The newest of London Heathrow's terminals has a style and character all its own. It is the home of British Airways long haul and serves a limited number of other airlines.
The interior - decor battleship grey and muted red - has been variously described as 'below decks warship' and 'slightly Orwellian'. Its mixture of the angular and the tubular, topped off with large visible air ducts, may be slightly menacing and could never be described as intimate. However, Terminal 4 is simple, functional and reasonably efficient. The building has separate floors for Departures and Arrivals and a mezzanine floor where most of the catering facilities are located.
Access to Terminal 4 is on the opposite side of the airport from Terminals 1, 2 and 3, which means it is somewhat isolated from a number of airport facilities in particular transportation and hotels. Access to/from other terminals is by free Heathrow Express train which operates every 15 minutes and takes 5 minutes.
To compensate for its isolation Terminal 4 has its own Heathrow Express and Underground train stations linking it with central London. Passengers using the Underground to arrive at the airport should note that Terminal 4 is the first Heathrow stop from London.
The terminal has its own range of creature comforts. These include shops, lounges, restaurants, coffee bar, showers, special needs area and the ubiquitous 'English pub'. Connecting the hungry passenger with the food is sometimes a problem as the stairs and escalators which serve the mezzanine floor are poorly signed. There are lifts/elevators but they can get busy at peak periods.
Terminal 4 is directly linked with the nearest hotel, the Heathrow Hilton. At the right hand end of the check-in level, near Concorde/First Class check-in, an illuminated sign beckons passengers towards its comforts but beware it is a long walk through a tubular corridor - and not for the claustrophobic.
Terminal 4 was completed in 1986 and now handles over 10 million passengers a year. If you are one of them and have a little time to spare the Granary restaurant has a large mural and framed photographs around the walls telling the story of aviation in London. Included are pictures of the original control tower at Heathrow opened in 1946 and the reception and bar area housed together in an army surplus tent. Terminal 4 offers many more sophisticated services, but little of that pioneering spirit.
