London Heathrow Airport Passenger Reviews and Customer opinions

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  16 November 2008 : by Steve Mumby

Customer Rating : 2/5

Arrived from JNB at 7:30am to T3. Needed wheelchair assistance and couldn't have been treated worse by BAA agent - OCS. Clearly couldn't care about me (or the other wheelchair passengers), made no effort to help us, assumed we could walk long distances to get to one of their golf carts - I could go on and on.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  12 November 2008 : by Tony McLaughlin

Customer Rating : 4/5

Terminal 1. have been a big critic of this terminal in the past but it is now vastly improved since BA transferred to T5. This terminal is now more open and more spacious. There were at least 5 flights to the USA in the short time I was in T1, but it seemed very uncrowded. I flew BMI, and there were ample check-in facilities for this airline. Slightly further walk now to Gate 2 since all departures go through the one channel, but not the end of the world. Shoes off policy is now rigorously enforced at security.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  11 November 2008 : by J de Vries

Customer Rating : 2/5

Despite arriving late on a Sunday night, with hardly any other aircraft landing, air traffic control felt it necessary to keep us in the air around London for 45 minutes. It seems air traffic control also had difficulties assigning our plane a parking spot - despite numerous empty gates. We taxied around terminal 3 in its entirety before parking at a gate passed earlier. With so few arriving passengers, immigration at T3 was a breeze, waiting time for suitcases was reasonable.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  11 November 2008 : by John Oram

Customer Rating : 4/5

Today's arrival from LAX saw T5 as BA no doubt intended it to be. In spite of the complex of escalators, walkways and transits we moved from T5B to T5A with little effort and our baggage was waiting. For the first time in a long while, priority tagging seemed to have meant something. IRIS was ultra quick. The Hotel Hoppa was right there at the stop but being a BAA imposition it is a grudging and minimalist service. The off going driver was insolent and the relieving driver was harsh on brakes and accelerator and of course bound by the tedious route which gets you only eventually to the Renaissance.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  11 November 2008 : by Guy Lester

Customer Rating : 4/5

Used T2 on an Alitalia to Milan Linate. Only used LHR once before - usually use LGW and found T1 to be dreadful. However, T2 was excellent at 07:30 on the Monday. Extremely quiet, only six other flights leaving - Lufthansa, Austrian and Swiss. Security a breeze - through in 2 minutes. Departure Lounge was quiet and we boarded quickly. Gate fairly close to lounge, only a few mins walk away. Aircraft left quickly. Only complaint was that the layout was slightly confusing - came in and had to check - in downstairs although some desks were upstairs. Then had to go up two levels for security and departures.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  9 November 2008 : by C Young

Customer Rating : 4/5

Flew from Terminal 4 to Singapore on BA. Well, now that BA have moved all their flights except those to SYD, BKK and SIN from Terminal 4 the place is like a ghost town. Bored shopkeepers, only too happy to chat now that commerce has dried up. Verdict, terrific place to depart from as so uncrowded.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  7 November 2008 : by Mark Cowell

Customer Rating : 2/5

Arrival into T1 on SAA from CPT. Despite being in the air for 12 hours apparently no one at LHR was expecting us as we had to sit on the ramp for 15mins awaiting a marshaller to guide the aircraft into stand. Once off the plane, the whole grim T1 arrival experience unfolded with the usual array of missing ceilings, endless treks and a 45 minute wait for bags. Thankfully customs queue was minimal. Welcome to the UK!

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  5 November 2008 : by Roger Stone

Customer Rating : 3/5

Heathrow could be an enjoyable and efficient hub for business travellers needing to work both in mainland Europe and the UK over a short period - but it isn't. The main problems occur when transiting between terminals or attempting to stay at the Heathrow Hilton adjacent to T4. Transit trains between T3 and T4 do not run every 2 minutes or so as one may expect if you are used transiting through Hong Kong, Singapore, or Tokyo Narita. Instead, at Heathrow between T3 and T4, waiting times can be up to 20 minutes for the Heathrow Connect train to arrive. In other words, there are no local shuttle trains frequently moving to and fro. One has to wait for the trains from central London to take you between terminals. These trains are quite nice but confusion and stress is common with transit passengers forlornly looking about for a suitable train on the underground station platforms at Heathrow. After a week or so of this I found myself assisting many lost travellers as I had, by this time, learnt the best way of surviving this ordeal. This can be a nice conversation starter but it is not an airport recommended for the nervous traveller. Thankfully, there are now more platform staff ready to assist but the train frequency is too low (too far apart). Otherwise, I do like using T5 and have found T1 quite OK. The rest, coping with rude contract check in staff with some airlines, can be an ordeal to deal with.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  30 October 2008 : by Andy Bent

