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Heathrow Airport was opened to civilian use on 31st of May 1946 and by 1947 Heathrow Airport had three runways with three more under construction. By the year 1953 these runways were to be replaced by two modern cerement runways which service Heathrow Airport to this day. During the time period between 1970s to 1990s 4 terminals were constructed with the two runways also extended to accommodate for the larger aircrafts.
In 1982 the "Airport Spur" section of the M4 was opened to give the airport a direct link with the motorway and provide motorway access to airport users. During the 1980s and 1990s, since privatisation, BAA has expanded the proportion of terminal space allocated to retailing activities, and has invested in the development of retail activity. This has included expanding terminal areas to provide more shops and restaurants, and routing passengers through shopping areas, in order to maximise their exposure to retail offerings.
In 2008 Terminal 5 was opened with a capacity for 30 million passengers annually with a buid cost of £4.3 billion making Terminal 5 the biggest terminal at Heathrow to date.
Heathrow Airport today is the busiest airport in the world in terms of international passengers traffic with over 90 airlines flying to and from the airport. With over 67 million passengers using the airport a year more people use the airport then actually live in the UK which is pretty impressive. In regards to the expansion of Heathrow Airport the Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon announced that the UK government supports the expansion of Heathrow by building a third runway (2200m) and sixth terminal building.
The government will not themselves undertake construction, but encourage the airport operator (BAA) to apply for planning permission and carry out the work. The government anticipate that the new runway will be operational in 2015 or soon after. The government have declared that at present they do not intend that the third runway should be used at full capacity when it is first opened. Initially the extra flights should be limited to 125,000 a year until 2020, rather than the 222,000 at full capacity.