ralsgrandma

Does anyone know if a traveler on British Airways from the US going on to Glasgow after changing planes in Heathrow, has to clear customs and immigration before boarding the flight to Glasgow? One flight option only leaves 1 hour between the flights. A later one has 5 hours - no happy medium!
Thanks for any info you can give me.
Nancy

patandhank

I think a 1 hour connection time on any international flight is tight. Last time we flew BA we connected at Heathro on to Istanbul. The luggage is checked all the way through so you shouldn't have that issue till landing. But we did have to go through passport control at Heathrow and that was time consuming. Not to mention if there is any issue with your plane leaving on time.

ralsgrandma

Thanks I appreciate your opinion. That is my feeling, too.

latedaytraveler

ralsgrandma, I agree with pat - one hour is much too tight at Heathrow. In my view. impossible if you have to change terminals. If I recall, one could only have ONE bag when boarding a connecting flight. When I left Nice, I had bought a few goodies with spare euros at the airport. As I rushed through security I had to stuff my purse into that one carry-on. Just made it in the end.

alanRow

You will have to clear immigration (though not customs) in London as London and Glasgow are in the same country.

Your checked luggage will clear customs in Glasgow and will probably go to a separate luggage belt from the domestic customer

A 1 hour T5 to T5 connection is a legal connection, so assuming you are booking the ticket as US to Glasgow via London as opposed to US to London and London to Glasgow as separate tickets, you may as well go for the short connection as the worst that will happen is that you will miss the flight and be put on the next one

sashh

I agree with Alan - it's what I was going to say.

I've done a similar connection in less than an hour, landed from Buenos Aires and got a connection to Manchester within the hour.

immimi

The airport staff will help you speed through all the checkpoints
and even walk you to your Glasgow flight.

We had an even shorter connect between Istanbul and Vancouver last
October and I almost had a breakdown worrying about missing the
flight - we were rushed through and had plenty (really) of time
before boarding.

I'd certainly take the tight connection in hopes of not having
the 5 hour wait. Even in the BC lounge it's a drag!

hopingtotravel

Whew! Wear your running shoes and be in shape. Actually I agree with the above advice.

In 1998 (when there were only 4 terminals) we had to make that 1 hour change going the other way: Glasgow/Heathrow/Seattle. It was a very mad dash, and I have NEVER used a travel agent since. Additionally, our luggage did not arrive in Seattle. We had Scottish tweed jackets, etc, and would possible have gone over our taxable amount. The stuff showed up in Anchorage (untaxed) the following day.

Are you planning to spend the night in Glasgow in case luggage is delayed?

nytraveler

One hour at Heathrow is simply not enough. I believe the minimum connection time for any 2 flights is 2 hours. I've had to gallop - with only a carry-on - to make the connection (all airside) in 2 hours.

Not sure about immigration (which can take an hour by itself) - but even staying airside you have to go back through security - and the lines can be hideous at times - esp if you get a couple of suspect - or clueless - travelers.

flanneruk

"I believe the minimum connection time for any 2 flights is 2 hours."

Untrue. Well, possibly true that she believes this nonsense. But there is no standard MCT at T5.

Fashionista

Doesn't this depend on the wait between flights? I

f short Id not chance it as Heathrow can be unpredictable, but a longish wait would make me give it a go. You will need to be of an optimistic disposition to believe it will succeed, but then optimists can be correct.

ralsgrandma

Thanks all for your replies. The idea of waiting in an airport (with 2 small children) for 5 hours after doing an international overnight flight is frightening.

It seems we have a similar 1 hour connection option for a flight via Gatwick to Glasgow. Is the situation any different at Gatwick?

We are planning to spend the night in Glasgow so delayed luggage should be able to catch up with us.

nytraveler

A one hour connection is very tight at either airport. Even assuming you stay airside (no immigration) and in the same terminal you need to allow for deplaning (arrival is wheels down - not getting off the plane - and that can easily be 15 minutes or more) a long walk through the terminal (how fast can the kids walk?), going through security again and then getting to the new gate.

There's no way I would attempt this with kids.

alanRow

<<< I believe the minimum connection time for any 2 flights is 2 hours >>> The MCT at T5 is 1 hour - like I said earlier

<<< Even assuming you stay airside (no immigration) >>> Glasgow is part of the UK,so ralsgrandma & family will pass through immigration at Gatwick

julia1

This may seem counter-intuitive but my recent experience (within the last 7 months) with flight connections at both LHR and LGW is that Heathrow is much more efficiently staffed than Gatwick and transfers were smoother and quicker.

bratsandbeer

We were trying to buy tickets to fly from the US to Sofia, Bulgaria last year with BA. BA told us we had to have at least 3 hours between flights and we did not so they would not sell us the tickets.

I am surprised they will sell you the tickets with one hour between flights.

basingstoke2

Most of the above replies are based on an assumption that your flight from the US will arrive on time. Be prepared to have to wait the 5 hours just in case.

jsmith

Many of your questions are answered at this website. LHR to Glasgow is Terminal 5. At what terminal do you arrive?

http://www.britishairways.com/travel...r/public/en_gb

ralsgrandma

Thanks everyone for your help. We have decided to try to do the 1 hour connection and hope for the best. A BA ticket agent sold us the tickets without any concern.

immimi

You'll be fine. When you reach the Immigration gate there will be
airport employees - tell them you've got a short connect and they
will direct you to the shortcuts. Honestly doable.