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Heathrow Airport

Owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holding, Heathrow Airport is a major international airport located in London, England. It is one of six international airports that serve London.

Airport history

The origins of Heathrow Airport date back to 1929, where it started as a small airfield (Great West Aerodrome) southeast of the hamlet of Heathrow. At that time, there was a "Heathrow Farm" located approximately where the modern Terminal 2 is situated, a "Heathrow Hall," and a "Heathrow House." The entire Heathrow area went through development as a much larger airport starting in 1944. It was supposed to be for long-distance military aircraft bound for the Far East, but by the time the airfield was almost finished, World War II had ended and the UK government continued to develop the airport as a civil airport. London Airport opened on March 25, 1946 and was renamed Heathrow Airport in 1966. Its layout was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, who designed the original terminals and central area buildings, including the original control tower and the multi-faith Chapel of St George's.

Airport location

Heathrow Airport sits 14 miles west of central London, just three miles west of Hounslow, and three miles northeast of Staines-upon-Thames. Heathrow is entirely within the boundaries of the London Borough of Hillingdon and is located within the Hayes and Harlington parliamentary constituency. 

Airport facts

● The airport's control tower was built in 2007 and measures 87 meters high (which is about the height of 20 double decker buses stacked on top of each other).
 ● Heathrow contains 81 airlines serving 204 destinations in 85 countries. The most traveled-to destination is New York. 
● 2017 was the busiest year ever recorded, with 78 million passengers going through the airport. That was higher than the population of the UK that same year (which was more than 66 million). The airport's busiest day ever on record was June 30, 2017, with 259,917 passengers.

What to dress for

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