Heathrow Flights - Unofficial review

Numerous people may like to use flights in Heathrow. Some may want to fly from the airport to different countries and cities. Some may want to fly from the airport. Some may want to fly from the airport to see the culture, sports tourist attractions or businesses of numerous cities and different countries. Some may want to travel from the airport for business trips and other nations. Some may want to use luxury or cheap airplanes. Some may want to fly via the airport from other places. Some may want to use budget airplanes.

Some may want to use major airliners to go to places.

Aviation at the location of what is now Heathrow Airport began during World War I, when the site was used as a military airfield. By the 1930s the airfield, then known as the Great Western Aerodrome, was privately owned by Fairey Aviation Company, and was used for aircraft assembly and testing. Commercial traffic used Croydon Airport, which was London's main airport at the time.

In 1943, Heathrow came under the control of the Ministry of Air, to be developed as a Royal Air Force transfer station. Construction of runways began in 1944, on land that was originally acquired from the vicar of Harmondsworth. The new airport was built by Wimpey Construction, and was named after the hamlet Heath Row, little more than a row of isolated cottages on Hounslow Heath frequented by highwaymen; which was demolished to make way for the airport, and which was located approximately where Terminal 3 now stands. The Royal Air Force never made use of the airport, and following the end of World War II control was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 1 January 1946. The first civil flight that day was to Buenos Aires, via Lisbon for refuelling. The official opening ceremony was performed on 25 March 1946 by Lord Winster, the Minister of Aviation. On 16 April a Panair Lockheed L-049 Constellation landed after a flight from Rio de Janeiro, the first aircraft of a foreign airline to land at Heathrow. The first BOAC scheduled departure departed for Australia on 28 May. This route was operated as a joint route with Qantas. The airport opened fully for civilian use on 31 May 1946, and by 1947 Heathrow had three runways, with three more under construction. These older runways, built for the piston-engined planes of that era, were each slightly longer than a mile in length, arranged in a 6-point star pattern to allow for all wind conditions.

Heathrow is located 12 NM west of central London, England, near the southern end of the London Borough of Hillingdon and in the now historic county of Middlesex. The airport stands on a parcel of land that was designated part of the London Metropolitan Green Belt. To the north, the airport is surrounded by the built-up areas of Harlington, Harmondsworth, Longford and Cranford.

To the east are Hounslow and Hatton, and to the south are East Bedfont and Stanwell. To the west, the M25 motorway separates the airport from Colnbrook in Berkshire.

The airport's location to the west of London, and the east-west orientation of its runways, means that airliners usually approach to land directly over the city. Other leading European airports, such as those at Madrid, Frankfurt and Paris, are located north or south of their cities, in order to minimise the overflying problem. Another disadvantage of the site is that it is low-lying, at 83 feet above sea level, and is therefore prone to fog.

Heathrow is one of six airports serving the London area, along with Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Southend and City although only Heathrow and City Airports are located within Greater London.