BAA and British Airways have hit a "major milestone" on the road to the opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, it has been announced.

The two organisations have started to embark on six months of work to ensure operations run smoothly when it opens on March 27th 2008, including staff training and induction programmes, as well as completing the finishing touches to the building.

More than 30,000 members of staff are expected to take part in the various training and familiarisation schemes from now until the days before the grand opening, while officials will also carry out check-in, baggage handling, IT and security tests.

Heathrow Airport managing director Mark Bullock noted that major airport projects have a history of running out of time before undertaking such testing procedures.

"To avoid similar problems at T5, we began commissioning parts of the building up to a year ago including, for example, the baggage system," he said.

British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh recently talked of his anticipation of the opening in a speech to the Aviation Club.

"I have no doubt that the customer experience in T5 will quickly be seen to rival, or indeed surpass, that of any other airport in the world," he stated.

Heathrow Airport currently offers flights to some 180 destinations in more than 90 countries, including New York, Cape Town, Chicago, Malaga, Reykjavik and Tokyo.

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