Lento 26 helvettiin

Aamun ensimmäinen lento (BA 26 Hong Kongista) laskeutuu Lontooseen Heathrow:n kentälle klo 05 aamulla ja herättää samalla miljoonia ihmisiä.

What makes it worse for Londoners is the knowledge that BA Flight 26 is just the first of an average 15 further flights legally allowed to land at Heathrow before 6am - the moment when night becomes day in the world of airport noise regulation.
BA Flight 26 -the way two million Londoners start the day

Sunday Times analysoi Heathrow:n alennustilaa ja vertasi sitä Singaporen uuteen lentokenttään:

Heathrow, the busiest international airport on the planet, has become a byword for misery and chaos. Last month it was found to have the highest number of flight delays in Europe, with more than a third of aircraft suffering problems.
(...)
Yesterday a former senior executive of a leading airline summed up the mess. “The bottom line is that it’s a third world airport,” he said. “It’s a national disgrace.”

By contrast, that first A380 flight will have come from Changi airport in Singapore, whose history is the antithesis of the UK’s main hub. When Singapore’s old airport became overcrowded, the city-state government had a choice: continue to expand the existing site, which was hemmed in by urban development, or build a new airport from scratch.

Officials chose the latter and Changi rapidly rose out of land partly reclaimed from the sea. The new airport, which opened in 1981, has proved a huge success, winning almost 300 passenger service awards.
How to escape Heathrow hell

Ei ole normaalia, että maailman vilkkaimmin liikennöidyn kansainvälisen kentän lennot laskeutuvat aamusta alkaen laskutelineet kaupungin kattoja hipoen. Sen sijaan, että Britannian hallitus oli noudattanut Singaporen esimerkkiä, olemassaolevaa kenttää päätettiin laajentaa rakentamalla Terminaali 5.

Terminal 5 song