Another glass greenhouse, without even a hint of greenery. A line of indoor palms would have worked wonders for T5.

James, London,

I can never understand householders around heathrow complaining about disruptions to their lives from the airport.
Heathrow has been an international airport for over 60 years.
It is fair to assume that the vast majority of home owners have moved to the area fully aware of the fact that there was an airport next door, in fact they were probably induced by reduced house prices .. every time the airport tries to invest in new infrastructure to maitain it's position as Europe's premier hub residents stick a baton in the wheel and hold things up for 20 years ... if they dont like it they should move !

andy , Lardieres, france

I note from this article that Terminal 5 has numerous "fast bag drop points". This expression seems to come into the "eats shoots and leaves" category for confusion about which part of speech each of the four words is intended to be. It could well explain why the users of Terminal 5, British Airways, hold the world record for losing both slow bags and fast bags.

Alan, Amersham,

If it only takes 10 minutes to go from curb to gate, why does one need to present at security 35 minutes before one's flight departs?

JT, Austin, TX, USA

Mr Tim, I agree I think Britain should look to the US for ideas on airport security..... you guys have a great track record in that area

Drew, London,

If it was left to me I wouldn'y fly at all, but the wife likes it.....Do these airline companies want passengers, or not ?

Ian Payne, WALSALL,

The openning of terminal five is a disturbance for local residents, an insult to the environment, and betrays insincerity around the government's green agenda . The only winners are those profiting from the avaition industry. This is a national disgrace.

Rachel, London, UK

Being in Kew I'll avoid the obvious comments and draw attention to just two matters of interest:

1) The terminal is designed so that there is no separation of passengers depending on nature of destination - USA, EU, domestic etc. Thus compulsory finger printing is being introduced for all passengers to meet US requirements. Even were we to join Schengen (in 2010 we are likely to be the only EU country in Norway and Switzerland outside Schenghen) T5 would offer the air passenger no Schengen benefits.

2) The terminal's systems are not ready and BAA itself acknowledges that bussing to the aircraft will be the norm for many months for many passengers rendering T5 a worse experience for many many passengers than any other T at LHR.

The last country in Europe to adopt this 'lock in' approach and security paranoia of its citizens was the GDR.

Kew, Kew,

about time BA has a decent terminal, yes it is not perfect and i expect that we will never have terminals as good as Singapore , Hong Kong , KL and now Beijing but at least it is a vast improvement on T4. About time airlines insisted that people were at their gate at the RIGHT time, I have spent to many flights sitting on a plane waiting for someone to come rushing from the bar or duty free .

brian varney, london, uk

In addition to the 35 minute rule, could those gentlemen with the machine guns also be used to stop the hordes of "businessmen" who insist on jamming their overnight cases in the overhead bins once on the plane.

It was so pleasant to travel again when they were banned - albeit for a short while. Of all the rules we have to suffer, that one at least was most welcome. I carry my laptop and (really) essential items in a minimal case, so fail to understand why others cannot too.

Paul, Bournemouth,

I'm sorry, but imposing a 35 minute before departure time-limit becomes even more ridiculous when you notice that almost all flights at Heathrow NEVER board when they are supposed to.

Sure, the departure boards tell you "now boarding", and even "flight closing", but when you actually get to the gate area, there's no gate crew to be seen and you stand around for 10-15 minutes when you could have been relaxing back in the main part of the terminal.

The government should take the operation of the airport away from BAA, whose profits come almost entirely from duty-free shopping. and give it to an agency whose compensation depends on getting you through quickly. The shopping can be run by someone else, but it absolutely shouldn't be run by people who also tell you how long you have to spend at the terminal.

J Clark, Surbiton, Surrey

This is just a scam to make you spend more money at the airport.

Why does BA allow passengers to get a refund if they have checked in online and don't turn up? That is just crazy.

I agree with Mr Tim - fly another carrier

Allan, Fuerteventura,

I am flying with BA in a few weeks time. I hope to see some improvement over Terminal 4.

BA or a 4 billion pound terminal can't change the fact that some passengers have poor time management and organisational skills. Its down to you as well as the airport.

I have lost count the amount of times a plane has been delayed because some idiot couldn't plan his journey properly taking into account delays and unforeseen events. 400 people delayed because of one person doesn't sound fair to me. If you travel frequently you know how annoying this gets.

I think BA are talking about those passengers which are simply late and not on the connection flights. If you are late because of that then yes it is up to the airline to make arrangements for you and BA are usually pretty good in resolving those issues.

Travel will never be perfect and stress free. I welcome BA's new rule.

Chris, London, England

I am not in the business of scolding ministers and nor am I an ardent monarchist, but I was disappointed that Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly felt that she could not stand up, as the Queen left her seat to speak at the podium this afternoon when she officially opened Terminal 5. Ms Kelly came across on TV as rather rude and ungracious when the Queen left her seat and when she came back to it after her short speech.

Surely it would not have been that difficult for a woman as young as Ruth Kelly to have got up out of politeness and respect for an elderly lady who also happens to be this country's head of state. If British ministers do not appear to be gracious to Her Majesty and to show respect for her position, by practising good manners what hope is there for the general population.

In the United States, George Bush would have been treated with far more dignity and respect by a government official than was the Queen today by Mrs Kelly.

Elizabeth Tanner, London, UK

Even with T5, I must say that this will not be enough to tempt me back to flying with BA. I've had enough over the past years, what with no food on flights due to catering strikes, poor service and one a terrible frequent flier scheme. Personally, I'm looking forward to the extra capacity with other airlines departing from the other terminals once BA vacates to T5. Good riddence!

Simon B, Surrey, UK

Robert,

For a start, you should have adequate travel insurance to cover any delays and missed flights. Secondly, you should ensure there is enough time between your flights.

I personally have paid a little more to have an extra gap between my flights, just for the peace of mind.

Nikki, London,

What about transit passengers whose flights to Terminal 5 have been delayed?. They too have to run for the gate of their new flight. One thing is for someone to arrive late at the airport and another a transit passenger. Will transit passengers have to pay for new flight if they arrive at a gate less than 35 minutes before take-off?. If you arrive on a national flight and your connection is to an international flight are their passport controls airside (in passageways), like at Paris CDG airport?.

Robert, San Sebastian, Spain

4.3 billion Pounds...???!!!!...and this is the best you travelers will get ?? 660 security and you get played over with 35 minutes prior to departure time ???... fly another carrier (airline)...PC run amuck...Can't keep ding-bats off the runways though ....How sad....

Mr Tim, san marcos, U S of A /Ca