Current "in transit arrangements" at Heathrow - do you need to check luggage again for connecting flights?
 

Hi

Friends of ours are going from Australia to Paris via Heathrow at the end of this month. They have a 5 hour layover. Can someone who has recently used Heathrow (or know of someone who has) confirm whether they will need to recheck in their luggage at Heathrow. I travelled one week after 9/11 and that was the procedure then. It was horrendous! I have been following the news and this forum but still no clarity on this issue.

Thanks

Anybody who can answer definitively for procedures in a couple of weeks at LHR is blowing smoke. In the four days since the terror busts, LHR has had... lemme see... could it be <i>four</i> different baggage/security schemes? So the answer my friend is blowin' in the wind.

In the same respect, although it is three weeks until my trip, I am wondering about going into and out of the UK.

We will be going JFK-LHR connecting through CDG. I am guessing everything will be checked through to London, however, my question is this...since a carry-on is okay JFK-CDG, will it then be okay connecting through to LHR. Also, on the return from London to Paris (where we will be staying for a week) I believe we will not be allowed any carry-ons.

I know this will all change probably in the next three weeks, but as of today, would that be right?

<i>British Airways welcomes the Government's announcement (Monday August 14), easing restrictions on hand baggage on flights departing all UK airports.

From Tuesday 15 August all UK airports will implement the new hand baggage policy:

Customers traveling will be able to take on board as hand baggage one cabin bag no bigger than 16cm by 35 cm by 45 cm, the size of a small laptop bag.

These restrictions are enforced on UK outbound routes only, but we recommend that all passengers carry hand baggage that complies with these regulations.

Restrictions remain in place on the contents of cabin baggage:

Cabin baggage MUST NOT contain:

* Any cosmetics
* Any toiletries
* Any liquids
* Any drinks

Cabin baggage CAN contain the following:

Electronic equipment, including laptops, mobile phones and portable music and DVD players,
Prescribed medicines in liquid form e.g. diabetic medicines
Baby milk and liquid baby food (the contents of each bottle MUST be tasted by the parent)
To help progress through the airport all customers are encouraged not to include items capable of containing liquids (e.g. bottles, flasks, cans etc.) in either their hand or checked baggage.

All electronic equipment will need to be removed from the item of hand baggage and screened separately. We recommend these items be packed carefully for easy removal at the security search point.

Pushchairs and walking aids will be permitted but must be x-ray screened.

Once in the departure lounge customers may purchase any item in any store and take it onto the aircraft as normal unless you are traveling to the USA.

For customers traveling to the USA, extra restrictions are in place - customers WILL NOT be permitted to take any liquid or gel items purchased in the departures lounge into the aircraft cabin. All food or beverage items must be consumed before boarding.

In addition to the laptop sized bag mentioned above, passengers departing on flights to the UK from North America, South America and the Carribean, who are not transfering onto any other connecting flights, will be able to take on board an additional piece of cabin baggage no bigger than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm.</i>


http://www.britishairways.com/travel...s/public/en_us

AAFF...Asked and answered. Thank you so much for the quick response! :)

marking

Please note that those are <b>British Airways'</b> policies, not BAA's (the airport operators) nor the Department for Transport's (the government agency.) If the OP is not traveling on BA the rules may be different. There's no workaround - you need to monitor your airline's website <i>and</i> at a minimum, the DfT site, http://www.dft.gov.uk, and the BAA site, http://www.baa.co.uk/ - and <b>don't</b> rely on internet message boards.

Folks my question is NOT about carry on/cabin luggage. It is about checking in luggage - do you need to check it in again at Heathrow? Gardyloo, I know the prodedures are changing just about every hour/day but can someone advise what is the current procedure for luggage in transit :)&gt;-

well, I'm thinking that BA is following BAA directives which in turn are following UK Gov directions.....

do you have some other info?

in fact, the BA policy is probably the one to follow as it's the least of the 3. If the UK GOV said that anything is allowed, but BAA said, no, only certain things are allowed, and finally BA said, nothing is allowed, who would you listened to?

No I don't have any better information on connecting at LHR, either on BA or any other carrier or interline. Do you?

The OP has not indicated what airlines are being employed, and everybody knows that BA are awful on interline baggage forwarding at LHR in the best of times. If I were to guess the situation two weeks from now I'd guess that there would be a claim and recheck procedure and that 5 hours would be adequate but not generous. But the DfT, BAA, and above all the airline, will be the ones to consult, not our guesses.

I wouldn't listen to BA if I weren't flying with them. I'd listen to my carrier.

I don't know about you, but my post seemed to satisfy the poster that asked about JFK-LHR-CDG question....so I just assumed s/he was flying a combo of AA/BA or something close to it.....:-)

if I was wrong in my assumption, I apologize.

No apology sought, and I'm not trying to pick a fight, AAFF. However I belive the OP asked about Australia - LHR - CDG, not JFK. Note that Australia is not included in the list of origins where the extra cabin bag is allowed.

Also note the spelling of Caribbean in the BA announcement. Queen's English fer sure.

Actually I was replying to <b>Dejais</b>

Oops. And I was replying to the OP. Case closed.

I make the same mistakes....

The intricacies of internet board communications.....

:-D

Can y'all some niceness off on some other threads? :-) It's been a rough day on here.

That was supposed to be...

Could y'all rub some niceness...

They'll be flying Qantas from Perth, Australia, to Singapore then Qantas to Heathrow then Air France (I think) to CDG. Anyone have experience or knows anyone with experience re whether you need to re check your luggage (I'm not talking about cabin/carry on luggage) at Heathrow. Thanks again. =P~

Qantas and Air France have interline agreements and code-share (one plane, both airlines' flight nos.) flights so they MAY transfer bags at LHR through to CDG. Best for your friends to phone Qantas to be sure, though. If they fly into LHR on Qantas and out on Air France, they'll need to switch terminals, and since Qantas uses Terminal 4 the switch with bags is a huge pain, so hopefully they will be able to through-check them.

My wife flew today from Melbourne, Australia, and is currently on her way to Paris via London. That sounds like your situation. She is flying Qantas, and booked her luggage right through to Paris. She'll collect it there, with no need to do anything at Heathrow.

Thanks Adeben. Can I ask who informed her of the transit procedures? Was it Qantas? Cheers

She just went to the check-in at Melbourne, and they booked her luggage from Melbourne to Sydney, Sydney to London via Bangkok, then London to Paris. Allegedly her luggage will appear next on the carousel at CDG, Paris. And it always has in the past.

Gosh, go to sleep and see what I miss? :)

To answer your question about airline, I am flying Air France. And of course I would not rely on information here as the be all-end all. I was just asking as a guideline. As the trip approaches, I will call AF for specifics and check the govt. transit boards for all countries involved. But thank you AAFF. You did indeed answer my question for today.