A somewhat large
airport, built between 1946 and the present (they apparently still haven't finished it). Heathrow was the name of a
village that was located where Terminal 3 stands today... so when you're flying to
America, think about the fact that you're walking over a place where people used to
live! (and probably still do)
The first terminal building at Heathrow was the Europa Terminal, now known as Terminal 2. It was built in 1955. Terminal 3 opened for transoceanic flights in 1961, and Terminal 1 opened for UK/Ireland flights in 1969. Once Richard Nixon was removed from power and the global economy began breathing once more, Heathrow needed another terminal, so they opened Terminal 4 in 1986, with Prince Charles cutting the tape. In 2001, the BAA approved a fifth terminal, to be named Terminal 5.
Heathrow is the fourth-busiest airport in the world after O'Hare International Airport, Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, and Los Angeles International Airport. It handles sixty million passengers a year, roughly the entire population of the UK.
Other fun facts about Heathrow: the grass is kept eight inches high so that birds won't hang around; there are 23 daily flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport and 34 to Charles de Gaulle Airport; the airport accounts for ten percent of Britain's perfume sales.