EN- Industry Focuses

A day in the life of an airport

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Combined number of flights into and out of Heathrow Airport in 2016. Facts and Figures, heathrow.com 473,231 Passengers using Heathrow in 2016. Facts and Figures, heathrow.com 75 million Opened in 2008, T5 is the airport's busiest terminal, with almost 32 million passengers passing through in 2016. The building cost £4 billion, took almost 20 years from conception to completion, and it's the UK's largest freestanding structure. Handling more than 80% of all long-haul passengers who come to the UK, Heathrow regularly features in the top ten of the Skytrax World Airport Awards. And, in 2017, it was awarded for its dining and shopping. It's morning at London Heathrow Breakfast is the most popular meal of the day at Heathrow. Almost 5 million eggs, 6.4 million croissants, and 4.5 million slices of bacon are served every year. And the number of pastries sold annually would line a runway in both directions 350 times. Passengers tucking into their breakfasts will be jetting off to one of the 194 destinations in 82 countries on one of the 81 airlines that fly from Heathrow. Despite operating just two runways, a plane takes off or lands every 45 seconds, with the most likely destinations being New York, Dubai, Dublin, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong. e airport has four terminals – 2, 3, 4, and 5 – and at Terminal 5 alone, the duty manager is responsible for 50,000 customers, 600 security officers, and 30 front-line managers a day. ey look aer 48 kilometers of baggage conveyors, 4.5 kilometers of tunnels, and 44 baggage reclaim belts. It takes about 76,000 people to keep Heathrow moving ever y day: eng ineers, chefs, accountants, planners, cleaners, drivers, retail staff, baggage handlers, strategists, communicators, and security operators. As is to be expected at such a major global transport hub, security is of the utmost importance. More than 6,500 CCTV cameras monitor the airport, and every day more than 200,000 bags are put through Heathrow's security system. It might be one of the world 's busiest, but like many of Europe's airports, Heathrow operates under a curfew and adheres to a strict night-noise policy. Flights stop at 23.30 and don't start again until 04.30. During that time, security equipment is ser viced, engineering issues are resolved, cleaning takes place, and its 340 retail and catering outlets are restocked – ready to sell more than 26,000 cups of tea, 35,000 cups of coffee, and 1,050 bottles of champagne. 3 Airports 4 A day in the life

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