Does 2 hours for changing from one terminal to another at London’s busy Heathrow airport (IATA: LHR) sound like a lot of time? Nope. Would it make you nervous? Likely. Should it? Yes! Well – hang on a minute – let’s look bit closer at this as airports do improve their operations every now and then. Let me show you that ‘bad child Heathrow’ can actually work like clock work, even with a missed approach on your incoming flight. Here’s my experience report on how to change terminals at London Heathrow:
It’s Monday evening and I’m on my British Airways flight from Zurich (IATA: ZRH) to London Heathrow. I know that I have just under 2 hours to change from my arriving terminal 5 to the departure terminal 3 of my next flight. I am a little nervous about that, especially as the airport tells me it takes 90 minutes for the journey. And my experience tells me anything can go wrong at Heathrow at any time. And it did on our approach to runway 27 right. Shortly before touchdown the pilot had to declare a missed approach and take the plane up again and back into the landing sequence. Whilst this manoeuvre is something every pilot needs to be familiar with (apparently, it’s fairly common at Heathrow due to the short landing intervals), it definitely adds to the flight time as the plane has to get back to the queue of the landing aircrafts.
Luckily in my case the episode did only add 10 minutes to our flight time and we parked at 8pm local time at the gate. From there it was a short walk to the “Flight Connections” point (obviously this depends where your plane is parked at terminal 5 but it shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes from anypoint within the main terminal and 20 minutes from the satellite terminal). Since my next flight leaves from another terminal, I went downstairs to the place where the buses depart. There I just missed the bus and cursed. The staff assured me that buses run every 5 to 10 minutes though, so with that I had time for a pit stop at the close-by toilets which, by the way, aren’t as busy as the ones upstairs. Anyway, back to my bus. The next bus then indeed arrived 5 minutes later and the journey over to terminal 3 took exactly 8 minutes. You can spend that time either looking around at the airport’s operation or read the useful leaflets about the other terminals that are provided.
26 minutes after my plane parked at terminal 5 I’m already at terminal 3 with only security to go through. Only? At Heathrow that can actually be the bulk part of your time spent at the airport. But not here as this security is dedicated to those people connecting from other terminals and with that not as busy. 4 minutes later, I’m through that as well. The only last obstacles between me and my onward flight now are the tempting shops and cafes of terminal 3.
Whilst I surely had a good run, I’d actually be surprised if it took you more than 45 minutes from the time you disembark your plane to the inside of terminal 3. It goes to show Heathrow can actually be an efficient connecting airport! For details on connecting to and from other terminals, see the airport’s online guide.
mate, are you coming through london?
I was, yes, but only had 2 hours at the airport unfortunately. We should be back in September though!
Hi
Found your post helpful but would like to ask a question.
In transferring from terminal 5 to terminal 3 were you required at any point to clear passport control or even produce your passport. The reason I ask is that I need to travel on a temporary passport on route to the USA and entry into the UK is not permitted on a temporary passport. Thanks Mike
Hi Mike,
Yes, I can confirm that there are no passport checks if you only change terminals at Heathrow. Technically you are not entering the UK. All you need to make sure is that the airline staff is accepting your documents for your onward flight.
Have a safe trip!
tom.
Hi Tom! Glad I found your site. Question: We are flying British Air from Paris to Heathrow and then we have a Virgin flight back home to the USA. Will we have to collect our luggage from the BA flight and go thru customs with our luggage at Virgin? Is there anyway for our luggage to get transferred from BA to Virgin, or is that too risky? We will have 4 hours to do this. Any advice is appreciated!
Hi Erica,
The question is whether the entire flight (Paris-London-USA) is on the same ticket or if they are 2 different tickets. If the same, then you shouldn’t have to collect the luggage at LHR. If different then I would try to get the check-in agent in Paris to check it through to the US regardless, but my experience is that they are reluctant of doing that, so you may have to collect the luggage and check it in again. 4 hours for doing that is cutting it very fine as you will have to go through customs to get the bags, then go through security again after checking in. If the second option is true, I’d check with BA in Paris (or your travel agent) prior to your trip if they can check it through.
tom.
