The Terminal 5 project began in 2001 and opened in March 2008, costing £4.3bn and employing around 60,000 people to complete the project.

BAA says that the new terminal sets an international benchmark in airport design with a Richard Rogers structure that provides travelllers with a succession of light and airy spaces that ‘reflect the drama of air travel.’

The main terminal building, T5A, is multi-stacked over eight levels under a single span roof 400m in length. That's a long walk for passengers with luggage and -when you add the terminal's satellite buildings and railway station to the mix – it's clear that the project was always going to be a big user of lifts, escalators and moving walkways (autowalks).