The wait is almost over as the doors to the new Queen's Terminal building will swing open tomorrow; almost 60 years after the original Terminal 2 welcomed its first airport passengers.
The first carrier to move into the lavish £2.5 billion terminal is United Airlines which will operate a Boeing 767-300 on flight UA958, which is expected to touch down at 5.55am from Chicago O'Hare.
The inaugural departure from Terminal 2 will be flight UA123 to Washington Dulles airport which is due to take off at 7.30am.
Day one will see close to 6,000 United passengers use the new terminal between the 17 flight arrivals and 17 flight departures.
To prevent the fiasco that was the opening of Terminal 5, Heathrow has planned a six month phased move in for the 23 Star Alliance carriers as well as Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic Little Red, and Germanwings.
When fully occupied, Terminal 2 will have 332 daily flights to 54 global destinations.
John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow development director and chief executive designate, said: “Terminal 2 is the culmination of an £11bn investment programme that has transformed Heathrow for passengers.
"Opening a new terminal is one of the most complex challenges that any airport can undertake.
"Our measure of success is not everything running perfectly on day one – there will inevitably be things we can improve. Our real measure of success is whether Terminal 2 comes to be rated by passengers as one of the world’s best airport terminals for years to come. ”
Heathrow said it has learnt lessons from the chaotic opening at Terminal 5 and has conducted more than 180 trials - passenger and baggage- over the last six months involving 14,000 volunteers.
The opening will mark several world firsts including the debut of high-street chain John Lewis and chef Heston Blumenthal's newest restaurant, The Perfectionists’ Café.
There will be a total of 33 retailers and 17 food and drink outlets.
The new Terminal 2 has been named ‘The Queen’s Terminal’ in honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who will open the building on June 23 , along with His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip.
It is integral to Heathrow expansion, particularly if the government supports a third runway, as the building will be extended to become one of two main passengers hubs - Heathrow East (an extended Terminal 2) and Heathrow West (Terminals 5 and 6), connected by one underground passenger transit and baggage system.
Follow our stories live from Terminal 2 tomorrow.
