HEATHROW: The Journey, focusing on the long history of the UK’s busiest airport, opens today at the University of West London in St Mary’s Road, Ealing.

This first-ever exhibition features a wealth of never-before-seen items, selected from the airport’s archive and elsewhere, which have been permanently donated for the public to view.

Artefacts dating back to the 1940s tell the story of Heathrow via motion-detection audio, memorable photos of Beatle-mania, Princess Diana and other famous passengers, including movie star and glamour queen Sophia Loren.

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Also featuring are travel brochures from the golden age of air travel, a selection of airline pennants and postcards, historic images and videos of the first supersonic Concorde, maps and technical drawings.

Heathrow: The Journey has been made possible by donations from Heathrow Airport of £100,000 and £79,400 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The donations enable the archive to be preserved for generations to come at UWL, as well as funding an exhibition which charts an important part of Britain’s aviation history.