Heathrow’s Terminal 2 celebrates its 10th anniversary

London Heathrow’s Terminal 2, and the first airline to use it, United Airlines, are today celebrating the 10th anniversary of the facility named after the late Queen Elizabeth II.

More than 148 million passengers have passed through Terminal 2’s doors, and over one million planes have landed and departed, since it opened on 4th June 2014. Highlighting the appetite for airport time, the terminal has revealed that its passengers:

• Fly through 8,920 cakes for breakfast every single day;

• Love a caffeine fix; Caffè Nero alone has sold the equivalent of 44 swimming pools of coffee over the past decade;

• Have global tastes: spend on global cuisine has doubled between 2019 and 2023;

• But are still fans of a classic: the full English and a burger and chips are amongst the most popular meals for hungry passengers.

@ Kieran Cleeves/PA Media Assignments

Perhaps appropriately then the airport celebrated today by handing out hundreds of cakes to passengers… for breakfast!

Paul Ford, terminal services manager for Heathrow Terminal 2, said: “To learn that Heathrow passengers enjoy relaxing and indulging as if they are celebrating a birthday when at the airport goes to show that holidays really do start here!

“We are extremely proud of every member of Team Heathrow who has contributed towards providing excellent service to almost 73 million passengers who have travelled through Terminal 2 over the last decade, and we can’t wait to see what the next ten years have in store.”

Queen Elizabeth II visited the terminal named in her honour on February 13, 2015.

Meanwhile United Airlines, the first airline to operate a flight at The Queen’s Terminal on 4 June 2014, today revealed that it has since handled 16.5 million passengers and transported nearly 630,000 tonnes of cargo on more than 102,000 flights between London T2 and the United States.

For Summer 2024, United is offering 20 flights per day from London Heathrow to seven US destinations – New York/Newark, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“We are proud to mark 10 years of flying between Terminal 2, London Heathrow, one of the most important airports in United’s global network, and the US,” said Karolien De Hertogh, the airline’s director sales UK and Ireland.

“For over 30 years we have provided a critical link between London and the US, maintaining service throughout the pandemic and strategically growing our schedule to keep our customers in these key global business centres connected.

“We expect another busy summer for international travel in 2024 and are proud to offer our customers in the UK extensive travel options and the possibility to connect via our U.S. hubs to over 220 destinations across the Americas.”

While Heathrow’s chief customer officer, Ross Baker, enthused: “In collaboration with our partner airlines, including Star Alliance and its member airlines, we have seen almost 148 million passengers travel through Terminal 2’s doors and enjoy the world-class retail and food and beverage options available.

“Reaching this landmark is an opportunity for us to enjoy looking back on a decade of achievements, while also looking ahead to the next ten years as we continue to create an extraordinary airport that is fit for the future.”

Prior to the move in 2014, United’s Heathrow operations were split between Terminals 1 and 4, before the airline moved under one roof for the first time since the United-Continental merger in 2010.

Progressively, 22 of the airline’s Star Alliance partners moved to Terminal 2, enabling faster, more convenient connections for United customers to and from flights operated by its partners.