Keen air travellers have the opportunity to buy a seat on one of the first flights to take off from Heathrow’s new terminal 5 airport from this week.

The terminal opens for business on March 27th next year and tickets went on sale on Tuesday for the first day’s flights from the building, which will be used solely by British Airways.

The first flight to take off from the £4.3 billion complex will be the BA302 to Paris, while the BA026 from Hong Kong will be the first arrival.

There are expected to be around 380 flights taking off that day from the terminal, working out at around 75,000 tickets on offer.

Robert Boyle, British Airways commercial director, said: “The new terminal will transform the flying experience for millions of British Airways’ customers.

“The entire airport experience at Terminal 5 has been designed to make the ground journey faster, smoother and simpler. It will exceed the best you can find at any other airport.”

The terminal will eventually accommodate around 90 per cent of BA’s flights at the airport.

In your excitement to buy a ticket, don’t forget to buy adequate travel insurance.