The excitement is palpable. Athletes, coaches, press, spectators, dignitaries - all will be passing through London's Heathrow Airport during the 2012 Olympic Games. Heathrow will be their first experience of London and the UK before they attend the games. What does an airport do to prepare for an event of this magnitude?
Passenger Care
The most important thing to think about is the passengers. The goals of Heathrow during this busy time are to give a great welcome and goodbye to all London 2012 guests and to ensure normal good service for other passengers. Not only is the challenge to serve the Olympics guests and athletes but following the Olympic Games will be the Paralympic Games in August. This means the airport has had to think about how to handle extra amounts of wheelchairs and equipment associated with these special athletes.
The numbers can be overwhelming. Heathrow is expecting its busiest days ever to be July 26 and August 13. On those days it is expected that 138,000 passengers will be arriving or leaving from Heathrow with an attendant 203,000 pieces of luggage. This is a 45% increase from a normal day of operations. So what has the airport done in order to help alleviate hassles and to ensure that all passengers passing through Heathrow have a good experience?
Olympic Terminal
On June 1, 2012, the new Olympic Terminal at Heathrow was opened. This terminal is a temporary structure located in a staff car park and took five months to build. It will cater to athletes and officials for three days following the Games. This terminal alone will handle 10,000 athletes and 37,000 bags. It has 31 check-in desks and seven security lanes. After passing through security, athletes will be bussed to their departure airlines. BAA believes that it will be able to process an athlete in 30 minutes.
The Olympic Terminal will allow the other terminals at Heathrow to feel just like a normal busy summer day.
Volunteers
Volunteers will play a huge role in helping passengers and visitors to arrive and leave with a good impression of Heathrow and its operations. They are the ones who will make a first impression and leave a last impression with visitors. According to airport management, volunteers are crucial to making everything work smoothly during this busy time.
Special Olympic Changes
Heathrow is working to make a lasting impression on visitors. The Olympic rings hanging in Terminal 5 were just unveiled with great fanfare. This inspiring sight will greet arriving passengers and cannot help but create excitement. As you fly over the airport, getting ready to land, look down and you will see an Olympic athlete welcoming you to London in a huge picture on the ground. Heathrow has also partnered with many transportation companies to ensure that visitors can travel from the airport into London and Olympic sites with a minimum of hassle.
Arriving at your destination airport is only the beginning of the excitement of traveling. Heathrow is working to ensure that all visitors to London - whether passing through or staying for the Olympics or just to visit - have a wonderful experience that starts and ends at the airport.
S. Hurley Hall runs the Taking Off Travel Blog for off airport parking provider ParkRideFlyUSA. It covers travel destinations, business travel, travel gadgets, travel tips and more. Find the blog and a host of travel resources at http://www.ParkRideFlyUSA.com.
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