Customer Rating : 3/5

I can't say using T3 was a particularly pleasant experience but it was mercifully brief! Minimal queuing at check in - so I wasn't stuck in that dingy check in hall for too long - then straight through security with no queue. Duty free area not too unpleasant considering the numbers of people crammed into it. On return through immigration, baggage collection and customs in under half an hour - which you can't complain at.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  21 October 2008 : by Kevin Tunnicliffe

Customer Rating : 5/5

Terminal 1. Last time I had to use this terminal it was a nightmare, so when BA switched my flight from T3 after I had booked I was concerned. All for nothing. Terminal one was excellent. No queues on Tuesday as we departed and non on Saturday as we returned. Very few immigration staff on the desks as we came back which caused a slight delay as they had to get extra staff to look into a passenger whose papers did not seem in order. Apart from that excellent. A good range of eating and beverage outlets in departures and on return our baggage was on the belt as we arrived in the baggage hall.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  21 October 2008 : by John Oram

Customer Rating : 3/5

On first arrival at T5 it seems like an ocean of calm in spite of the large number of flights now using it but soon enough you receive a reassuring reminder of BAA's infinite capacity to cause inconvenience. We had arrived at and dropped our bags near the North entrance. We were not allowed through security at that end of the terminal as it was 'closed' being 'too busy'. We walked to the other end of the terminal, ran the gauntlet of the usual charmless security personnel and found that the route to BA's South lounge could hardly be more convoluted if they had had a competition to make it so. Suffice it to say it involves going down one escalator to backtrack and go up two escalators.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  21 October 2008 : by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 1/5

Made T5 connection at 6.30 am. Trains and escalators jammed, security lines long and fast track a joke. The security system does not work and causes terrible backups. I recommend allowing longer connect times than BA gives if transferring early am.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  18 October 2008 : by G Levecque

Customer Rating : 1/5

For anyone requiring wheel chair assistance, make sure you give yourselves lots of time to make connections. On Sep 25th my wife and I came into Heathrow Terminal 5 from Edinburgh, she had to wait almost an hour to get wheelchair assistance from the flight from Edinburgh to the waiting area for the flight to Toronto. We where taken by golf cart from the assistance seating area to the gate for the Toronto flight, then there was no wheelchair to take my wife the rest of the way to the plane, she tried walking and almost passed out in so doing, no one told me that once we had checked in, the plane for Toronto would have waited for us! This was a terrible experience.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  15 October 2008 : by R Moss

Customer Rating : 3/5

Arrived LHR T3 from USA. Forty-five minute wait to clear customs. Then fifteen minutes to get luggage. Our walk to the main terminal area no longer under construction and actually clean. Marathon walk to T1 to pick up BMI flight. BMI check in staff some of the rudest people I have ever encountered. I really don't mind T-3 but dread having to deal with T1. Even Miami personel more polite than T1.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  14 October 2008 : by Adam Farrell

Customer Rating : 1/5

Passed through Terminal going to Aberdeen for the weekend with BMI. The domestic security route is now used for staff only so passengers now have to detour through the main (former) International Departures. This requires domestic passengers to have a photo which the guy that looked at my boarding pass neglected to take. Consequently I was not allowed access to the domestic gates and then lectured by a very patronising security man for not having my passport on me. I politely explained to him that I was well aware the purpose of the new procedures was to increase retail revenue in the lounge by funnelling ALL passengers through the shopping mall. Eventually after much consultation I was escorted back out to have my photo taken, neatly driving a truck through the security protocols. I had to sprint the length of T1 domestic as BMI were holding the gate until the last moment for me. Security man complained loudly to his staff about my attitude.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  9 October 2008 : by Nick Biskinis

Customer Rating : 3/5

T5 does work, and architecturally leaves an impression of light ambience. However, the fast baggage drop off isn't particularly fast, particularly if you're stuck behind passengers travelling to the States, where check-in staff took ages to clear them through. Also the security gates were limited so causing long queues - I can see how come summer this could undermine T5's efficiency. That said, there's good spaces to sit down, nice views of planes, some reasonably priced cafes. For those arriving back in the UK, information about public transport/bus/rail/Tube and National Express services is really first rate. So Heathrow has a fine Terminal - but it needs to replace T1/2 with Heathrow East as soon as possible, and sort out Terminal 3 which is arguably the worst Heathrow Terminal by far. Overall LHR is hit and miss, though I've never had a bad experience at this airport

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  9 October 2008 : by Kingsley Utande

