Before you arrive at London Heathrow Airport, find out the terminal building you are arriving in. Heathrow Airport, officially London Heathrow (LHR), is the biggest of the five airports serving London, and is also one of the biggest airports in the world. A sprawling complex, London Heathrow comprises five terminal buildings, and getting around them can be quite complicated, especially if you are a transiting passenger.
Three of the terminals of London Heathrow, T1, T2, and T3, are located around one another. T4 is located on the southern part of Heathrow Airport while the newly opened T5 is located to the west. The terminals are served with a variety of transport links including rails, bus and taxis, with parking space which are quite limited.
The procedure through London Heathrow is quite straightforward, and can be summarized into the following steps:
1. Upon getting out of the aircraft, follow the sign pointing to Arrivals
2. Go through Passport Control. There are two sections, one for nationals of EU and Britain, another for all other nationals. You will be expected to show a valid passport which will not expire during your stay in the United Kingdom. Please be aware that some times, it may take a while to go through Passport Controls when the queues are long.
3. Once out of Passport Control, follow the sign to Baggage Reclaim. Look for the right carousel by your Flight Number on the Information Screens. Trolleys are available for your use. Your airline is responsible for your luggage until you pick it up. If it is damaged or missing, contact your airline representative.
4. Having collected your baggage, go through Customs Clearance. If you arrived from a European Union country, use the blue exit. If you arrived from a non-European Union country, use the green channel if you have nothing to declare. Otherwise, or if you're in doubt, use the red channel.
5. You exit Customs into Heathrow's Arrival Concourse. A variety of transport options are available for you to leave the airport.
Getting Out of London Heathrow Airport
You have many different transport options to leave Heathrow Airport. This includes taking the train, the bus, taxi and by car. Let's look at each of these options:
Leaving Heathrow by train
Leaving Heathrow by bus
Leaving Heathrow by taxi
Leaving Heathrow by car
Terminal Transfers
You can transit between Terminals 1/2/3 and Terminal 5 on the Heathrow Express for free. To transit between Terminals 1/2/3 and Terminal 4, use the Heathrow Connect for free.
Heathrow Airport Rearrangement
Heathrow Airport is (at time of writing, 10 June, 2008) undergoing rearrangement of the airlines using the different terminals. This exercise began in March 2008, and is expected to be accomplished in ten months. In the revamp, the allocation of terminals to airlines is based on their alliances. Terminal 2 is being demolished and will be replaced by the new, yet-to-be-open Heathrow East Terminal. When the revamp is completed, the terminal arrangement will be as below:
Terminal 1: Star Alliance
Terminal 2: To be replaced by Heathrow East Terminal
Terminal 3: Oneworld, British Airways flights to and from Madrid, Barcelona, Nice, Helsinki, Lisbon, Bangkok, Singapore, Sydney, Aer Lingus and Virgin Atlantic
Terminal 4: Skyteam and all non-aligned airlines
Terminal 5: All British Airways flights except Madrid, Barcelona, Nice, Helsinki, Lisbon, Bangkok, Singapore and Sydney.
Future Development
As mentioned above, Terminal 2 has been closed since the opening of Terminal 5. It will be demolished, as will Terminal 1. They will be replaced by Heathrow East Terminal under construction, and expected to be ready in time for the 2012 London Olympics. In addition, there is also a proposal to build a third runway with an additional terminal to the north of the current terminal buildings.
London Heathrow Terminal 5
Photo Credit: Christian Bickel, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 Germany
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London Travel Tips is researched and written by Timothy Tye, universally known as Tim. The information provided is in goodwill and is believed to be correct and up-to-date at time of writing. We disclaim responsible for its usage, and encourage users to recheck the information before their trip. Some photos are provided by Panoramio. Photos provided by Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners. They may only be used under the terms & conditions specified by Panoramio. Photos by third-party owners are captioned and attributed. Photographs that belong to Tim are copyrighted and may not be reused unless you first obtain permission. All of Tim's photographs are available for commercial use under the following licensing terms. Tim is a Christian. Click here to know more about his beliefs.
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