London Heathrow Airport Passenger Reviews and Heathrow Airport Traveller Reports

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Arriving in LHR from YVR at Terminal 3, departing LHR for AMS at Terminal 4. Parts of the terminal 3 building are old and deteriorating, although the terminal in general is of acceptable standard and cleanliness. Customs queuing was not too bad. Baggage arrived fairly quickly on the carousel. A fairly long walk from the plane to the customs hall, followed by a very long walk from the arrival halls to the tube station. Departing from terminal 4: Terminal 4 was clean and looked pleasant. However, food and drinks were very expensive. No free wifi was a disappointment. Queuing time to go through security was a bit on the long side. Overall, LHR surpasses the performance of many North American airports, but does not come close to the efficiency, innovation and customer service aspect of some of the Asian Tigers (Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul, etc.).

Terminal 5. The first time I'd been there and I hope, the last. Had 1 hr to connect from an incoming Miami to an outbound Manchester. Miami flight late by 20 mins. Took the wrong turn and after 20 mins managed to find the right desk. Flight closed and was told rudely that it was my fault so tough. Rebooked on a flight 2 hours 30 mins later. No staff to get help from. First class manager couldn't have cared less.

Two visits to T5 during a recent business trip from Edinburgh via Heathrow and Madrid to Grand Canaria both of them memorable for all the wrong reasons I'm afraid. On the outward leg my flight was running late then delayed another 20 minutes until a landing slot was free and I missed my next flight to Madrid. When I attempted to rebook I was initially directed to the wrong desk by an airport employee and when I found the correct one I had to queue for 30 minutes. On the return leg my transit through Terminal 5 started smoothly enough with plane landing on time, then I encountered the theatre that is airport security and no one does it better the LHR! The first act was a pleasant woman checking my boarding pass then a quick passport check at the next desk. Next I was a little taken aback when I had to have my photo taken 'for security purposes' apparently. I then proceeded to security screening, I passed through without making anything bleep. After waiting 30 minutes for the gate to appear on the departure board I headed there and awaited boarding. Imagine my surprise when again G4S wanted to take my picture but had no wish to look at my passport nor any other official identification document. Another 10 minutes delay on the ground and I was finally out of that nightmare. My main gripe is with the taking of passenger pictures of a UK citizen at a UK airport on a domestic flight, this is intrusion of my privacy and completely unnecessary. My passport verifies my identity and contains my photo. I travel about 30k miles year on business and have instructed our travel company not to book me any flights via LHR again unless it is absolutely and instead send me via Amsterdam or Paris even if it means more time travelling. I will also be conveying my experiences to BA and I encourage others with similar experiences to do the same.

Flew out of Terminal 5 to South Korea on 13 May 2013 and my experience was a good one. The airport was easy to navigate and was spotlessly clean. Notice boards were well sited and displayed necessary information in plenty of time to enable you to get where you needed to be. All in all a pleasant experience.

I made a connecting flight on May 10th, 2013 - Rome to London to Toronto on BA, with my checked baggage being sent through from Rome to Toronto without my having to collect and recheck it at Heathrow. Rome flight left late, arrived late, and I ended up, accompanied by one of the connecting flights personnel, running through Terminal 5 from one gate to another to make the Toronto flight. Despite not having left the secured area, I had to submit my carry-on bag for re-inspection and my duty free purchase was confiscated. I feel this is unreasonable - I purchased duty free in good faith and presented my boarding pass in Rome to do so, had it bagged accordingly, at Heathrow, I never left the secured area, and was in the company of a BA connecting flights representative from the moment I set foot off the Rome plane until I started down the jet way to board the Toronto flight. Between Heathrow Security and British Airways, the matter of how you deal with those on immediately connecting flights should be reviewed. Surely this doubling of scanning and arbitrary seizure of duty free goods is a waste of time, personnel, and goods. Connecting passengers are under your purview the entire time they are in Heathrow. There is neither time nor opportunity to purchase duty free while sprinting to the gate. (There isn't even time to go to the bathroom). The icing on the cake was the 45+ minute wait in the Toronto plane on the tarmac before we were finally cleared for take off. A bad experience all around, and a lousy end to a holiday.

