More than 1.5 million passengers are expected to pass through Heathrow this half term, so the UK’s only hub airport has opened a pop-up indoor park in Terminal 5 to give passengers a relaxing space to de-stress in.
The park looks out over the airfield and provides the perfect environment to enjoy some plane spotting through the terminal’s enormous windows. As well as the view, soft grass, real hedges and plants, aromatic Rosemary bushes – a proven muscle relaxer – and Jasmine, will enhance passenger wellbeing pre-flight.
Relaxation menu of dishes for al fresco dining
No park outing would be complete without a picnic and Heathrow’s eateries have launched a pre-flight relaxation menu of dishes developed for al fresco dining. The food uses ingredients scientifically proven to help people unwind and includes a nutritious smoked chicken and mango salad from Gordon Ramsay Plane Food, tempting avocado and crab Maki rolls courtesy of Itsu, and Caviar House’s fish tartar canapés made from Norwegian salmon.
The initiative follows research which found that a third (33%) of people take up to five days to get into holiday mode. Almost half (42%) continue to check emails, texts and voicemails instead of relaxing with more than a third (37%) unable to leave their work blackberry or mobile at home. A third of people blame work as the main killer of their holiday mood.
Holiday working can have a potentially negative effect on relationships too. Almost half of people (42%) say that their partners get annoyed with them for on-holiday working.
Ben Crowley, Head of Food & Beverage at Heathrow commented:
“Holidays are precious, providing us vital time to relax and recharge our batteries. We want to help our passengers start their holiday the moment they arrive at the airport, and make sure their time away is as relaxing and enjoyable as possible. Our indoor park adds a completely different dimension to Heathrow’s departure lounge and our menu of specially developed relaxation dishes really completes the experience.”