London Heathrow Airport Passenger Reviews and Heathrow Airport Traveller Reports

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Not for the first time has a flight been changed from gate 8 to gate 80 with little or no notice, and it's a fair walk. Something to be aware of if your flight is posted for Gate 8.

Definitely the worst airport I've ever transited. The availability of wheelchair assistance was spotty and the wheelchair assistance co-ordinators were not polite. When we really needed one there was no one at the assistance station at all. We missed our flight and were delayed 24 hours. Even without assistance challenges, Heathrow has the worst layout of any airport in the world. I would have thought it would be better after the Olympics. Not so. Transferring between terminals is interminable.

Arrived to check in at T5 for early eve flight to Philadelphia. Absolutely no queue at the Bag drop and was quickly checked in by the welcoming check in clerk. Security was quick and efficient. Boarded from C gates which were very quiet. Efficient, well organised boarding.

Terminal 5. Bag drop queues were long, about fifteen minutes, passed through fast track into security to be delayed over half an hour because they seemed to be taking every other bag for additional screening. Bags and passengers were stacked up waiting for the two screeners to get round to them. They unpacked each bag completely and swabbed them all and every hard surface in each passenger's belongings. They even searched my wallet! They found nothing of course in any of the eight bags/passengers in front of me in the line. What a waste of time and resources. My previous good opinion of T5 now in ruins. The "pod" transfer from car park to terminal however was fast and efficient.

Arrived T3 and had an outbound at T5. While going through T5 security, they were picking out every 3rd or 4th persons bags for screening, stood there for 30 minutes until they got to our bag, unloaded every item, one by one, at a glacial pace. Then went over to do the swab, talked with their buddy and finally returned. 10 people were waiting for bags to be gone through at least, and then he leaves, leaving all of us standing there, with no replacement. We will go around London next time.

Came through the fast track and had my bag set aside for a search. I waited 10 whilst the staff stood and had a conversation. They then put my bag back through the scanner but then decided they wanted to search it anyway. My bag was then taken to the other end of the security hall and put through another scanner whilst the staff member stood and chatted to his colleagues. He then brought my bag back and painfully slowly emptied every single compartment. He opened the pouch that had all the cables for my laptop in and zipped it back up without even looking in it. After the bag was completely emptied he asked would I like him to re-pack my bag. I packed it myself to save time. He made a mockery of the security at T1.

I recently arrived at LHR Terminal 4 and departed Terminal 3. I had Fast Track both ways. My United flight arrived 40 minutes early at Terminal 4 and I was expecting a breeze in the Fast Track line. Unfortunately, the line was long in the Fast Track line and took over an hour. I departed from Terminal 3 and there was nobody in the Fast Track line. However, my bag that went through the X-Ray screener required a personnel to search it. I had to wait over 20 minutes till the security agent got to my bag. They explained that they are very short staffed. I think this is unexcusable for the busiest airport in the Europe that just had the Olympics there. Terminal 3 itself is nice and had a lot of restuarants and shops.

Came back via Madrid into T5 and after Immigration where they were still welcoming visitors to the Paralympics 10 days after it finished - how hard can it be to revert the screen messages? We went to baggage reclaim. Followed the signage to the relevant belt and waited. Eventually cases started to trickle out, now about 45 minutes from landing time, but not ours. Asked a passing worker how long it should take and were told about half an hour but maybe check for other Spanish origin flights. There weren't any but as our concern and indeed panic rose we began walking the length of the hall checking every belt where eventually we found one case on the belt for a flight from Abuja Nigeria. After nearly an hour we were about to go to baggage enquiries office when the last case appeared on its own again on the Abuja flight belt. You have to ask what kind of system manages to misplace not one but two cases so very far from correct. This terminal appears still not to have fixed its problems.

Arrived morning (07.30) of 14 July into T5: no queue at passport control and the luggage began to come through as I arrived at baggage reclaim. Time from aeroplane to taxi rank was 20 minutes, which was quite good, considering half of that was spent going from the gate to passport control. Passport control person was not impolite, which made for a nice and very welcome change.

Flew out of Heathrow to Warsaw from Terminal 1. Found it to be fine with little queuing and good facilities. Staff mostly friendly too.