T3 last month. Arrivals OK, Departures dreadful, horrific queuing with no space for proper queue management. Awful security area especially if you get stuck behind someone with multiple 'problem items'. The Departures Area itself is basically a big shopping mall with planes parked out the back. Facilities for the passengers?, well unless it involves shopping, forget it. All in all a fairly dismal airport which I endeavour to avoid if at all possible.

Used Terminal 1 for a return flight to Moscow Domodedovo using Transaero with 3 other family members. Its noticeable how the efforts are trying to be made by Heathrow as a whole to try and improve its status, (terminal 5 being a prime example), but there is still room for improvement. Interior looks very dated. Transaero seem to have their check-in zone tucked away from the main area so its a bit of a task trying to locate it. When we arrived there was an ominous-looking queue and we had noticed that the delayed take-off kept on getting extended every 5 minutes! Turned out that our plane was still in Moscow because of the weather, so there was a 6-hour delay at most. We were given £25 to spend each in the airport though, which explained the queue. Security was surprisingly swift, very friendly staff. Giraffe restaurant very good, not too expensive. Waiting seats are very hard, comparable to park benches. Free Wi-Fi and good range of plug sockets. Something striking is the very long distances to walk to gates. It was a good 10 minute walk even with travelators! On return, taxi to gate was very swift, and we left the plane quickly. Immigration is in desperate need of a review in terms of services. Very long queues, insufficient tables for filling out details (for some reason, we weren't given them on the plane). Very grateful to the assistant who led us to the front because of the children (we had already waited 40 minutes). Unfriendly staff at immigration, but on the other hand, our baggage was all ready for collection, and we were able to leave quickly from baggage reclaim.

Flew from T4 on Friday evening of bank holiday weekend. A much improved terminal where everything runs smoothly. Good staff. Nice facilities. Still too many 'upper end' shops as with the other terminals, but overall very good with no queuing.

Passing though T5 on my way to Glasgow, coming from Singapore. Boarding pass checked 4 times, pictures taken of you and staff chatting among themselves instead of trying to get the crowds moving. Airport melted down my 2hour stop over time to nothing - reaching the gate with the final call.

Arrived from Cape Town on BA58. Good flight with BA. However on arrival wheelchair not available as requested - had been provided at Cape Town. Around 12 pax had to walk up the ramp - some in obvious distress. A buggy waiting there took pax through immigration and then 'dumped' them in baggage collection. No help to offload luggage and no wheelchair through to the outside. BA refuses to accept responsibility and the airport ignores e-mails. This at T5 - Heathrow's newest terminal and BA's so call show piece. A dreadful way to treat elderly customers and people with limited mobility. I expected more from both BA and T5. Will avoid in future.

Arrived from Cape Town on BA58. Good flight with BA. However on arrival wheelchair not available as requested - had been provided at Cape Town. Around 12 pax had to walk up the ramp - some in obvious distress. A buggy waiting there took pax through immigration and then 'dumped' them in baggage collection. No help to offload luggage and no wheelchair through to the outside. BA refuses to accept responsibility and the airport ignores e-mails. This at T5 - Heathrow's newest terminal and BA's so call show piece. A dreadful way to treat elderly customers and people with limited mobility. I expected more from both BA and T5. Will avoid in future.

I am all for Security but it is getting ridiculous at Heathrow Airport. Every case/bag seemed to get stopped going through the scanner - one person dealing with about 20 bags and she really took her time about things and kept going off to have a chat. At least one person missed their flight. My bag was stopped because the plastic bag I had my toiletries in was 'not a disposable plastic bag therefore illegal' - their words not mine! They then transferred what was in my see through bag which I have used every week for the last 10 months at every other airport to a 'legitimate' plastic bag. I had one toothpaste and one extremely small bottle of Bachs Herbal Rescue Remedy that would not fit so they told me I had to dispose of them! How ridiculous - I fly every week for work and all around the world will never fly from Heathrow again.

