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Location Information:
London
Heathrow Airport or Heathrow (IATA:
LHR, ICAO: EGLL), in the London
Borough of Hillingdon, is the
largest airport in the United
Kingdom. It is the fourth busiest
airport in the world (in 2010, due
to reduced traffic blamed on the
Eyjafjallajökull volcano) in terms
of total passenger traffic and it
handles more international
passengers than any other airport in
the world. It is also the busiest
airport in the European Union in
terms of passenger traffic and the
second busiest in Europe in terms of
traffic movements, second to Paris
CDG airport in Paris, France.
The
airport is owned and operated by
BAA, who also own and operate five
other UK airports. BAA is owned by
ADI Limited, an international
consortium led by the Spanish
Ferrovial Group, which also includes
Caisse de dépôt et placement du
Québec and GIC Special Investments.
Heathrow is a primary hub for BMI
and British Airways, and is a base
for Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Heathrow is 12 nautical miles (22
km; 14 mi) west of Central London,
and has two parallel main runways
spanning east-to-west and four
operational terminals. The site
covers 12.14 square kilometres (4.69
sq mi). Terminal 5 was officially
opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 14
March 2008 and opened to passengers
on 27 March 2008. Construction of a
new Terminal 2 complex to replace
the terminal building and adjacent
Queen's Building began in 2009; the
first phase is expected to open in
2014. Terminals 3 and 4 underwent
major refurbishments that began in
2007 and were completed in 2009. In
November 2007 a consultation process
began for the building of a new
third runway and a sixth terminal
and it was controversially approved
on 15 January 2009 by UK Government
ministers. The project was then
cancelled on 12 May 2010 by the
Cameron Government.
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