FACTBOX-Key facts on Heathrow Airport

(Reuters) - Heathrow Airport could get a third runway and a sixth terminal to help it cope with a surge in air travel, the government said on Thursday, despite fierce opposition from environmental campaigners.

Here are some key facts on Heathrow:

* HISTORY:

-- The airport is named after the village or hamlet of Heathrow, which stood approximately where Terminal 3 now stands.

-- The airport began as a tented village in 1946 serving 18 destinations with a handful of airlines making just 9,000 flights a year.

-- The first departure was on New Year's Day 1946 to Buenos Aires via Lisbon, the first refuelling stop on a long-haul flight to open up Britain's first air link with South America.

-- Heathrow's first terminal opened for short-haul flights in 1955. Originally known as the Europa Building, it is now known as Terminal 2.

-- Terminal 1 was formally opened in 1969 by the Queen. Terminal 3 opened in 1961 and Terminal 4 in 1986.

-- The public inquiry into the fifth terminal was the longest in British planning history, lasting nearly four years. It was submitted in February 1993 but construction did not actually begin until Summer 2002. The terminal is expected to open in March 2008.