Heathrow Terminal 2

Terminal 2 departures area

The new terminal's design continues the "toast rack" principle employed in the construction of Terminal 5, a layout that maximises use of the airport's land by placing the terminal building and its satellites perpendicular to the runways.[9] Like Terminal 5, much of the building was constructed off-site, helping to overcome many of the logistical constraints of building in one of the world's busiest international airports.

The terminal is split into two connected buildings, Terminal 2A and Terminal 2B. 2A was designed by Luis Vidal + Architects (LVA) and built by a joint venture between Ferrovial and Laing O'Rourke.[10] All European carriers, except Icelandair use terminal 2A to board and disembark passengers. Air Canada and Turkish Airlines also use this building for their short haul flight. 2B was designed by Grimshaw Architects, and built by Balfour Beatty.[11] All international carriers use terminal 2B. Icelandair is the only European carrier to use Terminal 2B.

The gates in the new T2 are numbered in concourse A (gates 1–26) and concourse B (gates 28–49).

The new Terminal 2 is designed to produce 40% fewer carbon dioxide emissions than the buildings it has replaced.[12] 20% of this target will be achieved through energy efficiency design technology elements, such as high levels of insulation, LED lighting and passive lighting. Also large north-facing windows in the roof will flood the building with natural light, reducing the need for artificial lighting, without generating excess heat. Photovoltaic (solar) panels on the roof will further reduce dependency on energy supplies. The remaining 20% carbon reduction will be due to the new T2 Energy Centre, via biomass CHP fuelled by woodchips from local renewable resources, will provide heating and cooling to both Heathrow Terminal 2 and Heathrow Terminal 5.[12]

The new Terminal 2 building under construction, January 2012

Construction of the terminal is spread across two phases. The first phase, started in 2009 and completed in June 2014, has involved the demolition of the old terminal and construction of half of the main terminal building, and the completion of the 522-metre (1,713 ft) satellite building Terminal 2B. The second phase is due to begin after the demolition of Terminal 1 and will involve the construction of the second half of Terminal 2 in its place. It had originally been expected that the second phase would be completed around 2019, but in February 2013 Heathrow Airport Ltd. confirmed the project would not be expected to be complete until the next decade.[13] Once complete the terminal will have a footprint and operational capacity very similar to that of Terminal 5.

Phase 1 was once expected to be completed in 2012, in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics but, as construction started much later than proposed it only opened in June 2014.[14]

By January 2013, Terminal 2A had been declared weather-tight and the internal fit-out of the building was well under way. In spring 2013 systems installation commenced. The first phase of Terminal 2B was completed in November 2009 and its six gates became operational in early 2010. Until Terminal 2 was completed, passengers accessed the first part of Terminal 2B via a temporary "bridge" from Terminal 1.[15]

Demolition of the original airport control tower which formed part of the Central Terminal Area of the airport began in January 2013 and was completed in autumn 2013, to make way for connecting roads that have been built to link with the new Terminal 2. Air traffic control operations had moved to a new control tower in 2007 but part of the building remained in use as office space.[16]

In June 2013 it was announced that the terminal would be known as "Terminal 2 – The Queen's Terminal".[17] The terminal features a sculpture designed by Richard Wilson, called Slipstream. It has been designed to resemble a stunt aircraft in flight, and has been described as the longest permanent sculpture in Europe.[18] A second sculpture, named Emergence, was created by Cinimod Studio and is suspended within the terminal.

Slipstream has been described as the longest permanent sculpture in Europe

The first flight to arrive at the terminal was United Airlines flight UA958 from Chicago O'Hare, landing at 5:49 am local time on 4 June 2014.[19] Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the terminal on 23 June 2014 after Air Canada, Air China, and All Nippon Airways moved in on 18 June 2014. [20]

After a period of phased moves,[21] the terminal has become home to Star Alliance (along with new member Air India), as part of Heathrow Airport's plan to maximise the efficiency of the airport by reducing transfer times and improving the passenger experience.[22] The new terminal will have capacity for 30 million passengers each year.[14]

Terminal 2 is the base for Star Alliance members that fly from Heathrow. All airlines transferred from other terminals by January 2017, with Air India shifting from Terminal 4 to Terminal 2 on 25 January 2017.[23] There is no common Star Alliance lounge in the terminal; Lufthansa has a lounge in the main terminal, while Air Canada, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines each have lounges in the satellite.

In the main terminal there are also an Aer Lingus lounge and a Plaza Premium pay-as-you-go lounge.

Three non-alliance airlines also use the terminal: Aer Lingus, flying to Ireland; Icelandair, flying to Iceland, which has multiple code-share and interline agreements with Star Alliance members, such as SAS and Lufthansa. Tianjin Airlines, a new airline flying from Xi'an was planning to operate from this terminal but uses Terminal 3 rather than Terminal 2 to reduce capacity restrictions at Terminal 2.

Terminal 2 is set up to handle not only International flights, but also UK domestic and Irish flights, which is like Terminal 5 and unlike Terminals 3 and 4.

Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways International operate the Airbus A380 from Terminal 2. In summer 2015 two of Singapore Airlines' four daily flights and Thai Airways' single daily flight used this aircraft.

United Airlines previously has used a single daily 747 on its San Francisco to Heathrow routes during the summer tourist season, but UA retired all of its 747s in November 2017. Thai Airways International has also used one 747 on another daily flight to this terminal.

Terminal 2 is connected by an underground walkway to Terminal 3. 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.[26]

In addition, numerous buses ply between the Central Bus Station (for Terminals 2 and 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.

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.

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

Terminal 2 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 and Luton; and other cities in the United Kingdom.