Letter: Amazing airport

Sir: Martin Plimmer (ISM, 17 January) criticises Heathrow as a "Lego heap of gloomy halls and temporary buildings" and accuses the airport of "doing nothing to amaze its customers".

It is easy to sit here in 1998 and say that Heathrow was poorly planned 50 years ago, much harder to have anticipated the growth in air travel and planned to meet that growth with additional facilities. Yet by and large this is what has been achieved at Heathrow.

With investment in new facilities at Heathrow now running at more than pounds 1m a day no wonder there is evidence of construction taking place. We have not yet found a way to refurbish our terminals invisibly, but we have found a way to do this vital work and still keep the world's busiest international airport operating smoothly.

ROGER CATO

Managing Director

BAA Heathrow