All about BCP

BCP is the leading company for airport parking, hotels and lounges in the UK. The BCP brand was established in 1978 and each year BCP park over 1 MILLION cars.

BCP is inexpensive, convenient and there is a package to suit all needs.

All of BCP’s airport car parks are fully authorised and many meet the required standards to achieve the Park Mark(R) – Safer Parking Award.

BCP is the official partner in parking for most airport authorities

Click the banner above for further details.

Heathrow Airport is to remain closed until further notice  and Gatwick is estimating that it will reopen this afternoon at the earliest.

Manchester Airport will reopen at 1pm at the earliest.

The latest advice is to check is to check the status of your flight before setting off to the airport.

Statement on Icelandic volcanic eruption: Monday April 19, 1530

The volcanic eruption has reduced and the volcano is not currently emitting ash to altitudes that will affect the UK. Assuming there are no further significant ash emissions we are now looking at a continuously improving situation.

Based on the latest information from the Met Office, NATS advises that the restrictions currently in place across UK controlled airspace will remain in place until 0700 (local time) tomorrow, Tuesday.

From 0700 (local time) tomorrow, Tuesday, Scottish airspace will be open, and south to a line between Teesside and Blackpool. Mainland Scottish airports will be open.

This is a dynamic and changing situation and is therefore difficult to forecast beyond 0700 local; however, the latest Met Office advice is that the contaminated area will continue to move south with the possibility that restrictions to airspace above England and Wales, including the London area, may be lifted later tomorrow (Tuesday).

We will continue to monitor Met Office information and review our arrangements in line with that. We will advise further arrangements at approximately 2100 (local time), today.

It is now for airports and airlines to decide how best to utilise this opportunity. Passengers should contact their airlines to find out how this will affect their travel plans.

Based on the latest information from the Met Office, NATS advises that the current restrictions across UK controlled airspace due to the volcanic ash cloud will remain in place until at least 0100 (local) on Tuesday 20th April.

Anyone hoping to travel should contact their airline before travelling to the airport.

Conditions around the movement of the layers of the volcanic ash cloud over the UK remain dynamic. NATS is maintaining close dialogue with the Met Office and with the UK’s safety regulator, the CAA, in respect of the international civil aviation policy we follow in applying restrictions to use of airspace. We are currently awaiting CAA guidance.

We are working closely with Government, airports and airlines, and airframe and aero engine manufacturers to get a better understanding of the effects of the ash cloud and to seek solutions.

The next update will be issued at approximately 1500 (local) today.

London Heathrow Airport

Located 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) west of Central London, Heathrow was designed to have six runways in three pairs but now has two parallel main runways running east-west and five operational terminals. The site covers 12.14 square kilometres (4.69 sq mi). Terminal 5 was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 14 March 2008 and opened to passengers on 27 March 2008. Construction of a new Terminal 2 complex to replace the terminal building and adjacent Queen’s Building began in 2009; the first phase is expected to open in 2014. Beginning in 2007 and completing in 2009, Terminals 3 and 4 have undergone major refurbishments. In November 2007 a consultation process began for the building of a new third runway and was controversially approved on 15 January 2009 by UK Government ministers.

Heathrow Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P527) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

Heathrow is located 12 NM (22 km; 14 mi) west of central London, near the southern end of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The airport stands on a parcel of land that was designated part of the London Metropolitan Green Belt. To the north, the airport is surrounded by the built-up areas of Harlington, Harmondsworth, Longford and Cranford. To the east are Hounslow and Hatton, and to the south are East Bedfont and Stanwell. To the west, the M25 motorway separates the airport from Colnbrook in Berkshire.

The airport’s location to the west of London, and the east-west orientation of its runways, means that airliners usually approach to land directly over the city. Other leading European airports, such as those at Madrid, Frankfurt and Paris, are located north or south of their cities, to minimise the overflying problem. Another disadvantage of the site is that it is low-lying, at 83 feet (25 m) above sea level, and can be prone to fog.

Heathrow is one of six airports serving the London area, along with Biggin Hill, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Southend and City although only Heathrow, Biggin Hill and City Airports are located within Greater London.

Heathrow Airport is used by over 90 airlines which fly to 170 destinations worldwide. The airport is the primary hub of BMI, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Of Heathrow’s 67 million annual passengers, 11% travel to UK destinations, 43% are short-haul international travellers, and 46% are long-haul. The busiest single destination in terms of passenger numbers is New York, with over 3.5 million passengers travelling between Heathrow and JFK / Newark airports in 2007 and 2,802,870 in 2008. The airport has five passenger terminals (Terminals 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) and a cargo terminal. Terminal 5 opened to passengers on 27 March 2008 and will be fully completed with the opening of its second satellite building in 2010.

Heathrow originally had six runways, arranged in three pairs at different angles, with the passenger terminal in the centre. With growth in the required length for runways, Heathrow now has just two parallel runways running east-west. Runway 23, a short runway for use in strong south-westerly winds, was decommissioned in 2005 and now forms part of a taxiway.

In 2006, the new £105 million Pier 6 was completed at Terminal 3 in order to accommodate the Airbus A380 superjumbo, providing four new aircraft stands. Other modifications totalling in excess of £340 million were also carried out across the airfield in readiness for the Airbus A380. The first A380 test flight into Heathrow took place on 18 May 2006, but following delays to the aircraft’s production, scheduled services did not commence from Heathrow until 18 March 2008, when Singapore Airlines Flight 380, the first A380 in passenger service, registered 9V-SKA of Singapore Airlines touched down from Singapore carrying 470 passengers, marking the first ever European commercial flight by the Airbus A380.

A new 87-metre (285 ft) high £50 million air traffic control tower entered service on 21 April 2007, and was officially opened on 13 June 2007 by Secretary of State for Transport Douglas Alexander.

Policing of the airport is the responsibility of the aviation security unit of the Metropolitan Police, although the army, including armoured vehicles of the Household Cavalry, has occasionally been deployed to the airport during periods of heightened security. Heathrow’s reputation for thefts has led to it sometimes being referred to as ‘Thiefrow’.

Heathrow Airport has Anglican, Catholic, Free Church of Scotland, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh chaplains. There is a multi-faith prayer room and counselling room in each terminal, in addition to St. George’s Interdenominational Chapel which is located in an underground bunker adjacent to the old control tower, where Christian services take place. The chaplains organise and lead prayers at certain times in the prayer room.

Heathrow airport has its own resident press corps, consisting of six photographers and one TV crew, serving all the major newspapers and television stations around the world^{. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/}