Heathrow airport has begun an extensive regeneration project to improve facilities at the airport. With the disastrous opening of Terminal 5 in 2008, the project should ensure that Heathrow Airport gets back on track.

The baggage claim department of any airport is possibly the most loathed. At the end of the holiday there’s nothing worse than hanging around for your luggage as you itch to get home. Heathrow hopes to improve their baggage claim experience by speeding up the process and developing an extensive underground baggage system.

£250 million is being spent to improve the baggage claim system at Heathrow, and construction of underground tunnels is well underway. More than 250 people have been tunnelling for the last year, and their efforts have been praised for safety. 1.7 million hours of work have been recorded, without a single accident. Tunnels have been constructed close to the London Underground and directly beneath a fuel farm.

The tunnels will ensure that travellers’ luggage will be quickly transported to baggage claim, so that holidaymakers will spend less time waiting around for their belongings. Baggage will also be effectively transported from one terminal to another and to the aircraft after check in.

Baggage programme director, Chris Millard, commented on the construction of the new baggage system: "The ultimate aim of the programme is to integrate each terminal’s baggage systems and to transport all transfer bags underground using the same technology as in Terminal 5. The scale of the project is vast and demonstrates the commitment Heathrow has to making the passenger experience better."

While construction on the underground baggage system continues, it is hoped that the work will have a minimal impact on passengers travelling through the airport.

In addition to the improved baggage system, Heathrow is enhancing its facilities across all five terminals. The airport plans to invest £1 billion each year for the next five years in order to improve the passenger journey.