£11BN New Heathrow Terminal Declare Opened by Queen Elizabeth

THE Queen of England, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, on Monday, formally opened the new home of Star Alliance at London’s Heathrow Airport, to unveil a plaque that names the facility “Terminal 2: the Queen’s Terminal”, in recognition of her long association with the airport, as the new terminal started its operations earlier this month.

This latest addition, to Heathrow airport will house all 23 Star Alliance member airlines that serve the UK’s only hub airport. The 23 Star Alliance member airlines serving Heathrow represent over 20 per cent of the airport’s traffic, a release from the Star Alliance Press Office, through the Ethiopian Airlines, said.

“It is the first time all Star Alliance carriers will be in a single Heathrow terminal, creating a superior travel experience for passengers, new business opportunities for the member airlines and providing an improved working environment for employees,” the release added.

Reacting to the development, Star Alliance’s CEO, Mark Schwab, said “it is terrific to see this new terminal coming to life as our Heathrow home after so many years of careful planning and construction. We are honoured that Her Majesty the Queen has lent her name to this fantastic new facility which will deliver an excellent service to Star Alliance customers at this major hub.”

Accordingly, Heathrow Development Director and CEO designate, John Holland-Kaye, also said that “Heathrow is delighted to welcome Her Majesty to open her new airport terminal. Today is a celebration of the great work by many people and many organisations from across the country to create a new front door for the UK.

“The completion of the new Queen’s Terminal is the culmination of an £11bn private investment programme that delivers a world-class hub airport that the UK can be proud of,” he added.

So far, United, Air Canada, Air China and ANA have successfully commenced operations there and the remaining airlines will move in gradually by November.

This schedule ensures each move is as smooth as possible for passengers, It will be recalled that the Ethiopian Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance, whose network offers more than 18,000 daily flights to 1,269 airports in 193 countries, the release added.

It will be recalled that Ethiopian Airlines is a member of Star Alliance network.