Heathrow Terminal 5 is fast approaching it's opening which I think is scheduled for March 2008, although that will also be the start of a further phase of construction that continues until 2010  A lot has been made of its state of the art technology and systems that will improve security and customs processing. Well all this remains to be seen, one thing it can only get better than the current situation at other Heathrow terminals.

I have collected some information for those interested on the development, a lot gleaned from the BAA site.  Hope you find it interesting. BAA are currently using real frequent traveller volunteers to test out facilities and if you are one of those it would be great to here your views.  Unless of course you have been bribed to keep quiet.

About the construction.

Check this link to a video showing the development in speeded up time. Construction

Stage 1: Site preparation and enabling words
Firstly the 260 hectare site was surveyed and excavated by archaeologists. Preparation for construction then involved levelling the site, removing the sludge lagoons and building temporary facilities including roads, offices and logistics centres.

Stage 2: Groundworks & substructures
This phase included the earthworks and the construction of the foundations and substructures for the terminal basements. It also included building the drainage systems and the rail tunnels. A total of 9 million cubic meters of earth will have been excavated during the earthworks phase. A proportion of this earth was used to create the embankments for the M25 spur road and landscape the Colne Valley, while the rest is used to backfill the main site.

Stage 3: Major structures
This phase included erecting the huge free standing roof structure of the main terminal building (T5A), and its interior superstructure. It also included the superstructure and roof of the first satellite (T5B) as well as the multi-storey car park and ancillary buildings such as the energy centre.

Stage 4: Fit out
This involved the fit out of the buildings' interiors including, the building services modules (ie, power, heating and ventilation systems), the baggage system, the track transit system (people mover) and specialist electronic systems. It also included the fixtures and fittings and the retail areas.

Stage 5: Implementation of operational readiness
Operational readiness is necessary to ensure that Terminal 5's infrastructure and systems are fully complete and tested, that staff working in the terminal are properly trained and that all the necessary operational procedures for Terminal 5's opening day on 27 March 2008 are in place.

Phase 2
Construction for the basements for the second satellite building (T5C) and additional aircraft stands commenced in 2006. However, the main building structure will not be completed until 2010.

On the face of it this strike could easily be resolved. The issues are not insurmountable for either side to find an accommodation. However, it looks very much like BAA has become a very distant and not well engaged employer. This is probably due to the amount of senior UK management that have left or be forced to leave the company in the last nine months.

Right now it would seem that they (BAA that is Ferrovial) are hoping that public opinion will turn against their workers and the union rather than themselves ( a seemingly faceless distant Spanish company). This situation could be very distressing to thousands who have made special plans with their families over the holiday period. But typically again this is the result of ruthless faceless capitalism with the workers as victims and made to be the bad guys. 

Brendan Gold, Unite national officer, said: "BAA has just posted profits of over £500 million and the Spanish owners Ferrovial have seen their profits rise by nearly 60 per cent. It is clear that the pension scheme is financially sound, and should be left alone." Mr Gold said BAA and Ferrovial should understand that the workforce has lost trust in them. Not allowing new employees to join the company's final-salary pension scheme after December 1 was viewed as being the first step in the axing of the whole scheme for everyone.

The strike ballot covers Unite members at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The union warned that if industrial action does take place, it is "inevitable" that airports affected will be closed. A nameless source at BAA said it regretted the union's threat of industrial action, describing it as "unnecessary". Is that it? Your views on a postcard please.

The Scotsman.com reports that  hogmanay plans could be thrown into chaos for tens of thousands air travellers after several groups of key workers at Scotland's main airports moved to vote on strike action in a row over pensions.  The union, Unite, said 5,000 of its members employed by the British Airports Authority (BAA) will be balloted over the next few weeks on whether or not to launch a campaign of industrial action.

They are protesting at plans to stop new entrants joining the company's final salary pension scheme from 1 December.  The  strike could see the authority's airports - which include Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Heathrow and Gatwick - closed from 27 December, leading to chaos during the New Year travel period.

The ballot will take place from 29 November.

National officer Brendan Gold said BAA had posted profits of over £500 million, while its Spanish owner Ferrovial had seen its profits rise by almost 60 per cent.  "It is clear that the pension scheme is financially sound and should be left alone," said Mr Gold. "BAA and Ferrovial should understand that the workers have lost trust in them."  Not allowing new employees to join the final salary pension scheme from 1 December was viewed as the first step in axing the entire scheme for everyone, said Unite.

