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Flash mob invasion of T5
Nigel Rosser and Robert Mendick27.03.08
Up to 1,000 protesters are expected to flood Heathrow's Terminal 5 when it opens to the public on Wednesday.
The anti-climate change activists, buoyed in recent weeks by high-profile demonstrations at the airport and at Westminster, are preparing to invade the £4billion building.
The flash mob protest will take place at 11am with activists revealing T-shirts proclaiming: "Stop Airport Expansion."
Campaigners have vowed the mass demonstration will be peaceful and not disrupt flights.
Security sources fear the protesters will join queues for flights or block escalators, causing mayhem.
Police chiefs have met to discuss the security implications and the number of officers is expected to be increased.
A Metropolitan police spokesman said: "We are working closely with airport authorities to put in place a suitable policing plan for the commercial opening of Terminal 5.
"We would strongly advise anyone planning any action that they are compliant with the law. Protest activity within the airport is illegal and draws police resources away from their primary-function of protecting the airport. Such behaviour can be at the least disruptive to the travelling public and intimidating for staff and the public.
"We will have a robust policing plan in place on the day so that anyone breaking the law is dealt with."
A spokesman for airport operator BAA said: "We welcome the ( environmental) debate - it is an important one to be had. But the protests tomorrow are not the appropriate forum in which to hold the debate. We will take whatever-action is necessary to protect the safety and security of the airport and our passengers. We hope that protesters will respect that and respect the right of people to fly."
Campaigners say about 800 T-shirts have been handed out and as many as 1,000 people are expected for the protest.
They claim interest has intensified following the stunts last month on a plane's tailfin and on the roof of the palace of Westminster. At a secret meeting near Russell Square Tube station on Monday, final details of tomorrow's protest were agreed. To avoid breaking conspiracy laws, protesters will arrive singly at the terminal, find fellow activists and begin "spontaneous" actions.
In a note circulated to protesters this week, organisers Plane Stupid said: "The airport opens to the public this Thursday, so if you've nothing to do (or feel like taking a sickie) come to the T5 Flash Mob. Get a 'stop airport expansion' T-shirt ... when the clock strikes 11am, whip your jacket off and let everyone know you what you think. Wearing a T-shirt in public isn't a crime - it's about the only thing you can do in the Terminal that's not illegal!"
A spokesman for the flash mob said: "The protest will be legal and peaceful. It will be calling for a freeze on airport expansion." Another source said: "The aim is basically to make complete and utter nuisances of themselves."
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT T5
The opening day
The first passengers to arrive will be on flight BA026 from Hong Kong, touching down at 4.50am. All 350 aboard the Boeing 747 secured their seats months ago, paying up to £6,000 each. The captain will be Lynn Barton, 51, who became BA's first female pilot in 1987. The first outbound flight departs for Paris at 6.20am — the Airbus A320 will carry 150 passengers. Another 380 flights will use the terminal on the first day.
Baggage
The baggage handling system is being touted as one of the most advanced in the world. BA claims its 11 luggage reclaim belts can process 12,000 bags per hour. The system uses 18km of conveyer belts, “intelligent” baggage carts running on rails and a robotic hoist. BA says bags should reach any gate in 15 minutes and will be moved around at speeds of up to 30mph. Wireless barcode scanning will track where each bag is, from the moment it enters the system to when it leaves. Staff will use handheld gadgets to pinpoint where individual bags are.
Check-in and gates
BA claims check-in will take less than than five minutes and the “vast majority” of passengers will not have to queue. There are 96 self-service check-in kiosks and
140 customer service desks, including 96 fast bag-drop facilities. Gates are no more than six minutes' walk from security.
Shopping
Terminal 5 will provide arguably the most extensive range of high-end shops of any airport in Europe. Only a handful of world hubs, such as Hong Kong International and Changi in Singapore, will rival it. Harrods has three sites, an 11,000 sq ft travel shop and two smaller outlets selling food and gifts. Fortnum & Mason will have a 1,500 sq ft concession in the duty free shop — its attractions will include a £5,000 hamper aimed at the homesick and expatriates who want to take a taste of Britain with them when they leave. In total, the terminal will have 112 retail outlets, including Prada, Tiffany & Co, Gucci, Cartier, Paul Smith and Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food.
