It’s been very interesting to watch the events unfold with the opening of Heathrow’s new Terminal 5.  As a Heathrow avoider of many, many years (I’ll go to Amsterdam and fly via Schipol Airport rather than endure Heathrow’s horrendous travelling nightmares), I wondered if the airport’s brand new shiny terminal was going to be its crowning glory.  I even considered that if it was so good it might be worth giving Heathrow another try.  Alas the horrors of Heathrow live on in Terminal 5.  From the news reports it looks as if it has even bypassed some of its own records when it comes to throwing into the travel plans of holidaymakers!

Why is it that Heathrow, which should be our country’s flagship airport, has been designed in such a way as to make travelling through it one of the most stressful parts of going overseas on holiday?  Why hasn’t it been designed in a way that makes travel fun and easy?  Last time I went through Heathrow I – as with many other passengers – had to negotiate myself and my luggage from one baggage retrieval point in one terminal to a check-in desk in another terminal.  This meant not only having to physically ensure that all of my luggage made it to the bus, but also having to stand suspended by little more than a leather strap whilst trying to keep a close guard on my bags because the bus was so crowded.   Why can’t something be done – like bigger buses, better thought out layouts for inside buses, even more buses (like a constant conveyor belt of them so that people didn’t all try to cram on the same bus because they had to get to their next check-in desk on time in order to make their flight and the next bus might make the connection too tight)?  I wonder if the Heathrow bigwigs have ever travelled as a regular passenger (ie not staff, not VIP, not first)  If they have, have they done it with two small children and a baby (plus obligatory buggy)?  If not, they have no idea about the real issues facing passengers who use their airport.

The baggage issues are hilarious.  OK, so I’m sorry if you’re one of the people who had their holiday spoilt because of the baggage problems, that’s not fun. No one enjoyes having to deal with the all too beautiful “I’ve just had a face lift“ helpers who just frustrate you even more with their niceness. However Heathrow was notorious for not being able to get baggage and traveler on the same plane before the new terminal was even thought of, so it’s a little strange that they didn’t think about how to make this part of the process more effective (and even –dare one say–test it) when the plans for T5 were being made!  

For the moment, I think it’s safe to say that I’ll continue to avoid the having to que and the dodgy coffee the vending machines give you at Heathrow and it’s horrible reputation for stranding and separating people and their luggage.  There are far more friendly airports to use as a gateway to the rest of the world, and most of them have a reputation for getting passengers where they need to be, with the right luggage, at the right time.  It raises the question however, if other airports can do this, why does Heathrow make such a mess of it?