Hello! I have looked everywhere for an answer to this question. I hope you can help. My daughter is flying into London from the USA. She arrives in Terminal 3. I am meeting her and we are flying on to Geneva from Terminal 5, after a 6+ hour layover. Will it be possible for her to check in for the BA flight in Terminal 3 (she will have baggage that will need to be checked)? We were hoping to relax in the AA Lounge until time to head over to the other terminal for our flight.
Hi there,
In the US, your daughter should be able to check the luggage all the way through to Geneva. If that’s not possible, then she would have to enter the UK, collect the luggage and check in at Terminal 5. I believe you should also be able to use the BA lounge at Terminal 5 with your AA membership, so that you could meet her there since you would have to check in there anyway.
I hope this helps. Let me know how you go.
tom.
Hi There
My parents are flying with BA from Manchester to London Heathrow and transferring to a BA flight to Austrailia via Singapore. What will they ahve to do to transfer, will they have to pick up their baggage, security or passport again?
Hi Tracy,
Since your parents are flying with the same airline they will be able to book them straight through to Australia, meaning their luggage will go through straight from Manchester without them having to pick it up in London. They will have to do the security and passport though as the flight from Manchester to London is a domestic one – this shouldn’t be too bad though.
I hope this was helpful!
Cheers,
tom.
Thanks Tom, a star 🙂
HI there! could you please me tell which was the name of the bus you used to go form terminal 5 to terminal 3??
It’s just the regular Heathrow transit bus, it doesn’t really have a name. You need to be inside the terminal to catch this one though (air side).
Thank you! You’ve really put my mind at ease!!
So glad to have found your website. Im flying Dallas-London-Bangalore. Whille there is court sharing and everything, the Dallas-London is American Airline and London-Bangalore is British. At London, I arrive at Terminal 3 and have exactly 1hr and 45 mins to get to Term 5 to catch my Bangalore flight. I’ll be checking in my baggage all the way to Bangalore, so I would have to collect them. But still, do you think I have enough time? Also, really what does happen if you miss the connecting flight? Would they put you on the next flight? Or do you have to buy new tickets and everything? Thanks in advance!
Hi Divya, if your luggage is checked in at Dallas all the way to Bangalore, then you won’t have to pick it up and re-check it in at London. 1h 45 mins is extremely short for making an international connection AND change terminals. My bet would be you won’t make it or it’s super tight. Now, if you booked all flights together with the one reservation number, then you’re in a good position as it’s then the airlines responsibility to get you to Bangalore. They will then also try to help you get to your flight in London quickly since they were taking the flight booking as you did. If you for whatever reason you miss that flight, then they would put you on the next one free of charge. You only have an issue if you booked two separate flights that are not linked (first booking Dallas-London, second booking London-Bangalore). From how you described it, it doesn’t sound like that though. Good luck and let us know how you went!
I had a flight coming up, BA Paris to London, AA London to Chicago, ticketed by American. 1:40 to change. I was mad at AA and at first changed to a 5-hour layover, but then decided to chance it, hoping this post was true.
Our flight Paris to LHR was close to on time. Leaving the plane, it was rather easy to find the bus stop, which was dedicated to switching from 5 to 3 (there are different buses for other switches. Wait was five minutes, and the twisting ride was indeed about 8. Got up to security, and sure enough, it was not crowded. Got through that in under 10 minutes, checked in at American, and got toward the gates in time to have a beer before boarding! So yes, this post is accurate, so long as you are ticketed through, and your inbound plane is running close to schedule.
I am catching a flight from Manchester to Heathrow which arrives at terminal 5 at 8:25am. I then have to make it to terminal 3 to catch my Singapore airlines flight to Singapore… Which leaves at 11:30am. Will I have enough time to check in myself and my luggage? I am freaking out. :/
Hi Charlotte, you should be fine. The big question though is whether you booked a connecting flight to Singapore or whether you booked two separate flights. In the latter case your connection isn’t guaranteed. From what you wrote it sounds this is the case. Luggage normally arrives quickly at Terminal 5 though and you can jump on the tube to Terminal 1/3 which is quick too. I’d say you’re fine. Try to ask for a priority luggage tag at Manchester which can make a 10 to 15 minute difference in getting your bag. Good luck and let us know how you went!
