From July 7, American Airlines will begin provisionally operating all flights from London Heathrow (LHR) Terminal 5, the home of its Atlantic joint business partner and fellow oneworld member, British Airways. The co-location of American’s operations into Terminal 5, voted best airport terminal in the world six times (Skytrax World Airport Awards), will make connecting at Heathrow quicker and easier than ever.
Terminal 5 is also home to Iberia; this move will enable the carriers to operate flights seamlessly this summer from the same Heathrow terminal.
American will be operating four daily flights from LHR Terminal 5 to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK), Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and Miami (MIA). American is rebuilding its international network by focusing on strategic hubs like Heathrow to enable future growth in this new environment.
“Moving American’s operations to Terminal 5 for the first time will greatly improve the customer travel experience, enabling faster and easier connections by working closely alongside our valued joint business partners,” said Rhett Workman, Managing Director Europe & Asia-Pacific. “While our surroundings may have changed, the safety of our customers and team members remains of paramount importance and we are working tirelessly with our partners and the airport to ensure we continue to offer a safe travel experience.”
American’s check-in desks will be located in Terminal 5 Zone C for Flagship® Business, Priority and Main Cabin customers. Flagship® First customers can check-in using British Airways’ exclusive First Wing.
Customers traveling on American or connecting onto a British Airways or Iberia flight from Terminal 5 will be able to enjoy award-winning facilities. Admirals Club members, including Citi®/AAdvantage® Executive Card primary cardholders, traveling on American flights will be able to access British Airways Club lounges.
The safety, well-being and peace of mind of our customers and team members remain at the forefront of every decision American makes. As a result, American is ensuring customers can travel with confidence by providing additional flexibility for travel by extending its offer to waive change fees for those who have travel through Sept. 30. Additional details are located at aa.com/travelalerts.
Since March, American has continued to build on its comprehensive cleaning and safety program by:
- Implementing multiple layers of protection for customers which include clean airports and airplanes, healthy team members, and requirements for customers – and those servicing them – to wear face coverings.
- Enhancing American’s hands-free travel partnership with Airportr so customers can check-in their bags from home and our partners will deliver them to the airports.
- The HEPA filtration system on board American’s fleet provides a complete air change every two to four minutes, similar to the standard for hospitals.
- Creating a new Travel Health Advisory Panel in collaboration with Vanderbilt University Medical Center to advise on health and cleaning matters as travelers return over the summer.
- American Airlines is the first airline to seek the Global Biorisk Advisory Council’s STARTM Accreditation for its aircraft and lounges, and American expects to receive full accreditation by the end of 2020 for all aircraft and lounges.
- GBAC STAR Accreditation demonstrates that proper cleaning and disinfection work practices, procedures and systems are in place to prepare for, respond to and recover from pandemics
On the ground, Heathrow is working closely with Public Health England, to take a number of steps to ensure passengers remain safe while travelling through the airport. In line with UK Government guidance, face coverings are now required for all Heathrow colleagues and any passenger while in the terminal. Heathrow is providing face coverings free of charge for arriving and departing passengers.
The airport has also implemented an enhanced cleaning regime and deployed over 600 hand sanitizing stations across terminals. Passengers may also notice Perspex screens deployed at key points throughout their journey to protect both themselves and airport workers. Trials are ongoing to test the latest in UV sanitation, more contactless security processes and thermal screening. All passengers are reminded to respect the latest UK Government guidance on social distancing.