These comments are specifically about Terminal 5. I have been through T5 twice each way in the last month. The last time was arriving this morning on BA72 (25/04/2013) from Muscat. The previous time was to and from Edinburgh. No particular problems on departure, but on arrival on both occasions the plane had to be parked away from the Terminal and passengers bussed to the terminal. The process was slow and inefficient on both occasions - it took more than 35mins before someone found steps and buses etc and got the passengers unloaded. This is old fashioned passenger handling technology now only found at second rate airports - why are passengers using the new vastly expensive T5 expected to put up with it?

After a long flight from Australia and landing in London I found it to be dirty, no organisation, staff not helpful or friendly, a great welcome to the country. Toilets were disgusting considering this is a major airport. Not very well sign posted, I ended up going up and down in the lift 3 times with my 3 year old daughter and a trolley as I could not make head nor tail where I was meant to go. Flying out from Heathrow I found not much choice to get something to eat or good coffee. There is hardly anywhere to sit before you can check-in and the seats are very uncomfortable. By far the worst airport I have been to!

We travelled through Heathrow yet again this year, having done it last year, and although the experience was slightly better it still has a way to go. Yet again it was passport control where we felt let down. We were met by a young lady who tried to organise us into numerous queues allowing those in a hurry through first. However, my gripe is directed at the 4 'officers' who were situated in the booth next to the one in use who were deep in discussion. If this was training It should have been done out of sight of travelling passengers or could a sign not be used to inform passengers that they are training and not just gossiping because that's what it looked like. Lots of staff around the full airport but I don't think they were all being used to their full potential and some not the most pleasant. As for the lines there, it was bordering on the ridiculous as I fel we needed a map to get round them all. This may be one of the biggest airports however I would rather travel through a smaller airport and be treated by polite and friendly staff where I am treated as a human being and not a herd of cattle.

Arrived 6.35, T5 from Sydney, then bussed to T3 for connecting flight to Manchester, not too much of a problem here, then we and 300+ passengers queue for passport check. We had 10 mins until our next flight, when others asked if they could go through quicker we were told no, we had to wait our turn. We were then fast tracked through to security check, which was chaos, their attitude was very poor and as far as they were concerned being held up was not their problem. Unfortunately, we had a duty free bottle of booze bought in from NZ with us, which they took off us and told us abruptly we were not allowed to have this. We were then kept waiting 30mins before they would give my husband his hand luggage back and we missed our next flight. Would never want to use their airport again, what impression do they give to overseas travellers to our country? Come on Heathrow, get your act together.

Flew EI from Terminal 1. Great swift check-in, EI allow you to use any check in desk and they were fully staffed. Went through security (they take your photo), which was quick. Came to the departure lounge and it was very dirty and tired. Little shopping facilities apart from a newsagents and a bar/bistro! Proceeded to the gate, which on the way, you are security screened again. Apart from the computer not being able to match my photographs to my passport, and a group of American Diplomats getting in the way, it didn't take long. The Aer Lingus departure gates are very small and twisty with plenty of walking. Not enough seating at the gate. But the upside is, the EI gates are very close to one of the runways, so from doors closed to take off, it took less than ten minutes! Not impressed with Heathrow, but with the changes EI have made, it's all good.

Arrived At T3 from Manchester then to transfer to T5 onward to Bangkok. However, upon arrival there was no information on which buses to take, the staff spoke broken English and were unable to understand and found the signage lacked appropriate direction. We were walking round for 30 mins then decided to just get a taxi which then cost £25, £6 of which goes to the airport we were told, so we could catch our flight on time. We would consider ourselves seasoned travellers but this was the 1st and last time we will ever go to this airport.

Flew QF to Bangkok. It is the world's busiest Airport and you can tell. It is crowded and at places dated and dirty. Didn't impress me as that mighty world airport. The check in was quick. Arrival was a bit nasty. The customs officer poured over my passport a hundred times. The info kiosk was manned by a surly looking staff member who when I asked him a question, he pointed me to a timetable and said its all in there. Duty free shops are lovely. Info display insufficient.

