TopShelf TG Fiction in the BigCloset!
Help, I need someone,
Help, not just any one,
Help, you know I need someone, Helllp.
I need to chat with someone who has flown in and out of London Heathrow.
As Matilda and our gallant band of adventurer's are about to land I need some details about that airport.
Huggs
Penny
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Comments
Terminal Five
If it is to or from the USA it will probably be via terminal five and there is no public transport between midnight and earl morning. Sorry but as an infrequent flier that is all I can recall.
Rhona McCloud
Heathrow
As an occasional Heathrow flier a few pointers. If you are long haul ie USA with most airlines it is Terminal 3. However if you fly British Airways it is always terminal 5 as that is their own private terminal complex with satellite gate buildings and an underground railway to the main part of terminal 5 . Views of the airport as ever limited Internally much the same as any other major airport long corridors with travelator walkways, coming to a large immigration clearance hall where people queue at. maybe 20 or so immigration booths side by side some reserved for EU and UK passports some "Other nationalities" each desk manned by one Border security officer (Dark trousers,pale blue shirt and dark blue epaulettes with thin silver stripes to denote grade). who briefly but politely checks passport and reason for coming to uk. then down lift stairs or ramp to baggage hall. Same as anywhere else and through customs Red channel for goods to declare , ie over UK allowances usually 1 or 2 Officer around or Green often apparantly un manned ( Most stops are random or specifically targeted) and out into arrivals hall. Usual cafe some shops and outside taxi, coach car pick up and close (depends on terminal) short term parking. Airport is linked by Jubilee tube line to central London. Exit from airport depends on which terminal 1 2 & 3 via tunnel under northern runways linking direct to M4 ( You pass a roundabout with a 20- 30 foot model of a 747? on it) 4@5 by road linking with M25. For arrival hall plans see www.transferdepot.co.uk. Hope that helps a bit.
Nightjar
It's a while since I used it
or collected someone from it, but my own memories are clogged roads in and out irrespective of time of day, vastly expensive parking and so many people walking about aimlessly or sat about waiting for their flights or the end of the world which ever happened first. Quite a few people cleaning who were mainly coloured people, lots of noise tannoys etc. Much like any other airport except bigger than many.
Angharad
U.S. Citizen Experiences
There's already a pretty good description of arrivals. I can add a little though. Before I was married and being a U.S. citizen, I had to go through the "Others" queue for customs. I waited a long time in a long, zigzag queue because there were a lot fewer customs agents for "Others." The UK and EU queues were much faster thanks to more customs agents. Now, with my wife being a UK citizen and needed assistance, we both go through a fast lane to one side and breeze through customs. It's actually a nice experience now.
One nice thing has happened a couple of times before landing. The plane was circling in a holding pattern and we flew over Windsor Castle to the west of the airport. It's a nice view since we weren't at a very high altitude.
For departures, there's a long row of checkout desks for all of the various airlines. After waiting in a fairly short queue to check in luggage, it's back through a narrow corridor to another queue for security. I don't remember much else except passing by zillions of shops and waiting at the gate for boarding.
That's all I've got. It's been a little over a year since I've been through London Heathrow.
- Terry
I worked there for six years.
... contact me with any questions.
Tanya
There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes!
deathrow
Not the prettiest of airports, and you may want to check when terminal 5 opened. I think it is post Munchkin time. US international flights back in the day arrived terminal 3 for most flights, terminal 4 was for the BA flights. Assuming they are going on to Edinbourgh directly, it will be the usual clear customs etc and then use the internal transport available to transfer to terminal 1 for the UK flight. Luggage has to be claimed and cleared on arrival, but on a return flight can be checked through with no contact at Heathrow, just the terminal transfer. As said, like other places, long passages with travelators, and the inevidble shops. Kids are under age so only the value of gifts rule could apply for customs, but unlikely. Most US flights arrive 0500 to 0800 local to 'help business' and there was a frequent regular service to Scotland. You could also check David's trip to Scotland for details. Also as stated, depending on which of the 4 stacks are being used and daylight, and which runway also, there can be super views of some of London's big tourist sites, Windsor castle, Thames river, Houses of Parliament, Buck House are all some of the ones I have seen. I have had the pleasure of arriving 1st Class from Toronto in 2004 and we were first off, our luggage was on the belt when we got there ( no sign of lower class luggage) which put us at the front of the herd for passports.
