Balfour Beatty has joined with its customer Heathrow Airport Limited to welcome the world’s largest passenger airliner to the Star Alliance Terminal 2B for the first time.
A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 docked at the largest ‘airside’ construction project ever carried out at Heathrow, which is now in its final commissioning phase, in order to trial one if its new aircraft stands.
The £590 million project being carried out by Balfour Beatty is part of a £2 billion investment by Heathrow Airport Limited to replace the previous 1950s Terminal 2 building.
The construction of the satellite pier has included the largest diaphragm wall in Europe at the time, as well as the use of over 165,000 m3 of reinforced concrete. It provides 16 new aircraft stands, retail space, and extensive basement space for future baggage handling systems and track transit systems.
Balfour Beatty employed approximately 1600 people at the height of the project working with over 100 sub-contractors and suppliers.
John Keaveney, Balfour Beatty Director of Aviation, said: “We are delighted to welcome the world’s largest passenger airplane to this wonderful facility that we have had the privilege to design and construct for Heathrow. We are working hard to continue operational testing of Terminal 2B ready for when it enters full service in June.”
Steve Livingstone, Heathrow Airport Limited, Terminal 2 Development Director, said: “We are in the middle of undertaking 180 tests involving 14,000 volunteers before we open the doors to our first passengers on the 4th June. The arrival of the first A380 aircraft on stand marks another milestone for us as we are getting ready to open the terminal to the 20 million passengers who will pass through its doors every year.”