T5 on a Sunday at peak time. Good connection, but I think due to light passenger load. All lines short, even transfer security which can be a nightmare. Even a little humour from the staff - I think that their lack of this is often simply due to the monstrous number of not always polite people they have to deal with on some days. I wish there was more shopping for ordinary people, but that is the way of most large airports now. One of my better T5 experiences.

T1. Lots of level changes and twisted corridors, gate announced late - insufficient seating in general area to get you in the shops, dirty floors. Long waiting times at luggage belt (25min), lots of traffic jams around the airport. Good range of destinations and frequencies.

T4 to HKG via DOH with Qatar Airways. Sunday afternoon departure, Tuesday morning return. I've managed to avoid T4 until now, and I was expecting the worst, yet I was pleasantly surprised. No queues at check-in or security on departure. Pleasant choice of facilities airside, with good runway views in places. Short queue at immigration upon return. The only let-down was the long wait for bags, which arrived about 40 mins after landing.

The security staff appear to be a bunch of disinterested people and they treat with such disdain. The process used is ridiculous and seems designed to delay passengers. I missed a connecting flight because I inadvertently left the dregs of a small bottle of water in my bag. Rather than do the sensible thing (as is done at other airports) and ask me if I had any liquids, they decide to remove my bag after screening, and have me standing around waiting for more than 30 minutes. All that was needed was to have me identify the bottle of water, remove and re-screen which would have taken 2 minutes. Instead, they want to empty every item from the bag. Having been through numerous major airports around the world, it is obvious to me that Heathrow is about the worst you will find. The expected lack of courtesy and service reminds us that we are in Britain.

Heathrow to Colombo (UL504). The BA desk at Manchester advised that they could not through check pax or luggage to Colombo. Although the check in with Sri Lankan at HRW was smooth, the delay in baggage delivery on arrival into T5 from Manchester, transfer between terminals 5 & 4, and so called ‘fast-track’ security was a nightmare - taking almost 3 hours lost in total. The lounge in LHR Terminal 4 (Sri Lankan shared with Gulf Air) was one of the best we have used – very spacious and relaxing environment plus excellent attentive service with good quality, regularly refreshed buffet food (European and Asian). For an indirect flight we will continue to use Heathrow but only provided this is limited to T5 and we can through check. Otherwise we will probably opt to transit in the Middle East (with Etihad or Emirates) to avoid the invariable delays landing into HRW and the T4 transfer/security nightmare.

I took the train from and to the airport. To say it doesn't is completely incorrect. I also had no problem with security, they're very relaxed and got me through. You can get anywhere in less than an hour without struggling too much. It's a good airport. As for flights, mine got there early and the other left on time. I took American airlines, which was very good at that time. I was there in Jan. 2012.

It took almost 40 minutes to clear the X-Ray area and I almost missed my AC 859 flight to Toronto on Feb 20, 2013. Heathrow T3 needs a revamp just like we had it here in Toronto at Toronto Pearson Intl and it will be once again a great place to fly. Heathrow used to have free calls to landlines from the pay phones, not anymore. Staff are rude, but departure lounge is clean and ample seats await you prior to boarding.

One can only comment on ones own experience, we have passed through terminal 5 twice in the past month, arrived on a BA flight at 1215 on 25/01/13. Immigration was super fast despite automatic system being a failure, made Miami look like a backwater. As for transport we had cleared immigration and collected baggage, caught the rail air coach to Woking, then train to Aldershot by 1445.

This airport lacks the amenities that "international" airports worldwide have as standard features. For instance the connections between terminals should be by fast rail system, rather than old dilapidated buses which get stuck in traffic or if an accident happens in the tunnels. I had a rough time connecting between T1 and T3 on my flight to Dubai. The buses which were supposed to run every 5 minutes, where not showing up for good 45 minutes. The airport staff didn't understand the plight of the passengers, that their outbound flights may leave without them. I had to rush myself through the security checkpoint (several security checks in fact) and then reached the Emirates Airlines counter, which they told me the boarding has closed. I had to literally beg/demand them to get me onboard. I would not recommend this airport to anyone.