"It is no wonder the British Airports Authority has a strike ballot on its hands, coming up to one of its busiest times. The timing of this dispute is entirely down to BAA and its Madrid paymasters."  The workers include firefighters, security, maintenance and admin staff at BAA airports.

The ballot result is due just before Christmas, and Unite will have to give seven days' notice of action if there is a 'Yes' vote.   A BAA spokesman said: "BAA regrets the union's threat of industrial action, particularly in the Christmas period. It is unnecessary and it fails to put the interests of passengers first.

"BAA has given clear and unequivocal assurances that existing employees will not be affected by the end of the final salary pension scheme and that its replacement for new employees will be of the highest quality.

"During the past few weeks we have offered to give more detailed assur-ances to union representatives.

"We believe the way to resolve this is through negotiation. We are today renewing our offer to resume face-to-face discussions immediately and call for all those with an interest in maintaining the operations of our airports to do all they can to facilitate such an engagement.

"Using the threat of industrial action, particularly at Christmas, can only create uncertainty for our passengers and their families, and will do nothing to change the underlying reasons that have led BAA to follow the example of most other leading companies in addressing the pension problem in the way we have. BAA believes that now is the time to talk."

The British Airports Authority (BAA) claimed this week that 95 per cent of passengers would take less than five minutes to pass through security next year, thanks to improvements at its seven airports. It also promised that only one per cent of travellers would fail to pass through within 15 minutes.
The Telegraph reports ...

Passengers have been subjected to unprecedented delays this year, as security staff have struggled to cope with rising numbers of travellers, antiquated machinery, confusing rules over liquids allowed on flights and strict hand-luggage limits. Mike Forster, strategy director for BAA, has acknowledged that security delays at Heathrow and Gatwick have been unacceptable. Speaking at the World Travel Market in London, he said that a combination of extra investment and staffing, new technology and the opening of Terminal 5 would enable BAA to meet the new targets.

Expectations have been raised further by the announcement from the Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, that air travellers will be allowed to bring more than one item of baggage on board from January 7 - though it's thought some airports will not be ready to implement the new rule until the spring. Many delays at security are caused by confusions over bag limits.

Britain remains the only country to operate a one-bag rule for air passengers, which was introduced last August amid a series of terrorism scares. However, the EU-wide rule restricting containers of liquids and gels to 100ml will remain in force.

BAA has hired 2,000 extra security staff since last year, and 680 of them will be based at Heathrow, where 11 new security lanes have been opened and new scanners and arches are being installed.

"Unlike the current systems, the new technology, which is called ATIX, can automatically detect explosives and liquids and it offers the security staff multiple viewing angles, so the margin for error or unnecessary hold-ups is even smaller," Mr Forster said.

"We also have a central control centre, which now gets updates on waiting times every 15 minutes, so we are able to put in extra staff or open new lanes to speed things up." Mr Forster said that many of the delays at check-in, immigration and baggage reclaim were beyond BAA's control. "Check-in is run by the airlines and passport control by the immigration service," he said. However, British Airways' chief executive Willie Walsh, writing exclusively for Telegraph Travel last week, blamed the management of Heathrow for much of the airline's problems over lost bags and punctuality.

"Of the 20 incidents between July and September, eight took place at Heathrow - far more than at any other airport," he said. "These included a security alert that closed Terminal 4 for most of a day, three breakdowns of the baggage systems, a runway closure, torrential rain, flooded baggage areas and an electrical failure." BAA claims that the fact that 95per cent of passengers last month passed through security within 10 minutes was evidence that the new targets could be hit. In October, however, Heathrow alone was processing two million fewer passengers than in July.

The fundamental problem with the airports is lack of capacity, according to Mr Forster, who said: "Heathrow was built for 45 million passengers a year and it handles 67 million. Gatwick is the busiest single-runway airport in the world. We need more capacity." He said the opening of Terminal 5 at the end of March would immediately free space in Terminal 1 and also in Terminal 4.

The latter will become the base for the SkyTeam alliance (including Air France, KLM and Delta) and will have its check-in area doubled. Terminal 3 will become the hub of the OneWorld alliance (which includes JAL, Qantas and American) and will have a £1billion refit in the next 10 years.

Terminal 2 will be knocked down and a new terminal, Heathrow East, developed for the Star Alliance (which includes Bmi, Singapore and United).