Photos: Heathrow's T5 tech ready for take-off
Tech hard at work keeping BA flying...
silicon.com has been given an exclusive behind the scenes look at BAA's brand new Terminal 5 (T5) at Heathrow ahead of its official opening for British Airways (BA) flights on 27 March.
This is one of the 96 bag drop points air travellers will be using when they pass through the terminal.
The desk includes a phone connected to the terminal's high capacity IP network and a barcode scanner to register boarding passes. For security purposes, the screen can only be viewed when you are directly in front of it.
Photo credit: Tim Ferguson
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Photos: Inside Heathrow's Terminal 5
Photos: Heathrow's Terminal 5 comes alive
Photos: Technology at the heart of Terminal 5
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This shows one of the desks at BA's Heathrow Airport Control (HAC) centre which is now based in T5.
The screens display information about the workings of the whole airport, including departures and arrivals, traffic on taxi ways and crew information.
Photo credit: Tim Ferguson
Want more from T5? See the high-tech transformation over two years…
Photos: Inside Heathrow's Terminal 5
Photos: Heathrow's Terminal 5 comes alive
Photos: Technology at the heart of Terminal 5
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The HAC also uses this screen wall, which displays live information about the airport. The screens can be easily reconfigured to show the most relevant information is available for all staff to view.
The screen shows feeds from various news organisations to alert the team of anything that might affect their operations.
Photo credit: Tim Ferguson
Want more from T5? See the high-tech transformation over two years…
Photos: Inside Heathrow's Terminal 5
Photos: Heathrow's Terminal 5 comes alive
Photos: Technology at the heart of Terminal 5
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This shows a map of Heathrow with the live movements of aircraft and service vehicles displayed to allow the HAC team to keep an eye on developments as they happen.
Photo credit: Tim Ferguson
Want more from T5? See the high-tech transformation over two years…
Photos: Inside Heathrow's Terminal 5
Photos: Heathrow's Terminal 5 comes alive
Photos: Technology at the heart of Terminal 5
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There is also a section for flight crew where they can check in for flights and use briefing rooms to be introduced to their colleagues for each flight they are working on.
BA crew log onto the airline's system by swiping their crew card and entering a PIN at one of these computers. They can also look up passenger lists and flight information.
Photo credit: Tim Ferguson
Want more from T5? See the high-tech transformation over two years…
Photos: Inside Heathrow's Terminal 5
Photos: Heathrow's Terminal 5 comes alive
Photos: Technology at the heart of Terminal 5
Share your own views of Heathrow at atlarge.com
The T5 team is particularly proud of the IT huts located under each aircraft stand. Ground crew can use PCs connected to the IP network to access up-to-date information on flights, passengers who have checked in and luggage issues.
By putting the tech right by the plane any last minute changes, such as removal of baggage, can be managed more efficiently.
Photo credit: Tim Ferguson
Want more from T5? See the high-tech transformation over two years…
Photos: Inside Heathrow's Terminal 5
Photos: Heathrow's Terminal 5 comes alive
Photos: Technology at the heart of Terminal 5
Share your own views of Heathrow at atlarge.com
This shows the inside of one of the service trucks. They can only be driven after logging on with a swipe card. Security is understandably a priority at T5 and so this extra level of authentication is critical.
See how Terminal 5 looked back in July 2007 in this photo story.
Photo credit: Tim Ferguson
Want more from T5? See the high-tech transformation over two years…
Photos: Inside Heathrow's Terminal 5
Photos: Heathrow's Terminal 5 comes alive
Photos: Technology at the heart of Terminal 5
Share your own views of Heathrow at atlarge.com