Used Heathrow several times. Never ever known a flight to leave on time. Not once. Connections to central London okay, but if you are coming from anywhere else in Britain bad luck. The bus station is appalling. You can't book a bus ahead because you know you're always going to be late. Spent too many hours at that horrible bus station because inevitably the next National Express is a 2 hour wait. Usually you also spend too much time circling London before arriving in London. The terminals are old and depressing. It's like a flash back to the 70s. I've travelled a lot and this is the worst airport I've ever used. If you're going to London use Gatwick. If you're going to Europe, go for Amsterdam or Rome or if desperate, Paris.

Security at Terminal 5 is absolutely horrendous. Not due to having to be stringent, not due to security measures but due to absolute incompetence. After passing through x-ray they wanted to take a second look at my laptop bag, everything was removed that was supposed to be. I was stood for 25 minutes before anyone even decided to look at it, this is while they are chatting away. In total it took 45 minutes to get through and I almost missed my flight. Every other airport I have been too simply pick the bag up straight away, search it, re-scan and then you are away. I have no problem at all with security at airports, it is required and everyone is safer because of it but do not put a bunch of lazy staff to look after it.

Transited through Heathrow Terminal 5 in Dec 2012 and then again in January 2013. This terminal is awful. The food is all terribly expensive. The shops are so expensive, that no one actually purchases anything from them. The two stores that passengers were buying anything at all are Boots and WH Smith, because they have the least expensive items in all of the airport. Security is completely out of hand. Security is overwhelmed due to the number of passengers that travel through this airport. It is my thought that Security has a policy of confiscating items for twofold reasons, you're tired and don't want to even bother questioning, and that they want you to go purchase the item from one of the stores in the airport. There are few comfortable places to sit, and in most cases not enough places to sit. Interesting that they can't have a quiet zone for adults. I will never transition through this terminal again.

Awful experiences, (twice in 8 months). Yesterday the flight from Madrid, an Airbus 340 was left for more than half an hour with 300 passengers inside - because nobody in Terminal 5 approached the passenger bridge. After waiting for so long in that claustrophobic situation, a staircase came. On another occasion, after Easter, before the Olympics, we were less fortunate. We were left in a parallel landing runway for 30 minutes, while other planes were taking off and landing close to us. Explanation? No position was available to disembark. Never again.

Terminal 4. Now BA has vacated, the facilities have reduced too. There is no non affiliated lounge. No Priority Pass access at all. Security was reasonable. Impossible for Collect at departure area, traffic officers impound your car if you attempt to gain access to drop off area without a passenger on board - had to pay for car park for a 10 second transaction. Inbound E gates are not operational after 10pm, so can not comment on their use. In general bad experience in what should be a first rate airport terminal.

The terminal 5 once you get through the customs and search areas is excellent. The shops and food areas have plenty of choice. The seating areas are comfortable and plentiful. You have to take a short train to get to the actual departure gates - make sure you leave early enough but they are often and fast. The terminal is well marked and easy to figure out the gate locations. The place is large, interesting and efficient.

Through T5 just before Christmas. The whole transfer experience is so much better if you are bussed from your plane, as this avoids the escalator/train. Very busy, but the security wait was only 10-15 minutes and this at the peak arrivals time in the early am. Of course not enough Immigration desks open for U.K. citizens, but we have come to accept that as the norm. Total plane to lounge time around 45 minutes. If only one could always expect this T5 performance could be considered good, but sadly not the case. Comments apply to this visit only as o many others were not this good.

I like T3, it's fairly modern and easy to navigate outside and in, and I like the feel of the check-in desk. I flew with Qantas, and even though they had two desks open, and only 3 people in the queue for the flight, I still had to check myself in on the computers at Zone F which took way too long, at least 10 minutes, even more if your not good with computers. Getting through the boarding gate was also a nightmare, was standing for at least 40minutes, the staff were just too slow. T3 is good though, it has decent shops/restaurants/bars and quite a lot of them. One thing that obviously needs improving though is the security check/x-ray. It was very disorganised, mainly due to staff chatting, and looking rather un-trained if I'm honest. It took ages to get through.

