Airport Taxi > Heathrow Taxi > Heathrow Information and News
London Heathrow Airport (LHR) Information and News
Heathrow taxi telephone number: 0203 286 7540
Heathrow Airport contacts:
- Airport Code: LHR
- Address: Heathrow Point, 234 Bath Road, Hayes, Middlesex, UB3 5AP
- Information: +44 (0) 870 000 0123
- London Heathrow Airport web site
Background Information:
From five terminals, airlines flying from Heathrow Airport serve over 180 destinations in more than 90 countries. Many national airlines operate out of Heathrow and the airport is a major hub in the airline industry. Over 67 million passengers a year go through the airport. Heathrow Airport is a major employer in the region with over 68,000 people employed in jobs related directly to the airport. BAA itself employs directly 4,500 people at the airport. The airport is situated fairly close to central London being about 15 miles to the west. You can get to the airport from most of the UK via the M25 or M4 motorways.
Currently the owners of Heathrow, BAA, are seeking to expand the airport with an additional runway - though this is controversial and many local residents are fighting the plans. There is currently major upgrades to terminals at Heathrow as it seeks to improve on it's current reputation. Terminal 5 is definitely the jewel of the crown and is the home terminal for Britain's national carrier British Airways.
How does Heathrow work?
Warnings and cautions:
Terminals 1, 2 and 3 on Friday and Saturday evenings can be heavily congested. You should ensure you give yourself plenty of time if you are going to the airport at these times. From the M4 to the terminals is 1 mile, normally car times to the terminals should be 5 - 10 minutes. On Friday and Saturday evenings (between 16.00 - 21.05) it can take up to 1 hour to travel the final mile! This is caused by Terminal 3 congestion. Be aware that when arriving at Terminal 3 on a Friday or Saturday night it can take up to 30 minutes to get off the car park.
Facilities:
Overall the facilities at Heathrow Airport are very good, there is a good range of shops and catering available. Terminal 5 has very good facilities both airside and ground side.
To help with meeting people at Heathrow there are meeting points in all the terminals. Terminals 1 - 4 have one meeting point at each terminal and Terminal 5 has two meetings points - North and South.
If you are meeting people at Heathrow then BAA offers a couple of useful services. The first is Flying Messenger which is a basic text back service to inform you of the current estimated time of arrival. The second which is the one we use at FlightCabs is Flying Messenger Plus this service sends you three texts:
Alert 1: Confirmation of receipt of request for service.
Alert 2: Status of flight 12 hours prior to scheduled touch-down.
Alert 3: Updated status of flight when the flight is on its final approach.
Alert 4: Updated status when baggage is in the Arrivals Hall.
We find that although a little more expensive than the standard Flying Messenger service the Plus service is very good (although the baggage in arrivals alert does tend to be a little late so our drivers tend to head to the terminal car park when alerted to aircraft on final approach.)
For passengers flying out of Heathrow, the Flying Messenger service provides you with a free text message confirming status of your flight 3 hours before departure.
Car parking is generally good at Heathrow for picking up passengers although there is limited parking at some terminals while the refurbishments are being undertaken.
There is lots of changes going on at the moment with regards to terminals and flights but as a general guide the terminals serve as following:
Terminal 1 is where BMI lands together with EL AL and South African Airways.
Terminal 2 tends to be for non-UK carriers' flights to Europe and also a number of long haul flights.
Terminal 3 is mainly long haul for US, South American, Asian and Asia Pacific airlines and also most African carriers.
Terminal 4 is also for long haul flights and some European services. KLM and Qantas also operate from T4.
Terminal 5 is the dedicated British Airways terminal.