The improvements I have noticed from Heathrow are absolutely fantastic! Years ago however it was a different story, and I'm glad that this can be said! Terminals are clean, well decorated and for the most part have excellent shops! Overall had a very satisfying experience there, and a fantastic welcome back to the UK. Staff were very friendly!

I usually fly from T1 or T5, but this time went through T3. It has improved. Check-in staff at SAS were excellent and quick, no need to queue and wait, same when I got to the gate, no waiting to board aircraft. Passing through security was no more then 5 minutes. Then the path meanders through Duty Free which I could do without. Waiting area a bit crowded, plenty of choice of places to get food and drink and other luxury shops. Good and clear signage and the walk to the gate not too long. Could do with a few more toilets in the waiting area, one seemed to be closed. Return also smooth. No difficulty at passport control, in fact staff there friendly and had a little chat over why the automatic gates don't seem to recognize my passport. 20 minute wait for luggage which is not unusual for Heathrow. The terminal has improved since my last trip through it. The only frustrating downside was the free wi-fi did not work and on my return leg finding the way to the underground was not well indicated.

My husband and I arrived at LHR T1 recently returning from India. For the second time in our travels, we had more hassle at T1 than in the Indian airports we had visited (and we've been through all the major ones). After being told to keep my shoes on, when I got through the initial scanner, I was curtly asked to remove my shoes so that they could be scanned. After being frisked and finally the metal detector run across me (this is the first thing they do in India by the way), and being told to put nothing back into my pockets my belongings were gathered together by one of their officious security staff members I had to go through the body scanner after which I was frisked again. Have they never heard of metal buttons on jeans? After that the three officials started chatting and I actually had to ask if I was free to go.

Wheelchair help through the airport atrocious. No help at all in early morning. Non walking person had to walk quite a long way to find a lift then the help station was unmanned. Eventually we did get a wheelchair. Grudging service. What a difference in other European airports where service is fast and friendly. On arrival back in UK we were passed between 3 different people and then after a 20 minute wait for a chair, the attendant on the help desk suggested that my non walking husband walk down to the baggage claim and collect the luggage then come back and wait for a chair! When we finally did get a wheelchair, the attendant kept stopping to chat to friends, other airport staff. When I asked if we could get on and go to baggage claim and immigration, the friend to whom the chap pushing the wheel chair was chatting began to laugh at us. This is not good enough Heathrow. You do not measure up to the standards set by other European airports.

The queuing time at Heathrow was quite reasonable and the staff were quite efficient and friendly. Check-in and immigration went quite smoothly. The airport was quite crowded though, so it was a bit annoying to find a place to sit. There's no free Wi-Fi which was quite disappointing. And I think that the shops were quite expensive compared to other large airports.

Appalled at the rudeness encountered at immigration. Immigration officials do not have to be rude when they encounter someone such as myself, entering with no known address. A simple statement that an address is required is sufficient. I believe that most people are reasonable if approached in a polite manner. There was no name badge worn by the two people I encountered making it impossible to lodge a complaint against them. Left a bad impression.

Arrived from JFK into T5 from overnight flight. Bit of a walk and internal transport from arrival gate to immigration/bag reclaim. No problem with immigration queues and bag arrival was fast - I mean fast compared with the usual wait of up to 1hr where BA have previously been concerned. On arrival in baggage hall bags already on their way through. All round a very smooth and pleasant experience.

Connected in Heathrow from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1. Terminal 1 was nice, great shops, services, restaurants, one of the best I have seen anywhere. Didn't see the other terminals but based on Terminal 1, I would say Heathrow should be a 5 star airport. Very impressed.

Terminal 5 is a breeze. Connected through the airport 3 times over the past 3 months and each time Terminal 5 was working smoothly. My only complaint is the late notice of your gate but only once did I have to take the underground train to Terminal 5C.

T3 - arrival. The airport was very clean. Had to wait to get through immigration for about 15 seconds. All the staff acted very pleasantly, friendly, and were asking where we had been etc. For the 3 of us, we only talked to the customs officer for about 15 seconds also before we were let through. Well sign posted (BAA signs as well as ones for London 2012). There were plenty of staff about (as well as ones for London 2012). However, we had to wait for about 15-20 minutes for our baggage to come through, and we were almost at the normal bus stops before we saw a sign saying that the Hotel Hoppa had be re-allocated to the Central Bus Station (we had to back track through the terminal which was difficult) which seemed miles away.