This is one of the busiest airports in the world, but is one of the worst airports I have visited. Ground crew have no idea how airport service should be. Staff impolite and sometimes rude, especially during the security check. They spent the time chatting amongst themselves, ignoring everybody waiting next to the conveyor belt. Took 10 minutes to wait for my bag to come out. Terminals not clearly marked. Very confusing and chaotic. Awfully dirty terminal, crowded and cramped. Good airport facilities with enough souvenir shops, but staff were not nice at all. Lack of efficiency in this airport.

Three recent return flights from T1. I must be one of the lucky ones, as I've had no major problems. All flights more or less off on time. Ground staff and security were all fine, although on one occasion, they took a little too much interest in my hard drive, and drug-screened my whole bag and re-scanned it twice - rather over-zealous, I feel. Check-in very quick on all occasions - no queues. All flights held in holding patterns, but no significant delays. The usual good facilities airside. No problems on arrival, other than 15-20 minute waiting times for bags. Immigration quick, efficient, friendly, and adequate staff.

Flew from the Middle East on December 20 2012 to Terminal 4, transferred to Terminal 1 to make a connecting flight. Security staff at Terminal 1, rude, chatting amongst themselves while they decided to select my carry on for a random search, by a woman with a poor command of English. Both I and my colleague explained that we had to make a connecting flight, staff couldn't have cared less, continued to take their own sweet time chatting amongst themselves, told us and other people travelling with small children, to "be patient", before attempting to open our luggage. We missed our flight, staff at the British Airways desk were sympathetic and concurred that security staff in Terminal 1 were rude to them and have resulted in many passengers missing flights. Heathrow airport transfers are not for the faint hearted, poor signposting I would not recommend for anyone elderly, the distances are huge and it is easy to get lost. Very dated.

I've come through Heathrow five times this year so far and it's always a breeze, and never have to wait more than 10 minutes waiting to get through customs. The revamp of T3 and T4 are great. Free airport Wi-Fi was near impossible to get on, as with most airports. No free kiosks either or places to plug in devices. No places to lay down, only seats. There was a couple of TV's showing sports, but you couldn't hear them very well due to the noise of the hundreds of people in the terminal etc. Heathrow still feels dated in places, mainly baggage claim and customs. Compared to some SE Asian airports like Singapore, we are a decade behind.

LHR Terminal 4, Wednesday 12 December 2012, 19.05. Queue of more than 1 hour (which you don't know when you step in), probably because of fog in the morning (if there were more runways, this issue would not have been so severe). No communication as to why this situation exists, when asking for help there was no willingness to support passengers having to catch their flight. No system dividing between people with earlier flights and people with later flights. No apologies given. Very very slow security: one scanner for 2 baggage lines. No separate baggage line and scanner for Fast track. If the scanner beeps, you have to wait for more than 2 minutes, so queue gets even longer. Very poor service of LHR terminal 4, please improve. Thanks to KLM I did not miss my flight.

T4 security queue made me miss my flight (1 hr 15 minutes in the queue). What is the use of flying if you have to be there two hours before just to go through security. Next time I'll definitely try to avoid Heathrow.

Travelling to London from Palm Springs via Dallas (frequently) we arrived at Terminal 5 which was very impressive, clean efficient, our luggage took minutes to arrive and we were through immigration in 15 mins. They were polite and welcomed us. Departing T5 was a breeze, lots of helpful staff, spacious, light and pleasant check in hall. Security fast and efficient and more shops and restaurants than I have seen at any other airport other than possibly Amsterdam but the food is much better at T5. Interesting to hear Americans moan about immigration lines, I have been in line for 4 hours at LAX on 3 occasions and similar waits at MIA on many occasions. I do agree that free WiFi would make a huge difference but over all I think it is one of the best terminals in the world.

