It was supposed to be a grand event for the long-awaited opening of a multi-billion dollar new terminal at London's Heathrow airport yesterday,but unfortunately everything was going in the wrong direction.Terminal 5 suffered a major setback on Thursday when a high-tech baggage handling system malfunctioned,causing major delays amid flight cancellations.That is definitely not a start that any airports would have wanted for their opening day.
The problem was so severe that at some point of time,passengers with baggage were no longer being checked in during the time when the airport's Terminal 5 should have been entering one of the busiest periods of the day.Heathrow's new terminal,which cost $8.6 billion and was two decades in the making,boasts sophisticated luggage system designed to handle 12,000 bags an hour.With so much time spend in the making and so much money invested,you would expect the opening day should have gone very smoothly but of course that was not the case.British Airways, the only airline using the terminal,confirmed that passengers could now only check in with hand luggage.The problem also caused the cancellation of at least 34 flights on Thursday and some others being delayed understandably.Now if you have been following the story prior to the opening,you would have probably knew that the decision to open Terminal 5 has received some protests from enviroment activists,and they was at the terminal on the opening day not to welcome the opening but to protest.
The protesters stripped off their outer clothes not to show their half naked body,but to show red T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Stop Airport Expansion." The demonstrators are concerned that a third runway and a sixth terminal will be created at Heathrow,the world's busiest international airport.Supporters of the decision says that expansion of Heathrow is vital for the city's economy while the protestors says that expanding London's three main airports will only add to harmful climate change.With 60 aircraft stands actually attached to two new buildings, "T5" can handle dozens of planes at the same time,including the new Airbus A380 superjumbo,and can process 12,000 bags an hour.All of this is for just one occupant: British Airways.So I thought it would be more fitting to name it the 'British Airways Terminal' instead of Terminal 5.It is expected that at least 30 million people will be able to pass through Terminal 5 each year.
If I am being honest,I think there isnt actually a need to expand the airport because the remaining 4 terminals has the ability for London to accomodate to all the flights coming in to the airport and it has the space to build the infrastructure for the Airbus A380,without the need to open another Terminal,unlike our own Terminal 3 which has recently open a few months ago.We dont actually have a lot of space for Terminal 1 and 2 to build an expansion to accomodate the A380,therefore,we had to build Terminal 3,with plans for Terminal 4 underway if you havnt heard the news yet.So I understand what the people are protesting about because if you get more planes into your country,then of course,it will be more damaging to the climate,but as we can see today,Airbus and Boeing is planning to build more planes that are less harmful to the environment,without affecting its services,take the A380 for example.It might be the biggest,but many say it could also be one of the cleanest.So I expect the aviation industry to change dramatically in about 5 to 10 years ahead.Anyway,back to the topic,the British government have a very high hope on T5 but it certainly hasnt been a smooth opening.Malfunction in the baggage checking system,flight delays and cancellations,the last thing an airport would have wish for on its opening day.Ive seen the airport on the news,it looks good but our Terminal 3 looks better obviously,but I expect things to get better in the opening weeks.It will definitely bring a lot of revenue and Im sure the protestors will forget about everything soon.
*The report is taken from CNN.
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