Infographic Alert: Heathrow Airport's Big Olympic Baggage

July 17, 2012 at 4:51 PM | by JetSetCD | Comments (0)

This is the home stretch, you guys. There's just a week and a half left before the London 2012 Olympics kick off with their bombastic Opening Ceremony, and the athletes, their families, volunteers and press all began streaming into the UK yesterday.

According to London-Heathrow Airport, the main gateway for those arriving, the stream has only just begun: "The busiest day for arriving athletes is expected to be 24 July when 1,262 athletes and 3,008 Games Family arrivals are predicted."

Naturally this means that the London-area airports and all their departments are running at top capacity. It's difficult to imagine how Baggage Claim is keeping up with the slew of oddly shaped luggage as Olympians check their equipment and—yes—even rifles and pistols for the events requiring firearms. The airport's official word on this strange cargo:

Athletes travel with around twice the number of bags as regular passengers (an average of nearly three items per athlete). Approximately 15% of baggage on peak days will be large pieces of sporting equipment such as canoes, pole vaults, bikes and javelins and around 1,000 guns and associated ammunition will be arriving with competitors over the coming days.

Heathrow has even gone to the trouble of visualizing what they're dealing with through a series of cute infographics (above). GEEK OUT!

** CLICK INFOGRAPHIC TO VIEW LARGER **

[Infographics: Heathrow Airport]

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