The environment
Green activists argue the site is a “Trojan horse” for further development, including a third runway and sixth terminal. There is also concern that T5 will handle short-haul flights to places such as Manchester, Newcastle and Scottish airports — journeys that could be made by train. BA says the terminal has been built to be as green as possible. It was designed to maximise use of natural light — cutting power use — while rainwater from the roof is to be recycled and drinking water pumped from a local borehole. Excess energy from a power unit will be piped under the building, supplying up to
85 per cent of heating needs and cutting carbon emissions by 11,000 tonnes a year.
Magic numbers
The building cost £4.3 billion and will handle more than 80,000 passengers a day — 30million a year. The terminal can hold 50 football pitches on its five floors and is five times the size of Terminal 4. More than 30,000 square metres of glass have been used in the main building, which is 40m high and 396m long. Airport owner BAA submitted its first planning application for the site 15 years ago.
Reader views (9)
What is it with people like Frank not understanding the underlying concept of global warming and then lecturing on the subject? So, for the benefit of all the people like Frank who can't quite understand global warming, I'll explain again. You appear to have the first part of the equation, the global temperature rises, but this is where you seem to lose interest, it does not mean that it's sunny all of the time, this rise in temperature causes erratic weather patterns such as the coldest March in 40 years, the fact that it's cold in March does not prove that global warming does not exist.
- U.T., Charlton, UK
Frank H,
Please read the post.
My comment has nothing to do with the Flash Mob protesters.
While I AM greatly concerned at global warming I do not see that as inconsistent with my full support for building T5 and, indeed, the absolutely essential third runway.
My objection is to my country being turned into an authoritarian state that controls, rather than serves its citizens and regards personal freedom and privacy as an inconvenience. We do not need nor want Biometric checks monitoring where we fly or (proposed) catch a train, we do not need their proposed satellite tracking of our every car journey, we do not need a national database of everyone's "confidential" medical records open to 1.3 million civil servants and administrators, we do not need more CCTV monitoring us than any other country in the world and we most certainly do not need nor want £20Billion of OUR money spent on a national ID database to make all our private details available to all and sundry including, not just the police but even the local council..
- Eric, Swindon, UK
Air travel is the fastest growing source of carbon emissions and the UK government has expressed a commitment to decreasing these emissions. Surely increasing the capacity of airports will make flying more attractive to the public. Air miles release far more greenhouse gases than ground miles. As long as air travel remains more affordable and convenient than ecological alternatives, the public will continue to rely on it. I applaud the creativity and concern of the people seeking to draw attention to the problem of airport expansion. This is a crucial issue of our time, and there very little disagreement within the scientific community that the current global warming is caused by greenhouse gases released by human activity. How long can we afford to ignore the impact of air travel on our global environment and future economy?
- Jesse, Finchley, UK
Actually Eric, a dose of real Stalin wouldn't go amiss sometimes.
Put the flash mob in labour camps until they agreed to take jobs or work in hospitals and older persons homes.
They just might stop lecturing their betters on economics and the global warming we are sweltering under this week.
- Frank H, London.
Well let's all go back to travelling by ships powered by the wind. Then we can sail the high seas and take months to get to the USA and years to get down-under.
You will always get narrow minded cranks, but what annoys me is the publicity they get from the media.
- P.Robinson, Northants
I urge everyone to boycott all domestic flights through T5 until they drop the totally unnecessary biometric checks.
Remember in the cold war we felt sorry for the soviets who could not travel their country without ID? - well even Stalin never dreamt of fingerprinting everyone to move round the country. This has been introduced very sneakily (and how many people have seen they plan to extend it to train trips?)
Every other airport in the world manages security by simply keeping their border distinct (ie don't mix domestic and international travelers).
Its a completely fictitious "requirement" introduced solely to coerce people to getting used to this before they force ID cards, national identity (and DNA ) databases on us by stealth.
- Eric, Swindon, UK
WHY do the rest of us put up moaning, whining idiots like this lot? Stop giving luddites and 'critics' the publicity they crave and welcome the arrival of a fantastic new building that will hopefully transform journey quality for the 96% of UK citizens who have travelled by plane in the last 5 years!
- Gary Torney, Twickenham, UK
Yes, lets all go back to the horse and cart times. With candles to light our houses and no heating. That will be just great.
- Adam, Harrow, UK
"BA says the terminal has been built to be as green as possible". This is not the issue - which is the environmental damage that will be caused by the thousands of plane journeys it has been designed for.
- Austen, London
