Queen Elizabeth II on Friday unveiled a new terminal at London's main Heathrow airport Friday - the first in 20 years and the day after a major security breach disrupted flights. The 81-year-old monarch toured the vast 4.3-billion-pound (5.6-billion-euro, $8.7 billion) Terminal Five (T5) with her husband, Prince Philip, meeting staff and dignitaries before officially declaring it open. The queen, who opened the first passenger terminal at Heathrow in 1955, described the new facility as “highly impressive” and a “21st century gateway to Britain”, praising the environmentally-friendly features in its design. “Looking around this bright and airy space in its clearly efficient layout, I am sure that many millions of travellers will have reason to be appreciative of the thought and care that has gone into the design, construction and maintenance of this significant new building,” she added. T5, which has been 15 years in planning and construction, will be able to handle 30 million passengers a year once it opens exclusively to British Airways passengers on March 27. It has 13 miles (21 kilometers) of tunnels, 10 miles of baggage conveyor belts, while the Piccadilly Tube line has been extended to transport passengers to and from central London. Heathrow, which handles 68 million passengers a year, is already one of the world's biggest airports, but has for years been plagued by overcrowding in its hotch-potch of ageing buildings due to soaring demand for air travel. But it opens as campaigners step up protests over plans for a third runway, which are backed by operator BAA and the government. The queen's visit came amid tight security after threats by campaigners to stage a new demonstration timed with the terminal's opening to the public and Thursday's security breach. Environmentalists are opposed to the further expansion of Heathrow. __