Aaaah! Hopefully things will be as smooth for us then 🙂 Thank you sooo much for this post!
Hi Tom,
I’ve got a question to ask before I book my tickets. I have a flight booked to Heathrow from Hanoi on 2nd July which arrives at 17:10 into Terminal 3. I now want to book a ticket to Newcastle on the same day. It looks like all Newcastle flights leave from Terminal 5 and there is one which leaves at 21:00. These flights would be booked separately so I will have to collect my baggage first. Is this going to be enough time to get my baggage, switch terminals, check in again and everything else to catch the 21:00 flight?
Thanks
Hi Elliot, yes you’ll be fine. When you check in at Hanoi try to get a priority baggage tag – tell them you have a connection at Heathrow on a different booking. That way your bag will come out first. But even without that you have at least a full 2 hours to collect your bags, get from T3 to T5, check-in and get to your gate. That’s plenty of time! Let us know how you went in the end then! Save travels!
Brilliant, thanks for the advice! That’s reassuring.
Your info is great – but I’m confused about the “Flight Connections” point. Must we stop there and if so, why? Or do we simply get ourselves to the bus? – We are going from terminal 5 to 3 as well.
Emily, the flight connections point is simply the area where you get on your bus to the other terminals. Before you get to the buses there are signs labelled “Flight Connections” in order for you to find your way there. That’s obviously important as you don’t want to end up in the baggage recollection hall with the arriving passengers!
Just wanted to say thanks; this is a very helpful post.
Hi Tom, how much time would I need to connect between T5 and T1 at Heathrow? The scheduled arrival time from Paris is 18h05 at T5, and the scheduled departure time to Johannesburg is 21h15. That’s enough time right? Also, will I need to go through passport control when changing terminals? I’ll need to collect my bags as the airlines are different. Thanks, Ben
Hi Ben, as I always say, try to get your luggage checked through which will work if both of your flights are on the same itinerary (booking number) even if they are with different airlines. If not, then you will have to collect luggage, enter the UK and go through customs again. Luckily T5 has a (normally) fast bag delivery and you will get to T1 quickly too (quickest is by underground): http://www.heathrowairport.com/heathrow-airport-guide/travel-between-terminals
Thanks Tom, unfortunately the flights are on completely separate tickets so guess I’ll have to do the full story, collect luggage and clear customs again. Do you really think its quicker to get to T1 via underground and not the bus service? The Heathrow website says allow 90 minutes for this switch – do you think that’s correct? Thanks for the info. Ben
Yes, definitely take the underground as it’s just the next stop and they run very frequently. From station to station will only take you 5 minutes. Let’s add 10 minutes (max.) waiting for a train, 10 mins from/to terminals to underground, so no more than 25 mins. And that’s the worst case. You’ve got heaps of time! Let me know how you go!
Hello Tom! I read your blog regularly and its been really helpful..please keep up the good work!
I need your inputs for my dilemma:
I’ve booked a flight from Mumbai to New York via Heathrow. I need to go from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3 – I have 2 hours 10 minutes between connecting flights. I don’t have to handle my luggage since both flights are on the same reservation number.
I’m worried 2 hours 10 minutes may not be enough. Do you think my apprehension is justified? And based on your extensive flying experience, what would you suggest I do once I land in order to get me to T3 from T4 as soon as possible?
Thanks in advance!!
Darshil
Hi Darshil, thanks for reading my blog on a regular basis!
