Heathrow Terminal 3

History

Opened as The Oceanic Terminal on 13 November 1961, it was built to handle flight departures for long-haul routes. At this time, the airport had a direct helicopter service to Central London from the gardens on the roof of the terminal building. Renamed Terminal 3 in 1968, it was expanded in 1970 with the addition of an arrivals building. Other facilities added included the UK's first moving walkways.

The terminal was refurbished between 1987 and 1990 at a cost of £110 million. In 2006, the new £105 million Pier 6 was completed to accommodate the Airbus A380 superjumbo; Emirates and Qantas now operate regular flights from Terminal 3 using the Airbus A380. Redevelopment of Terminal 3's forecourt through the addition of a new four lane drop-off area and a large pedestrianised plaza, complete with canopy to the front of the terminal building, was completed in 2007. These improvements were intended to improve passengers' experiences, reduce traffic congestion and improve security. As part of this project, Virgin Atlantic was assigned its own dedicated check-in area, known as 'Zone A', which features a large sculpture and atrium. As of 2013, Terminal 3 has an area of 98,962 square metres (1,065,220 sq ft).

Heathrow Airport Limited also has plans for a £1bn upgrade of the rest of the terminal over the next ten years which will include the renovation of aircraft piers and the arrivals forecourt. A new baggage system connecting to Terminal 5 (for British Airways connections) is currently under construction. In addition to the baggage system, the baggage claim hall is also set to undergo changes with dedicated A380 belts and an improved design and layout.

In May 2015, it was announced that Terminal 3 will be demolished by 2019, when Terminal 2 has been completed.

Usage

The main presences in Terminal 3 are American Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, who have their UK hubs located here. Emirates, with 6 A380 flights daily to Dubai, is the other major user of the terminal.

Terminal 3 is to be demolished in 2019.

Oneworld

Terminal 3 is used by the majority of Oneworld alliance members, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian. SriLankan Airlines, TAM and British Airways who also use Terminal 5. However it is not used by Iberia (Terminal 5 only), Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways (both Terminal 4 only). It is also used by Vueling, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Airlines Group, the parent of British Airways and Iberia, but is not itself a member of Oneworld. Vueling, British Airways, and Finnair are the only airlines offering short-haul flights from this terminal.

Non-aligned

The principal non-aligned airlines are Emirates and Virgin Atlantic; the smaller ones are Iran Air and Pakistan International Airlines.

SkyTeam

Delta is a SkyTeam member but has moved all flights from Terminal 4 to be alongside its partner Virgin Atlantic. Middle East Airlines has also joined SkyTeam but remained in Terminal 3. Garuda Indonesia, also a SkyTeam member, uses Terminal 3.

Star Alliance

All Star Alliance airlines formerly based in Terminal 3 moved to Terminal 2 between June and September 2014 and none now fly from this terminal.

Airbus A380 and Boeing 747

Emirates, Qantas and British Airways currently operate Airbus A380 aircraft at Terminal 3. The six Emirates daily flights to Dubai use the A380, as do the two Qantas flights to Dubai, one of which continues to Sydney and 1 to Melbourne. British Airways operates a daily A380 service to Vancouver and in the winter schedule only one to Miami.

British Airways is now the only Boeing 747 operator at Terminal 3. As of summer 2016, all of Virgin Atlantic's former five Heathrow-based 747s have been either retired or are now operating out of Gatwick.

Inter-terminal transport

Terminal 3 is connected by an underground walkway to Terminals 1 and 2. Terminals 4 and 5 can be reached by the free Heathrow Express rail service. London Underground services can also be used to transfer to Terminals 4 and 5 (the former requiring a change of train at Hatton Cross), but this service is only free to Oyster card holders.

In addition, numerous buses ply between the Central Bus Station (for Terminals 1, 2 & 3) and the other terminals. However, using the train service is much quicker and easier for passengers with luggage. The bus service is free between terminals.

Road links

As part of the three central terminals at Heathrow, it is well linked to the M4 motorway via the M4 spur road and through a tunnel under the north runway. There is a large, multi-storey car park opposite the Terminal connected by an aerial footbridge.

Rail links

Terminal 3 is accessed by the London Underground from Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 tube station, with trains towards Cockfosters station via Central London. The Terminal is also accessed by Heathrow Connect and Express from Heathrow Central where services go to London Paddington. Heathrow Connect services are due to be replaced by Crossrail when it finally opens at some point in the future and services would be increased from 2 trains per hour (about every 30 minutes) to 4 trains per hour (about every 15 minutes).

Bus links

Terminal 3 is accessible to both bus and coach services from Heathrow central bus station.

There are also several coach services operated by National Express operating to other London airports such as Gatwick, Stansted & Luton and other cities in the United Kingdom.