Airport Operator Proposes Demolishing Heathrow Terminal, Rebuilding for 2012 Olympics

The company that runs Heathrow Airport proposed a plan Thursday to demolish one of its terminals and replace it with a new one in time for the 2012 London Olympics.

BAA said work on the 1.5 billion pound (US$2.6 billion; euro2.1 billion) project, which it dubbed Heathrow East, could begin by 2009. It would be a new home for carriers including Virgin Atlantic, bmi, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.

The terminal would handle 30 million passengers a year, but that would not bring a net increase in Heathrow's passenger capacity, BAA said.

BAA's managing director at Heathrow, Mick Temple, said the capacity increase created by a new fifth terminal under construction "gives us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to look at the rest of Heathrow and think creatively about how we can use our current very limited space better."

"We are excited by the idea of Heathrow East, but at the moment it is still just an idea," he said. "Our vision is to create the world's greatest international hub airport in the world's greatest city."

Mike Forster, business strategy director for Heathrow, said the proposal would make passengers' journeys through the sprawling airport much easier and smooth flight connections.

"Radical new plans like the one BAA has outlined today are long overdue," said Steve Ridgway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic.

BAA said it would discuss the idea formally with airlines to assess its viability. It would need to be approved by regulators at the Civil Aviation Authority.

BAA said it could submit a planning application in 2007, get approval in 2008 and start work in 2009 in order to be ready when London hosts the 2012 Olympics.

The new Terminal 5 is now under construction and is expected to open in 2008.

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