a rail service from Paddington station in London from 23 June 1998. A special railway line was constructed between Heathrow and the Great Western Main Line for this service.

Construction of Terminal 5 began in September 2002. The first stage (which took 18 months) was the Twin Rivers Diversion Scheme, involving the two rivers flowing around the perimeter of the new site.

Runway 23, a short runway for use in strong south-westerly winds, was decommissioned in 2005. It is now part of a taxiway. The eastern extension of Terminal 1 was opened that year.

The new £105 million Pier 6 was completed at Terminal 3 in 2006 in order to accommodate the Airbus A380 superjumbo, and provided four new aircraft stands. Other modifications costing in excess of £340 million were also carried out across the airfield in readiness for the Airbus A380. The first A380 test flight into Heathrow took place on 18 May 2006.

A new 87-metre (285 ft) high £50 million air traffic control tower entered service on 21 April 2007, and was officially opened by Secretary of State for Transport Douglas Alexander on 13 June 2007. The tower was designed by the Richard Rogers partnership and is the tallest air traffic control tower in the United Kingdom.

In 2010 the old Terminal 2 was demolished and construction of the new terminal building began.

Terminal 5B opened on 20 May 2011 and was officially opened on 1 June 2011. Terminal 5C opened later that month.

The first phase of the new Terminal 2 is due to be completed in 2014. By 2013 or 2014, Terminal 1 will close for demolition. The site will be combined to become part of the second phase of Terminal 2, which is scheduled to be completed in 2019.

Heathrow Airport is used by over 90 airlines flying to 170 destinations worldwide.

Of Heathrow's 67 million annual passengers, 11% are bound for UK destinations, 43% are short-haul international travellers and 46% are long-haul. The busiest single destination in terms of passenger numbers is New York, with over 3.7 million passengers travelling between Heathrow and JFK / Newark airports in 2008 and 3.5 million in 2009.

Policing of the airport is the responsibility of the aviation security unit of the Metropolitan Police, although the army, including armoured vehicles of the Household Cavalry, has occasionally been deployed at the airport during periods of heightened security. Heathrow's reputation for thefts has led to it sometimes being referred to as 'Thiefrow'.

Full body scanners are now used at the airport and passengers who object to their use are not allowed to fly.

Heathrow Airport has Anglican, Catholic, Free Church of Scotland, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh chaplains. There is a multi-faith prayer room and counselling room in each terminal in addition to St. George's Interdenominational Chapel located in an underground bunker adjacent to the old control tower, where Christian services take place. The chaplains organise and lead prayers at certain times in the prayer room.

Heathrow airport has its own resident press corps, consisting of six photographers and one TV crew, serving all the major newspapers and television stations around the world.

Aircraft destined for Heathrow usually enter its airspace via one of four main reporting points: Bovingdon (BNN) over Hertfordshire, Lambourne (LAM) over Essex, Biggin Hill (BIG) over Bromley and Ockham (OCK) over Surrey. Each is defined by a VOR radio-navigational beacon. When the airport is busy, aircraft orbit in the associated hold patterns. These reporting points/holds lie to the north-west, north-east, south-east and south-west of the London conurbation.

Air traffic controllers at Heathrow Approach Control (based in Swanwick, Hampshire) then guide the aircraft to their final approach, merging aircraft from the four holds into a single stream of traffic, sometimes as close as 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) apart. Considerable use is made of continuous descent approach techniques to minimise the environmental effects of incoming aircraft, particularly at night. Once an aircraft is established on its final approach, control is handed over to Heathrow Tower.

Because aircraft generate significantly more noise on departure than when landing, there is a preference for westerly operations during daylight. In this mode, aircraft depart towards the west and approach from the east over London, thereby minimising the impact of noise on the most densely populated areas. Heathrow's two runways generally operate in segregated mode, whereby arriving aircraft are allocated to one runway and departing aircraft to the other. To further reduce noise nuisance to people beneath the approach and departure routes, the use of runways 27R and 27L is swapped at 15:00 each day if the wind is from the west. When easterly landings are in progress there is no alternation; 09L remains the landing runway and 09R the departure runway due to the Cranford Agreement.

Occasionally, landings are allowed on the nominated departure runway, to help reduce airborne delays and to position landing aircraft closer to their terminal, thus reducing taxi times.

Night-time flights at Heathrow are subject to restrictions. Between 23:00 and 07:00, the noisiest aircraft (rated QC/8 and QC/16) cannot be scheduled for operation.

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