Heathrow Airport Update:

was at heathrow last night and the places was complete chaos. it took 1.5 hours just to drive into the airport. many flights had baggage delays of 3 hours. the arrival lounge was in complete chaos. non-passengers were walking unchallenged through the doors into the security controlled arrival area to meet people. staff seemed non-existent. the few announcements about arriving passenger delays for baggage and passport control were useless.

it took me another 1 hour in queue to pay for my parking at the self pay machines. the whole area around the lifts and pay machines was chaos. it then took me almost 2 hours to get my car out of the car park as it was just one big traffic jam. nobody directing traffic.

i travel through heathrow all the time and i have seen messes before but nothing as bad as this.

BA is complaining that BAA (who runs the airport) is buckling under this strain and can't run things properly. they are right from my observation last night.

of course, conditions can change by the minute but it is clear that there are some big problems at heathrow these days. if i had a choice, i would avoid flying to or through a UK airport for the moment. unfortunately, i don't have a choice.

Unless you think of another solution, I recommend that you buy a little magnetic "key hiding" container to attach to the bumper of your car, or think of some other way to conceal an extra key in or on your car.

And one other alternative solution... for the cost of parking your car, over thoe duration of your trip - - could you simply make a one-way car rental, each direction? Inconvenient (to have to get it before your trip, and return it after you get home), but better than getting back to an airport with no way to drive home in the car that you have parked.

Best wishes,

Rex

A purely unscientific observation:
We often take our dog for walks in the early evening through a series of footpaths and fields that happen to be under the Heathrow flight path. Usually, we can see and hear the planes coming in one right after another (the planes aren't that loud, though, the small private planes circling around to head into White Waltham's airfield make a lot more noise). Friday evening, we saw and heard far fewer planes coming in. It was a little weird to count only a few planes coming in when we normally count well over a dozen on the walk along one field alone.
Saturday morning I caught a Eurostar to Brussels and the Eurostars to Paris and London were sold out. Many people were originally scheduled to be on flights but were taking trains instead. This included several musicians who switched to trains rather than be forced to check their musical instruments (a cellist, for example...her cello was worth thousands of ££ and was a loan from a wealthy patron of the arts...no insurance company would cover it being shipped in a plane's cargo hold).

Some passengers (Brits and non Brits) were obviously frazzled by all the upheaval. Others took it in stride. Somewhat surprisingly, everyone seemed to be on extra good behavior on the train...no loud mobile phone conversations, no heavy drinkers in the bar car (you'd be suprised how much some people will drink even on morning trains).
The ride back from Brussels was busier than usual too. There seemed to be generally heightened security at the Gare du Midi, more police wearing their kevlar and carrying heavy duty weapons that I usually see.
Back in London, Waterloo station seemed much as usual.

luvlondon, they darn key/fob on my car is totally one unut. You can look at the Ford Fusion key fob website and see what I mean :-) It's new "integrated technology" - I suppose no one at Ford thought about terrorists when they designed it. I did contact several key making places and ALL said they might be able to make the key part (might be operative word) but that it would only open the door, you could not start the ignition. There is a chip in the fob that takes care of that.

Rex, I honestly did think about car rentals - may still think more about that. For international flights we need drive 2 hours, there just is no way to get there but driving. The flight to London is 10.5 hours and with 3 hrs at the airport ahead of time and a 2 hour drive you start looking for easy (and inexpensive) ways to do things like this. Staying at airport hotels the day before is not the answer, that adds more money to an already expensive trip.

I will keep thinking :-) Thanks for your responses !!!

See if the key shop actually CAN make one that at least opens the car doors. If so, you are OK since you can leave the ignition key hidden in the car.

If not - even though it is 2 hours, I'd probably ask a friend or relative to drive me down/back. I'm about 2 hours from SFO and most of my international flights start there. I've always been able to find someone to drive me down if needed.

BTilke, thanks for the on-the-spot observation of life in Britain today.

Lori, think about renting a car, or ask someone for a lift. That is a long way, I know. Sigh. Travel. It's all logistics, and it often ends up costing you more than you planned.

tonight's news is that heathrow is operating at about 70% capacity. some passengers flights were cancelled with checked baggage left airside so the passengers are sent to hotels with nothing but the contents of the plastic bag.

officials predict that the situation will improve in coming days. meanwhile, BAA (operator of LHR) is still under a lot of fire from several airlines who say that they can't run things properly.

anyway, it is fair to say that the situation at heathrow is far from "business as usual". it seems that the inability to carry certain items on board are the least of people's problems. many cancelled flights, waiting several hours, and huge queues and disorganisation appear to be the biggest issues right now.

I really appreciate all your thoughts on the key/fob "all in one unit".. I went to Ace Hardware this a.m. and they made me a key that will only open the door ($2.00) so I guess I'll just hide the key/fob inside the car. Since there are no close relatives around I would not want to ask anyone to drive 2 hours back and forth.

Apparently it is not just the flights to & from the US-UK where it is unclear about what one can take. Some US airlines are saying "electronic" stuff is ok, others are rather hazy on the subject. Would rather not get to Security after already checking in baggage & be told "throw you car keys away or don't board the plane".

Now if they could just decide once and for all if Lipstick (in a tube) is ok I'd be happy :-)

Lori, I've been following the key fob discussion, and hope you find a solution. For what it's worth, when I leave my car at Heathrow, I use a car park that keeps my key while I am away. I just drop the car off at their office, they move the car somewhere else during my trip, and have it waiting for me in front of their office when I return. Perhaps there is something like that near the airport you are departing from.

Glad I was able to help. Flew back yesterday and posted my experience in reply to a question about who flew out recently so will not retype it here. But my best advice is based on Gatwick, get to the airport at least 4 hours in advance and be prepared for a 1 to 4 hour delay inside the plane while the US checks passport info. Also make sure you have back-up plans in case you miss your connection. While in London I heard from quiet a few fellow travelers who had their plane to the continent cancelled so have a back-up plan for that too. If you need to be someone (as was the case for this family trying to catch their cruise) don't wait until the day of, give yourself at least an extra day. Also try to keep your spirits up by remembering you are traveling in Europe while many others don't have that opportunity. I told that to my two kids and it helped in stopping them from complaining and being real troopers through the experience.

Good luck to fellow travlers, Itsv

Lousy life makes for great stories. These difficulties are something you can tell people about for years to come! :)