Inside Heathrow’s forgotten ghost terminal that was once largest in Western Europe – but now only a select few can enter
BRITAIN’S busiest airport has a hidden terminal which almost no-one is allowed into.
London Heathrow Terminal 1 was once the largest of its kind in Europe, but now lies empty and inaccessible to the public.
Queen Elizabeth II opened the terminal in 1969, which was the envy of air travel worldwide.
The first flight it hosted was a 100-seater Vanguard service to Edinburgh, operated by British European Airways, forerunner to BA.
This began a new era of travel, as Britons were able to journey beyond the UK’s shores on a scale previously unseen.
Millions of holidaymakers, celebs and politicians used the terminal as a gateway to the world – making the most of its cutting-edge engineering and huge passenger capacity.
But this golden age wasn’t to last forever.
As the years went by aeroplanes got bigger and bigger, and the terminal had difficulty keeping up with the rapid advances in aircraft.
Heathrow upgraded T1 by adding an additional pier for plane parking in the 90s, to help it host the increasingly sizeable aircraft.
As late as 2005, the terminal was given an expanded departure lounge, along with new retail areas and dining spaces.
But these could only do so much to prop-up the ageing airport, and in 2015, T1 was closed for good under plans to expand Heathrow.
By the time the final flight left its runway, travelling to Hanover at 9:30pm on June 29, 2015, the terminal could only handle 20 flights per day, to just nine destinations using BA.
Shortly after shutting its doors, Heathrow’s management opted to gradually demolish the terminal over the following five to ten years.
Two years after the terminal’s closure, its contents were largely stripped and sold for auction.
Items sold largely fell into two different categories: vintage memorabilia for collectors, and veteran equipment snapped up by airport chiefs from developing countries.
Air bridges, luggage carousels, retro slot machines and even the signature BA ‘Welcome to Heathrow’ sign were up fro grabs.
Nigel Naden, of Indassol, Heathrow’s asset managers, said at the time: “It is a commercial offering to airports, but the memorabilia is really for enthusiasts and members of the public.
“Collectors will recognise the type face and colour schemes which can only be for Terminal One. If you are in that kind of world, they are of real interest.”
London Heathrow timeline
- Terminal 1: Opened on 25 April 1969. Terminal 1 was later closed on 29 June 2015 to make way for the expansion of Terminal 2.
- Terminal 2 (original): Opened on 1 May 1955. The original Terminal 2, also known as the Europa Building, was closed on 23 November 2009 and subsequently demolished to make way for a new Terminal 2.
- Terminal 2 (new): The new Terminal 2, also known as The Queen’s Terminal, opened on 4 June 2014.
- Terminal 3: Opened on 13 November 1961. Initially known as the Oceanic Terminal, it was renamed Terminal 3 in 1968.
- Terminal 4: Opened on 1 April 1986. Terminal 4 is located to the south of the southern runway, away from the other terminals.
- Terminal 5: Opened on 27 March 2008. Terminal 5 is located to the west of the central terminal area and is the newest of Heathrow’s terminals.
Today, Heathrow’s website says the terminal is ‘kept fit for purpose for safety and escape route reasons’.
The maintenance team operate around the terminal to maintain the building to ‘a very high standard’.
Emergency service teams, such as the London Fire Brigade, the Ambulance Service, and the Met Police, use the terminal for training sessions.
As many as 200 people can use the space for drills at any one time.
The building is also used to help the smooth-running of Heathrow’s Terminal 2, by housing its baggage system.
All bags which are checked into T2 are processed in T1, and any disrupted bags are brought to the ‘purge area’ – the old international reclaim hall in Terminal 1, and stored there until they are cleared.
At present, T1 remains ‘very much a part of the Heathrow campus‘, though this could change in future, if it needs to be demolished to make room for a further expansion of T2.