Left: London Heathrow Terminal 4 during construction
London Heathrow Airport held a ceremony on Friday (April 1) marking the 30th anniversary of Terminal 4 (T4). The facility was originally opened by Prince Charles and Princess Diana on April 1, 1986, and welcomed its first passengers on April 12, 1986.
T4 was built at a cost of approximately £200m (US$290m) and had been the base for British Airways before they moved to Terminal 5 (T5) in 2008. The facility covers more than 1,000,000ft² and is home to 35 airlines.
Ron Stanley, an engineering employee at London Heathrow, worked at the airport before T4 was built and has been part of the T4 team since it opened.
“I originally worked for a company called Field Aircraft Services, which was located on the site where the terminal is today. We saw those buildings get knocked down and T4 pop up in its place. A whole load of us started working in the new building in February 1986 and we were here when it was opened by Princess Diana,” he said.
“The terminal used to have the nickname ‘fantasy island’ because we were located out on our own but gradually other parts of the airport have grown up around us. It used to just be British Airways located here but now we have 35 airlines traveling to a large range of countries around the world.
“It is an honor to have been part of the team here at Heathrow for the past 31 years. There are not many jobs like this where you get to meet such a diverse range of people and have to deal with a variety of issues on a day-to-day basis. I have made some fantastic friends here and when you look at how Heathrow has developed over the years into the airport that it is today, I am very proud to have been part of it.”