1dad
Terminal 5 (T5), built by British Airways for $8.6 billion, is London Heathrow Airport’s newest state-of-the art facility. Made of glass, concrete, and steel, it’s the largest free-standing building in the United Kingdom and has over 10 miles of belts for moving luggage. After two decades in planning and 100 million hours in manpower, opening day didn’t work out as planned. Endless lines and major baggage handling delays led to numerous flight cancellations stranding many irate passengers. Airport operators said the problems were triggered by glitches in the terminal’s high-tech baggage-handling system. With its massive automation features, T5 was planned to ease congestion at Heathrow and improve the flying experience for the 30 million passengers expected to pass through it annually. With 96 self-service check-in kiosks, over 90 fast check-in bag drops, 54 standard check-in desks, and over 10 miles in suitcase moving belts that were supposed to be able to process 12,000 bags per hour, the facility’s design seemed to support those goals.Terminal 5 (T5), built by British Airways for $8.6 billion, is London Heathrow Airport’s newest state-of-the art facility. Made of glass, concrete, and steel, it’s the largest free-standing building in the United Kingdom and has over 10 miles of belts for moving luggage. After two decades in planning and 100 million hours in manpower, opening day didn’t work out as planned. Endless lines and major baggage handling delays led to numerous flight cancellations stranding many irate passengers. Airport operators said the problems were triggered by glitches in the terminal’s high-tech baggage-handling system. With its massive automation features, T5 was planned to ease congestion at Heathrow and improve the flying experience for the 30 million passengers expected to pass through it annually. With 96 self-service check-in kiosks, over 90 fast check-in bag drops, 54 standard check-in desks, and over 10 miles in suitcase moving belts