First landing at Terminal 5 by woman pilot
[26th March 2008]
The first landing at Heathrow Terminal 5 will be performed by a female pilot on Thursday morning at around 0450.
Captain Lynn Barton will be at the controls of the British Airways BA026 flight from Hong Kong as she makes the historic first landing at the new T5. Captain Barton became the first ever female BA pilot in 1987.
The 51 year old pilot applied to operate the flight when she was on holiday in Barbados. “It was my husband's idea to bid for the flight, but the timing meant I had to tear myself off the beach and find a computer so that I could apply through the airline's flight-bidding system,” explains Captain Barton.
“I found out when I got back from my holiday and was absolutely thrilled. Terminal 5 has been the focus of the airline's future for several years now, and to operate the very first flight is a huge honour. I can't wait," she adds.
Heathrow Terminal 5 will be used exclusively by British Airways, and the new terminal is more than five times the size of Terminal 4. It has been built at a cost of £4.3 billion and was officially opened by the Queen earlier this month.
“I'm already planning my passenger announcement for the first ever landing at Terminal 5. I want to make sure that I mark the occasion so that every one of my passengers can be part of history too," Captain Barton says.
She is now one of 175 females among BA’s 3,200 pilots. This is higher than the national average of female pilots working for commercial airlines in the UK, which stands at only 3%.
The long-awaited Terminal 5 at Heathrow opens for business tomorrow (Thursday) and the first landing at the new terminal is likely to draw substantial crowds, as are the exciting new shops and restaurants, including Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food.
Written by: Nick Purdom
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