As to your flight connection, Heathrow suggests a 90 minute transfer time is required for this particular connection (http://www.heathrowairport.com/heathrow-airport-guide/flight-connections/terminal-4-international-connecting-to-terminal-3-international). However, I believe it should be quicker if you don’t run into a holiday crowd. So you’re fine. The other thing I’m always saying is that if your flights are booked on the same ticket, the airline gurantees the connection. So even in the worst case where your arriving plane is late, at the very least the airline will try their best to connect you to the flight. If it’s very tight but still possible, they will pick you up at the arriving gate and escort you to the next flight. If you can’t make the connecting flight, the airline will book you onto the next one for free. But that’s of course not an option you’d like to think about here, but I always think it’s good to know that for your piece of mind.
I hope this helps – please let us know how you went and time your transfer 🙂
tom.
Hi Tom, great info here. Thanks so much. Our travel has us arriving T4 (Kenya AIr) and connecting through to T3 (Air Canada)…same ticket. Our timing should be more or less as you’ve described. However, we would like to have a quick shower and a snack before the next 9 hour flight. T3’s secured No.1 Lounge will be 170GBP. However, T4’s landside Yotel is 46GBP. Is it possible to leave the secure area, grab a shower and re-enter the secure area before doing the “Flight Connections” thing? I take it that the Flight Connections is a special secured terminal-to-terminal transfer area.
Hm, that’s a tricky one. As the terminals are apart from each other and the flight connections “path” indeed is a secured transfer, I wouldn’t recommend leaving the terminal. I do think the 170GBP are pretty steep. Where did you get that price from? Their website says it costs 30GBP per person when you book in advance: http://www.no1traveller.com/heathrow-airport-lounge-terminal-3.htm
Thanks Tom. Didn’t make clear that we’re a family of 4 traveling wishing for the additional 12.5GBP showers each (42.5GBP x 4 = 170GBP). Looks like we’re stuck with the CAN$250 for a bit of comfort…but it’s a very long 24 hour day with flights and connection time. Thanks again. WIll follow your blog.
Yes, unfortunately it looks that way. I saw that they quoted online a price of GBP90 for 2 adults and 2 children. Plus the shower costs would get you in for GBP140: https://secure.heathrow.com/?p=l&src=WLHR71
Thanks for the quote, Tom. My kids are older than the 11 year old limit…sigh, but soon they won’t be traveling with us anymore, so c’est la vie. Now just have to decide on food in the No.1 lounge vs T3 after security offerings.
Hi Tom
Our flight from Canada arrives at 6.30 am at Terminal 3. We want to book a domestic flight to Manchester from terminal 1 which leaves at 9.30am. Since we have to clear immigration and collect our bags, change terminals as well as check in (this was added after so is not a connection on one ticket) for the 9.30 am flight do
you think we will have enough time? Our other option is to take a 11.00 am flight from terminal 5. We would prefer the earlier if feasible.
Hi Sue,
Terminal 1 and 3 are very close by, so that’s not an issue. However, Heathrow receives a lot of flights early morning and with that you can expect to have to wait at customs for quite a bit (depending on your nationality (UK/EU passports will be quicker). To be honest you’d need a very smooth run to make your connection. I’d check with the domestic flight if there is no penalty if you miss the first flight (so that it gets rebooked on the 11am one). In most cases the 11am flight will have more capacity than the earlier one, so that shouldn’t be an issue. If you want to play it safe, choose the 11am one and take it easy at Heathrow. You’ll find many places for breakfast…
I hope this helps!
Hi Tom,
Thanks for your help. I have booked the 11 am flight from Terminal 5 This should give us more time in the event of delays . Hoping it is not too far to travel from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 as we have to check our luggage in for the domestic flight so am sure this will take some time too.
I think that was a wise decision, Sue! After all travelling should also be fun and worrying constantly whether you’re going to make the flight can ruin an entire trip! Take the Underground from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 – it won’t take more than 5 minutes on the train! Have a safe and enjoyable trip!