Appalled at terrible lack of thought in to how passengers transfer from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5 (and vice versa). I was travelling from Terminal 4, but coming from Oxford on the bus which drops off at Terminal 5. There was no signage at all as to how to get between the two terminals. After asking airport staff, we eventually found we had to take a local bus. There was no information as to whether the trip would be free (it was) and there was no space for luggage on the bus at all which, if course, most passengers had. Please improve this! Signs at least - but a dedicated transfer bus with proper luggage space would be better.

I found myself visiting three of the four terminals this summer on a return trip. Thankfully, I must have travelled at the less busy times, since I rarely experienced any long queues or other unpleasant aspects of using large, busy airports. Zipped through T3 security and on the way back, flight connections from T5 to T1 were well signposted and quick enough.

Arrived with Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong at 2.45pm on May 17th 2012 to find a huge queue at Passport Control in a zigzag formation, everyone tired and only 3 control booths open so we waited over 50 minutes to be passed through to baggage and customs. What a way to be welcomed to London and the UK! And why don't countries dress up their entrance halls with advertising to boost their countries good points? Arriving in a bare concrete hall is the pits!

Flew out of, and into Heathrow during the last weekend of the Olympics. Expected chaos but was all very smooth and seamless. No queues at immigration inbound, although flight was one of the last ones in. Luggage on carousel when we got there.

T4 - two return trips in the past 3 months. Check-In's (Qatar and Etihad) not especially well organised. Security very slow and not a patch on the new facilities in LGW. Departures is basically a big shop with planes parked out the back. Facilities for the passengers? Who? What's wrong with shopping? Arrivals not too bad with most of the Immigration counters manned. The Baggage wait was an average of 45 minutes which is not good in a Baggage Hall which didn't appear to be especially busy. All in all, not a great experience (but better than LHR T3 and not as good, in any measure, as LGW).

Terminal 5. I had great expectations when T5 opened but they were promptly dashed. Unbelievable to find a modern airport terminal where you still have to pay for internet use and with coins. Another piece of bad planning is the placing of the information signs when you come through departure security. As you gather your scattered belongings you look around for signs - and at first glance there is nothing. They're there, but not immediately obvious. You have to wander around a bit and get the right angle of approach. Needlessly unsettling when you're already stressed. Terminal 4 - last experienced but never to be forgotten just before Terminal 5 opened. We were booked from Oslo to Johannesburg with BA, but when the BA flight from Oslo was delayed, we missed the connecting flight. We saw the last passengers go in and the doors close, but the staff we pleaded with to get us on the plane were unmoved. We were put into a hotel and booked on the next flight to Johannesburg, which was a KLM flight but unfortunately only early the next morning. We were issued with tickets for a bus that hadn't started running by the time we left for the airport. Our luggage, of course, remained at Heathrow. Over the next 2 weeks we phoned the airport daily. Yes, they assured us, our luggage was at Heathrow - they could even describe it to us. But at Heathrow it remained, though nobody could explain why. It finally arrived the day before we left to go home.

Terminal 3. Crowds outside queuing for vat refunds then inside to a terminal which was absolutely packed and when I got to the business class check-in it was so loud that I couldn't hear the check-in staff giving me directions to the lounge - I had to call my daughter over to help me. Fast track was indeed fast and then up to the departures lounge which was crammed with people and no clear signs as to where the business class lounges were. Coming back (which on a previous trip was horrendous) was simple - straight through to the iris reading gates which were brilliant and then to the baggage carousels where my luggage appeared in minutes. T3 needs a massive overhaul for outgoing passengers - it's just not good enough for such a major airport.

Check-in was quick and smooth. Luckily, upon arrival there was no queue at the immigration. Baggage claim was quick, I didn't have to wait for long to get my suitcase. I travelled to Heathrow just few days before the Olympics and was expecting it to be busy but surprised myself as everything was smooth and quick.

Used Terminal 1 for flight from Belfast on 5 August. I was in T1 arrivals within 15 minutes of my flight arriving. Disembarkation process was fast and efficient and staff were polite and welcoming. Terminal was quiet and clean, albeit a little outdated and rough around the edges. Given the intention to demolish T1 I can understand why BAA do not want to spend a significant amount on improvements but my main aesthetic criticism would be the underground tunnels that run from T1/T3 to the London Underground station. They are dirty, poorly lit and create a bad first impression of the UK.

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