Changing terminals at Heathrow
 

According to our paperwork, we arrive on BA from LA at terminal 5 then our connection to Hungary leaves from Terminal 3. How easy is it to get from one to the other? We have about 2 1/2 hours.

This guide on their website might help http://www.heathrowairport.com/heath...nection-guides

You will stay airside - and need to be very careful to do so - otherwise your "transfer" can take forever. that means you do NOT go through Immigration in the UK - but stick with the connection or transfer group. that will mean making your way through 5 - which is huge - lots of long corridors and escalators, take a bus to Terminal 3 and there go through security again and check in at the gate.

Although you have a reasonable amount of time - do NOT dawdle. Move as quickly as possible - since there can be a significant time waiting for the bus and the security line at the new terminal may be short - or can be lengthy - esp if you get some passengers who aren;t used to travel and can really hold up the line.

The legal time for this connection is 2 hours - so as long as your incoming flight arrives on time you will be OK. but you don;t have a lot of spare time. (I did this transfer not long ago and did make it in 2.5 hours - but I was jogging with my carry-on all the way through Terminal 5. In that case the security line at the ongoing terminal was very long and slow. The ongoing flight made the last boarding call as I got on.)

We just did this a few weeks ago. It was amazing how organized, well marked, and easy the transfer was with attendants all along the way if you happened to get confused. But honestly, it was so easy, I don't know how that's possible.

Maybe our timing was good (arrival at 6:30 AM,) but we encountered no hangups along the way at all.

A very early arrival probably makes the lines shorter. We were changing later in the day - perhaps part of the reason that security lines were so long.

We flew through Heathrow a few months ago with no problems.

Our bags were checked through to our destination and it was easy.

Thank you for your help. I read somewhere that there are "carts" that can take Seniors, such as I,through the terminal. I can walk, but not quickly and do not use escalators. I called BA- they said I need to contact Heathrow, but the Heathrow website says to contact your airline. I think this is known in America as a "Catch 22"!!! I just emailed the service that Heathrow "uses" according to their website. I think it is called
"Omniserv". Anyone have a clue??? I know in big airports in the states like DFW, these carts fly by.

I posted this last week in the Air Travel forum but will copy it here in case you don't see it there:

"At Heathrow now and just transferred from T5, where I arrived, to T3, where my onward flight departs, so thought I would add a comment about timing.

Arrived at T5 gate at 11:50. Ten minute walk to Flight Connections, where I used the Fast Track lane through security. I was travelling in Club World so could use FT anyway, but there was no checking of boarding passes, just a smiling young man waving me through, so if you are running late and lines are long I'd suggest you try the FT line.

By 12:05 I was on the coach, the doors closed and we set off for T3. Arrived T3 at 12:15. At T3 there was no additional security check."

As NeoPatrick wrote, the transfer was well organized, well marked and very easy. If your flight arrives on time you will have plenty of time for your transfer. Yes, distances can be long but there are moving walkways to help along the way and there are elevators if you don't use escalators. I'm no spring chicken myself, at 65+, and I can no longer walk as fast as I once could, but I had no problems and I would expect you will find the same to be true for yourself. Just don't dawdle along the way. Save your dawdling for after you arrive at T3.

Here is a link to <u>information about assistance from BA:</u>

http://www.britishairways.com/travel...=searchResults

You can arrange wheelchair assistance up to 24 hours before flight departure, if you have your booking number, through the Manage My Booking feature on the website. BA does note, however: <i>"Unfortunately we cannot request in advance a motorised buggy for customers, as these buggies are subject to availability on the day and can only be allocated upon arrival at the airport."</i>

And here is a link to <u>Heathrow Airport's webpage about requesting special assistance:</u>

http://www.heathrowairport.com/heath...ial-assistance

<u>Omniserv</u> information and contact details are provided at the bottom of the page.

Wonderful response, thank you. We are flying economy. Can I use the Fast Track??

auntshush - The Fast Track lane is a priority lane usually reserved for use by those flying in first and business as well as for those with 'status' in certain frequent flyer programs. Some airlines will give those travelers a pass to use when entering FT, others check boarding passes for the class of service traveled.

I am accustomed to being required to show my boarding pass when using Fast Track at Heathrow T5. However, as I commented above, the young man manning the entrance to FT when I arrived two weeks ago wasn't checking boarding passes. If you're running late, you could scope out the situation and take your chances if it looks like they are just waving people through.

As I pointed out earlier, unless your flight arrives late, you should have sufficient time for your transfer and connection. Security within Flight Connections is usually well-staffed and even when the lines seem long, they actually move quite quickly.