A woman will be the first to land and park a plane at Heathrow’s Terminal 5.

Captain Lynn Barton, 51, will be flying a British Airways' Jumbo when T5 opens for business on Thursday morning. BA026, from Hong Kong, is scheduled to be the first arrival at the airline’s new £4.3bn home.

She was British Airways' first female pilot, in 1987, when joining the Boeing 747 fleet.

A BA spokesman said she applied to operate the flight into T5 last month while on holiday in Barbados.

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“It was my husband’s idea to bid for the flight, but the timing meant I had to tear myself off the beach and find a computer so that I could apply through the airline’s flight- bidding system.

“I found out when I got back from my holiday and was absolutely thrilled. Terminal 5 has been the focus of the airline’s future for several years now, and to operate the very first flight is a huge honour. I can’t wait,” she said.

“I never thought of being anything other than a pilot when I was growing up. I had my very first flying lesson at the age of 16. I was incredibly proud to have been British Airways’ first ever woman pilot and now I have another first to my name!”

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