London Heathrow Airport

Had to spend night in T3 for an early flight that's ok but did expect to maybe find somewhere open for a meal but everything was shut by 10.30pm so managed to grab a sandwich from one shop before they closed. About 35 people spending the night but nowhere you can put your head down for a few hours kip as the seats are conveniently designed with armrests making it almost impossible to stretch out unless you are a contortionist! Several passengers resorted to the floor I'm in my fifties and was pretty uncomfortable and there were folks older than me ok could have got a hotel but working on a tight budget. That said the queuing time was ok having self checked in just had to go to the bag drop but please can we have at least a coffee shop open and some seats without armrests?

I am not sure if the difficulty is that travel agent did not allow enough time for transfer but we were very rushed with 1 hour 50 minutes. I know in some airports in the USA if booking myself I would have added more time. Going from US to Scotland we had to transit to terminal 5 and go through security once again. We were given an orange "FAST TRACK" sign which then seemed to have no effect afterwards but certainly is an indication that the time we were allowed was not enough. There is a lack of people giving direction and I am not sure still why we had to have our picture taken. We did make our flight partially thanks to a group of 20 travelling together who were later making the plane than we were. On the way back our plane from Edinburgh couldn't take off on time because of fog at Heathrow so we were changed to another international flight which gave us plenty of time at Heathrow. We didn't have to leave T5 but our departure gate was not posted until quite late. Someone could at least have told us that we were flying the (inaugural flight) of the airbus to LA and that it can only take off from C gates we could have moved there earlier. When they posted the boarding the board said "now loading passengers" but didn't say what rows they were boarding and we couldn't hear the announcements and got sent back a couple of times because we thought they had announced our row and they hadn't. A couple of ground people at the head of the line would have helped or posting the row on the board. There is a lack of helpful people in the airport. At DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) they have volunteers to help. Allowing only 45 minutes of free wireless time is ridiculous. Even Edinburgh allows an hour of free time. Also the wireless connection was difficult to get depending on our location in the airport.

If you are a disabled traveller requiring pre-booked wheelchair transfers be prepared for lack of service lack of care and downright rudeness - I nearly flew back to Scotland again after waiting 1 hr on my inbound plane for a wheelchair - the aircrew - even the captain appealed for help on the radio but were brushed off. When assistance staff arrived he refused to speak to me talking only to the aircrew and referring to me as "she" - he put me on the bus to T3 with my luggage and had a furious row with the bus driver who told me I should have been accompanied - the driver and another passenger kindly helped me to the assistance desk at the other end (not his job at all). At T3 no wheelchair available and now my flight to Bangkok was closing in 10 mins - the staff member I found did not care at all and was more interested in surfing the web on his phone. I had to lose my rag with him to get some action and finally made it after 2hrs 10 mins - the only reason I got there was my flight was delayed by 20 mins. In contrast Bangkok was efficient and courteous as were Sydney Cairns Brisbane Perth Jo'burg and Capetown and Glasgow - come on Heathrow call that service! It was an appalling experience that spoilt the start of my holiday of a lifetime. Gatwick for me in future - I recommend if you can fly through Gatwick do I've never had any such problems there!

We have used Heathrow for the last 2 years touching 3 and can say that it is such a stress free experience. First time we flew from here was with British Airways in 2011 to San Francisco. Second time was last October when we flew Virgin Atlantic to JFK New York. We arrived at ten am for our 2pm flight and even though we were an hour early for check in Virgin took our bags and issued boarding passes. We made it though security in ten minutes and then left on time. Our third time we flew we again flew Virgin Atlantic to JFK New York. This time everything went to plan and we took off 15 minutes early at 9.15am instead of 9.30 arriving in JFK twenty minutes early. The only down side to Heathrow is the lack of staff at border control on re-entry which took us twenty minutes to clear!

T5. Big fan of this terminal. However bit of a slip up on my last arrival. Bags were to arrive on Belt 7 which as a Club Europe passenger mine did before the others. All the others arrived on Belt 6 with no notification. I would have expected this in the early days of T5 but not now.

Nearly missed my connection due to the queues at security even though the flight I arrived on landed early. The distance you have to travel to get to your next boarding gate is too long and the layout is confusing. The staff don't go out of their way to help and appear a bit jaded which is understandable considering they are having to constantly deal with so many disgruntled people. I realise we need strict security checks but the volume of passengers passing through this airport clearly can not be processed in a structured and timely manner. A few passengers had their luggage removed from the aircraft as they didn't make it even though the boarding time was extended which caused the flight to be delayed. I will purposely avoid this airport in future if an alternative is available even if it means extra cost.

Security treats you like a criminal - received a full body pat down and they require liquids separated bags scanned etc. even if you've just gone through the same process only hours earlier in order to get onto the British Airways flight that brought you there. Crowds are enormous and the process is slow. Distances are ridiculously vast - even within the same terminal I had to walk (make that 'run' to make my connection) for what felt like miles and then take a shuttle to get to the gate. The entire process is a nightmarish exercise in endurance and as a result I have vowed to myself to never put myself into this airport or through this ordeal again. The last bit is kind of a shame as the flight itself - even in coach was actually reasonably pleasant. But all in all simply not worth the misery.

T3. Fast tracked both ways so no queuing times for Upper Class. Own lines for immigration on arrival and security lines for departure. Only one small incident on departure my 5 year old child triggered the manometer because he was wearing regular kid shoes. First time that happened to him and he travels 2x yearly. Adult sneakers were okay. He got a pat down while the adults were through without any issue. Place crowded long lines at VAT refund. I spent my time in the lounge.

I had a great time at this airport mainly because I had an upper class virgin ticket. Got shorter queues and hanging out in the "clubhouse" was the best. It was almost worth the cost of the ticket!

T5. Tale of two stories. On departure the security line took too long for family of three. We were directed to a line where there were no one there. Waited like 10-15 minutes before someone came over to assist with luggage x-rays etc. T5 layout is like the new airports requiring a shuttle train to take you to the other terminals (B/C). That means going down long escalators as transport is underground. Kids playground closed too early at 6pm for the night flights. On arrival everything was a breeze. No wait at immigration or baggage landed at 5 am. Restaurants and restrooms okay. Gift shops reasonable.