Heathrow Terminal 5: Retail to the Rescue?

The operator, BAA - which has built the terminal for the exclusive use of British Airways - says that only 5% of the overall space is devoted to retail. That figure belies its breathtaking scale. Its 22,000 square metres of shops and restaurants will increase Heathrow's total retail space by half.

Terminal 5 will have many firsts. Passengers will be able to dine at Gordon Ramsay's first airport restaurant - for which he is boldly aiming for a Michelin star - while there is a footballers' wives' dream of a shopping avenue where the first Prada in a European airport rubs shoulders with Paul Smith, Gucci, Tiffany & Co, Mulberry and Christian Dior.

Nick Ziebland, retail director of Terminal 5, said BAA had identified customers' priorities: "Somewhere to sit. Lovely spaces, good restaurants, some sort of seasonality." Passengers have also made clear their dislike of queuing.

Ziebland bravely sticks his neck out when he says that, provided check-in is straightforward, passengers will be whisked through security to "airside" in just 10 to 15 minutes. BAA has already compromised by giving up retail space, originally for a large pub, to be used for additional security lanes.