Hello Tom,
My boyfriend and I arrive at Heathrow Terminal 4 (Malaysian Air) at 550am on a monday morning in a couple of weeks. I have booked a flight from Terminal 1 to edinburgh at 9.20am flying virgin atlantic (operated by Aer Lingus). We both have EU/British passports and I thought 3 hours would have been enough time to go through customs, collect baggage and get to Terminal 1 but after reading other posts I doubt that this will be the case. Do you think we have a chance of making it? (we have never been to heathrow airport before) And what would be the best way to get to Terminal 1, i’m guessing the heathrow express. On other sites people talk about the heathrow connect, is this the same thing? Thanks! Davina
Hi Davina,
Let’s work through this. You arrive at 5.50am, get to disembark the plane at 6.20, arrive at the customs check point at 6.30, cue for 30 minutes, wait for the luggage for 15, so you’re out by 7.15 in a fairly normal case scenario. Getting from T4 to T1 is easy as you’ll just take the Heathrow Express train (Heathrow Connect is a train as well, but not the Express version – ignore it). They say it takes 20 minutes, but that’s probably the worst case scenario. So you’ll be fine for your flight to Edinburgh mainly because you safe a lot of time going through the EU/British passport queue at immigration. Safe travels and let us know how you went!
Hi Tom, Thanks a lot for the great info. We have connection from T5 to T3 on Jan.2 with 1.5 hours between two flights. In some of your replies you mentioned holiday crowd. I am afraid we may be caught in that. What is your opinion about this, should we be worried? (We have the connection from same ticket so not collecting baggage etc. The airlines are different between two flights.) Also if you could please advise us about how much warm clothes we should wear/carry. I am assuming that bus stops will be all indoors and buses will be heated, so there will not be much exposure to elements of nature. Just wanted to confirm with you. Thanks a lot again. Great blog indeed.
THank you so much for your reply Tom, you have put my mind at ease! Yes i will let you know how we go!
Hi, Tom
We are planning to book a flight from Paris to LHR on British Airways, arrives 11:10 am, Term 5; then departing same day on our return booked VA flight (Term 3) going to LAX at 15:45pm. Since these two flights are on different tickets, we will have to pick up luggage in Term 5, and then what (passport control and/or security)?? or does passport/security happen before picking up luggage? or? It looks like we would take the Heathrow Express (or Underground?) to Term 3, and go through all the steps as if we just arrived at Heathrow from London: check luggage, passport, security – in that order? How much time would we need after arrival at Term 5; and do I have these steps in order?
Thank you, Judi
Hey Tom you seem to be the go to guy on heathrow dilemmas! I’m landing 10:15 in terminal 1 and departing 11:45 in terminal 5 area b! Heathrow suggests minimum of 90 mins to do this connection and well that’s all I have! So I can’t be delayed! The booking agent is quoting €210+ to change the flight to an earlier one! Am I good to chance making this flight or should I cough up the cost if 3 times a Dublin London flight to have done peace of mind? Thanks aoife
Hi Judi,
Yes, if you have to pick up the luggage from an international flight, you will have to enter the United Kingdom and exit it again on your next flight. So unfortunately you will have to do the full thing as if you stayed in London. BUT depending on what airline you fly to London from Paris they may be able to combine your tickets. I believe that’s only possible if they’re in the same alliance though! Do ask in Paris when you check-in, you never know.
You will have enough time in London to do the full thing though.
Good luck & safe travels,
tom.
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Hi Aoife,
Happy to help. Let’s work through this. I’m taking your 11:45 flight from terminal 5b is an international, long-haul flight, right? If so, then they will definitely close boarding 30 minutes before the flight, which means you have 60 minutes to get there. In my view it should be fine. Also remember if the incoming and the outgoing flights are on the same booking/ticket, then the airline guarantees the connection which will mean if they see it is getting tight, they will great you at the gate when you disembark and escort you to your flight.
Let us know how you go!
tom.
PS we’re a non profit blog and are happy to help travellers. If you
think our information was useful, help us keep this service alive by
donating something towards our costs:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2R2KWGVKABAHQ
Hi Tom, I wonder if you could help me? My wife and I will be arriving at Terminal 4 on a Qatar flight from Doha, and transferring to a BA flight to Paris (Terminal 5, i think). We will only have carry on luggage. Will we we have to clear customs and re-enter the airport, or will we be able to follow normal internal transfer procedures between terminals? Thanks for any insight that you can offer.