Customer Rating : 3/5

Arrived at T5 a couple of weeks ago from Abuja and was not impressed. Commute from the remote stand to the terminal was too long and the queue at immigration took over an hour. The supervisors kept issuing contradictory instructions and having gone through, saw another oversized BAA shopping mall. While waiting for my connecting flight to Zurich there was the lack of gate information until approx 40 mins to departure. How does BAA expect people to navigate the vastness and get to their gates on time? Other passengers kept complaining that Terminal 4, for all its decay was faster. My return trip from ZRH a week later was better. Spent barely fifteen minutes at immigration and was at the national express stop before the hour ran out. On the whole, I loved the secluded rest areas airside and the terminal's architecture which doesn't have you going up and down like ZRH. But T5 needs to improve on processing arrivals thru immigration at peak periods.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  4 October 2008 : by Peter Hutchinson

Customer Rating : 4/5

Arrived at T1 and departed via T5t. Differences are like chalk & cheese - T1 was the same as it was 10 years ago! Transit time inbound was very quick though - less than 30mins from arrival at gate to being at shuttle bus pick up and I was travelling economy! Very impressed with T5 check-in though attendant at bag drop should have taken her happy pills that morning. Travelling J Class to LAX so lounge facilities were much appreciated. Would give T5 5 stars, but alas T1 is only 3 - it's still better than LAX !

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  4 October 2008 : by W Hill

Customer Rating : 1/5

It was my misfortune to have a connecting flight from Heathrow T1. Security staff attitude was rude bordering on being hostile and seemed to find it funny when I was told I would have to go back to BMI and check my golf umbrella into the hold. I told them there was no problem when I left Changi with it and I was already late for my flight. You can't take it onboard I was told with a smirk. So I had to break up my wife's present much to the amusement of the "gentlemen" at security. The departure lounge was dark and dingy - a thoroughly demoralizing experience. From getting off my flight in T3 and my connecting flight, all I meet was sour faced staff who didn't want to be there.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  1 October 2008 : by Mark Brewer

Customer Rating : 3/5

Transited through Terminal 5 last week en route from Aberdeen to Rome. Terminal 5 is a much cleaner environment than Terminal 1, at least. With a clean slate, however, you'd have hoped they'd have come up with something better than the shambolic security check system now in place. The "3 position" idea simply doesn't work. Many people need more than 1 tray, and that immediately messes up the "3 position" system. It is also not nice when I get shouted at to start loading up a tray, requiring me to point out as politely as I could manage that there were no free trays - the lady in question should have at least checked this. I'm sure the staff don't enjoy this system either, as many of them look massively stressed, and this aspect of T5 is actually worse than my old T1/T2 experiences.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  15 September 2008 : by T Lynch

Customer Rating : 4/5

I use Heathrow 2-4 times a week. I find the airport much improved especially Terminals 3 & 5. The elimination of domestic security in Terminal 1 is irritating as the photograph process is very slow and cumbersome. One accepts it is necessary but there must be a more efficient way of organising. Why not send domestic and Ireland passengers to be photographed and send everyone else to security. I think Heathrow is definitely on the way back.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  15 September 2008 : by P Asar

Customer Rating : 4/5

Heathrow has improved. Landed at T2 from ZRH to catch connecting flight to MBA (Kenya Airways) from T4. Rail link to T4 was good, however tricky if you have a child in a pram and a few bags to carry. Don't see why the trolleys cannot be taken onto the trains. However staff at train stations were very helpful! T4, couldn't believe how fewer people there were, looks like T5 has taken a lot of pressure off T4. It took my family 15 minutes to check in, go through security and to be seated at the Pret a Manger airside with a sandwich and a coffee! Toilets were clean too - this is not the Heathrow I remember from a year ago. Not long to go before Heathrow gets its title back as a world class airport.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  12 September 2008 : by L Stirton

Customer Rating : 5/5

Normally use Terminal 3 when I leave the UK. Only on this occasion, have I been the most pleased. Checking into Emirates was great, as there were no queues, and that we had so much luggae. Security was long as it always was, as was the inside where it was crowded near the shops. Flying back in was great as well. Immigration was empty, and we got through in 5/10 minutes after leaving the aircraft. Once we got through there, our luggage was whizzing round happily on the carousel. Can't say fairer than that!

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review : 5 September 2008 : by Kevin Gordon

Customer Rating : 4/5

Terminal 5 is surprisingly peaceful and quiet. I was expecting a lot of turmoil, and instead found the fast check-in the best experience I have ever had. British Airways attendants invite you to their desk to check in, and were most helpful. Having visited at peak season, it was unusually quiet. Coming home was also very swift to depart the terminal. No time wasted. I like it, and I'll go again. Altogether a very enjoyable experience.