A tale of two Terminals - my flights into and out of Terminal 5 were fine with courteous security staff and immigration officials. However, my experience at Terminal 1 was horrific and echoes many comments also written here. The worst aspect for me was having my bag (laptop bag in my case) taken aside for a random second inspection, but then seeing it left there for ages in a rack while staff laughed and chatted amongst themselves seemingly oblivious to the fact that we have flights to catch. At Australian airports such 2nd random searches are carried out promptly and courteously by another officer further on in the process and that's fine. However, at Heathrow Terminal 1, I had my bag left in a side rack for ages with staff wandering off somewhere else for a chat and a laugh. I, for one, will try to avoid using Heathrow Airport and spending money at its airport hotels and restaurants and, instead, spend my time and money using a northern European hub such as Frankfurt in the future.

It had been many years since I last visited Heathrow, so I was essentially starting afresh. This was the final part of a lengthy flight from Adelaide to London via Sydney and Singapore, so I was hoping for a smooth experience. Fortunately this was what I got. We had an easy departure from our plane despite having to wait till last due to having a family member on crutches. The airport staff immediately arrived with a wheelchair for assistance, and then fetched a golf buggy to get us around quicker. Staff were very friendly and we got through immigration within a matter of minutes. Having had to wait behind on the plane, our bags had concluded their cycle on the conveyor belt, so ours had been placed to one side to collect, which further sped things up. Restrooms were extremely clean and modern, we managed to navigate the airport with little or no problems at all, and the freezing cold outside instantly shook off any lost sleep on the flight.

I hate transiting through Heathrow specifically for two reasons: Immigration control and security. I have to clear immigration before connecting to my UK flight, and there is always no more than two Border Agency officers on duty. They are either belligerent or disinterested towards non-EU passengers like myself. There are two lines-one for EU citizens and the other for non-EU citizens-where each time the officers give preference towards EU citizens while ignoring those in the non-EU line. My advice is for non-EU citizens to make sure to have at least 2 hours to transit because of this ridiculous practice. As to security it has become a nightmare recently. On my most recent experience my handbag was 'randomly' selected for a thorough search. To make matters worse the security officials take their leisurely time. I did not have my handbag checked until after a good 20 minutes of waiting around. They do not care that many passengers are in a hurry to catch their flights! Instead I noticed officials joking and talking amongst themselves oblivious to these randomly selected bags they need to check because passengers are waiting for them! This type of supposedly extreme checking is a huge farce, really accomplishes nothing but hassle to the passengers. If not for the immigration & security issues Heathrow's T5 is quite nice provided one has time to actually relax and shop and eat. I lost so much time on my outbound journey due to the idiotic procedures of immigration and security that I could barely get to buy some water and use the toilet.

I had an outbound and inbound flight to T5 so I will write them separately. Outbound: Excellent in one word, no queues, extremely fast first check in with courteous staff and staff that appeared interested in you and your plans. Passport control and security was empty and so we split up between fast track and normal, both ending at the same time. I was searched and x-rayed routinely but it was an efficient and non-invasive process. Excellent facilities for shopping and eating but there is one drawback with T5 which is the short amount of time they leave to publish the departing gate number, which was alright for our flight as it was an A gate, but there were B and C gates being called close to departure, which does not allow for enough time to be given to transfer to the satellite terminals comfortably. Boarding was pleasant with priority boarding and happy staff. Inbound: The C satellite terminal had problems trying to attach the tunnel to the plane, which meant we lost the 20 minutes of flight time we had made up as well as extra time but the captain and crew were very reassuring. Once we were disembarked, the transition to the main terminal was quick and efficient, with a train for the transit system arriving at C as we made it to the platform. Immigration was fast with staff that wee polite and friendly and too interest in your travels. By the time we reached the carousel, our luggage was coming round, resulting in disembarking to taxi rank in just under 20 minutes.