Heathrow is an airport - glass terminals and all
The BA terminal, Terminal 5, is ALONE the 5th largest airport in Europe.
It opened to a grand fanfare, and a lot of it couldn't cope. Today it is highly efficient.
FYI, Monty Python even had something to say about it - in song!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-prhaikK9I
One comment above is slightly inaccurate. Incoming passengers clear the passport desks BEFORE going to get their bags.
Opertionally, Hethrow has so many aircraft movements that incoming aircraft are routed into one of four stacks (at busy times) - the four stacks are roughly to the south-east (at Biggin Hill), the south-west (at Ockham), the north-west (at Bovingdon) and the north-east (at Lambourne). The aircraft join the top of the stacks and descend while going round in giant circles. When they get to the bottom of the stack they then fly off to join in the landing queue.
Mostly the wind blows from the west-ish, so then landings are into wind, which takes you slap bang over the middle of London - at night, the lights are fascinatingly stupendous. Approaches from the west take you over Windsor Castle. London (Greater London that is) is very roughly a 25-mile diameter circle.
Once the aircraft has docked, you have (usually) a long walk along corridors, some with travelators (moving bands you can stand on and be moved along the corridor) and a multitude of right-angled turns, always following signs to Baggage Reclaim, and Passport Control. Unless you are just changing planes, in which case you follow the Flight Connections signs.
Then you get to a giant hall, with fifty or more passport desks (not all of them manned) and you get into the cattle pens that lead you to the desks dealing with your particular Nationality. European Union countries (and Switzerland which is not legally part of the EU) are separated from other nationalities.
Once past the passport check, you descend a level to the baggage reclaim area, with stairs and ramps at either end of the hallway you are now in. Monitors display your flight number and which band the baggage will arrive at - together with an estimated time to wait. (Toilet (bathroom) facilities can be found there)
Once you have your bags, you then pass through the customs halls, 95% of people following the "Nothing To Declare" signs - again some separation for arrivals from EU countries is often displayed.
Then you emerge into the scrum of the non-flying people. Following signs to such things as "Underground", "Taxis", "Buses", "Car Hire" "Terminals 1 to 3" and all the rest of it.
Cheers
J
So you're saying,
That someone with a connecting flight to Edinburgh would not go through customs in London?
Huggs
Penny
Yes and no.
Hand luggage and the like all has to be scanned again. So that is a form of customs control. If your bags are ticketed through to Edinburgh, then you will (generally) not see them again until you get to Edinburgh, at which point you try to take them through customs.
HOWEVER
some times, the connecting flight is classed as a DOMESTIC flight (Heathrow to Edinburgh, both being within the UK).
So at Edinburgh, the passengers would not have to pass through customs.
Also, if the whole thing is not done on BA, then it is possible a terminal change would be required at Heathrow.
In which case, you have to collect your bags, go through customs and then re-check the bags in for the onward flight.
Flight connections, let's say New York to Dubai, via Heathrow - then you don't see your bags until Dubai.
I suspect that New York to Edinburgh via Heathrow would involve claiming bags, clearing customs, and then re checking in for the domestic leg.
One other major difference BTW is that, if still true, then there is no food served on domestic US flights, but normally there is on internal UK flights. I was horrified when we flew to New Orleans from Heathrow, via Chicago. We were fed on the transatlantic leg, but no-one told us about a lack of food on the New Orleans route. We deliberately did not eat in the terminal at O'Hare, so we went nearly eight hours without food!
I hope this helps.
J
Thanks everyone,
You've all been a great help. Now I need to sit down and let my muse out all over my keyboard.
Huggs
Penny
Just one more thing...
Some of the connections between terminals 4, 5 and 1-2-3 is by bus only. And that bus is not exactly reliable. It is supposed to run about every 10 minutes but I once had to wait for it for 45 minutes. And would have missed my flight if it was not delayed due to technical issues and last minute replacement of the airplane.
And... Just to emphacise - longest corridors in the world. So you run through miles of corridors, wait for bus, 10 minute ride by the bus, security check, then again run through miles of corridors. :-(