I absolutely loath having to travel through LHR for a number of reasons. Nasty, cramped, dirty and poorly laid out waiting area for the departure gates at terminal 3 which has only wildly overpriced junk food available to eat. The approach to the check in counters from the underground must rank as some of the worst anywhere in the world with water leaking from behind a wall seeping across a filthy floor making it extremely slippery and dangerous. However the absolute worst aspect is the understaffed immigration queues. I know it's a constant complaint of those of us unfortunate enough to have to use this airport but management seriously has to start to listen. Clearly understaffed the few officials who are tasked with processing arrivals are obviously over stretched and are struggling to cope with what is being asked of them. I don't blame them for being snappy and irritable as the job they have been given is close to unmanageable but its an absolutely appalling way to welcome visitors to this country to make them stand in endless queues while only 3 or 4 counters out of an available 20 or so are staffed. Penny pinching is really making LHR a place to be avoided at all costs.

There has been an enormous effort put into making the facilities and environment here fit to be confirmed with other major international airports, but if an airport can't get planes away on schedule it all starts to seem a bit irrelevant. Last time I caught an international flight from Heathrow it was 3 hours late. Gave it a second chance - and this time my flight was 4 hours late getting away. Will not be using it in future.

Have travelled to and from LHR a number of times over the years. There have been improvements and the airport generally is pretty user-friendly. Even Terminal 5 is good after the initial horrendous problems, to the traveller from USA who thinks that Heathrow has the worst layout of any airport in the world, have you never been to Miami International Airport?

Like many major international airports, London Heathrow has both its assets and downsides. On the positive side, it's an extremely clean, stylish and very modern looking airport. The eating and shopping options are without a doubt the best there are not only in Europe, but possibly the world. The signalling within the airport is clear and concise, so losing yourself is hard to do. However, Heathrow is rife with poorly mannered employees (most of whom do not speak any other language other than English), long lines everywhere (especially as passport checks, these can last for ages), overly priced shops and frequent delays. If you are transiting through the UK's biggest airport, give yourself at least a 2-3 hours layover.

The airport is old, and the efficiency is very low. Although the airport is very big, I got easily confused in the airport. I waited for 10 min for the X-Ray scan excluding the queue up time. Heathrow should be one of the best airports in Europe, and shouldn't be like this.

This is the worst airport I have ever travelled through. The security staff at the X-ray are rude and insulting. I had my bag emptied onto a bench in front of everyone. When I asked if there was a problem I was told it was random. If you can avoid it.

One of the worst airports, only 1-2 officers dedicated to fast track, many times the whole flight has passed immigration, and the first class passenger is still way back in the queue.

Flew into T4 LHR on 13/11/12. It was very quick indeed, 20 minutes from landing to immigration (even used the self-scanning system, not sure of the point as no quicker than a real person and seemed a little temperamental), baggage and customs to leaving the airport. What a breeze and well done.

Used T4 in October/November. The first negative point about T4 is that if you travel on Heathrow Express from central London, you have to get off at Heathrow Central (For T1/3) then wait for another train to T4. Check in was smooth and less chaotic than T3 despite during busy hours. Security check was fast if you don't get picked up for additional check. The shopping area very dark and uninspiring, not many choices either. Poor food and beverage selections and there is no Priority Pass lounge available. Arrival was good. Not too long walk to the immigration (unlike T3), and there wasn't a long queue for EU/UK passport holders. Different story for foreigners though and I did have a lot of sympathy for the poor passengers who had been on a long flight and had to wait for another hour or so to go through immigration. Bag arrived very fast which is consistent with all other terminals in Heathrow.

Terminal 4. Departing - far more enjoyable experience than T3. Nice range of facilities, clean, easy check in experience, security a breeze, and quick boarding. Hassle free experience. Arriving - 30mins circling London at 6.30am Sunday morning. Not much space in baggage collection area but smooth, easy connection to Tube. However, Passport Control big queues. Lots of flights must have arrived at same time, but few staff (especially on international desks) - queue was well past the 'at least 45 minute board' down corridor before even reached the hall, and lack of signage was confusing as queue was way before a sign highlighting which queue to join. E-gates were playing up but got through manual control reasonably fast and out the door in 30mins from getting off plane. International passport holders would have been much longer!

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