London Heathrow Airport

I have used Terminal 5 a number of times over the last year. On each occasion queues at bag drop and security have been short. Airside the terminal is impressive. There is a comprehensive selection of shops and restaurants. The terminal is well signed and it is easy to take the short shuttle train to Satellites B and C if your flight departs from there (which most long haul flights do). The BA lounge is also spacious and comfortable. On arrival I have not experienced any queues at immigration and baggage generally arrives quickly. Flying as it should be.

Departure on 15 August 2013 with CX250. A true nightmare with horror starting from VAT refund service queuing time 60 min+ and getting wheelchair service was like being in a third world country begging for help and customs and/or security check staffs (all 5 of them I dealt with) are with passenger-I-don't-care attitude. Almost everyone reminded us of the 3-hours-rule for the airport. Trust me you need 5 hours for London Heathrow terminal 3 sort of "better safe than sorry" thing. But if you do you will lose one whole day of your holiday just because you are leaving through "London Heathrow terminal 3".

Transferred through Terminal 5 two times this summer (have also transferred through it for the past few years) and I am really tired of the shopping mall set up - the toilets are hidden behind narrow corridors between shops that I cannot afford the stench of perfume from the shops is so overpowering that it burns one's nose and you have to pay for wi-fi. Also during my transfer in July the a/c was not working properly and the airport was way too hot. I sincerely hope that this terminal concept does not become a model that is emulated by others.

I travel a lot and have been through many airports and this by far was the worst most inefficient airport I have stepped foot in. Terminal 3 had a 30 min wait just to get into the security gates. Then another 20 mins to get through to the scanner. Many bags were being lined up for a hand inspection with only one person checking them. Most bags had nothing in them to be removed. I was in a crowd of people waiting for my bag for 25 mins! While one lady slowly checked one thing at a time. Laughing and talking to her colleagues. There was no urgency despite the fact that I said my flight was boarding in 10 mins. I was bomb checked twice because they had nothing better to do. My bag was in a line of about 12-15 bags just sitting there while I waited. 7 people had to have suitcases offloaded from our flight too which delayed us. I'm sure this was because they were still stuck at that ridiculous security in the airport. I understand they security is for our safety but they were slow unhelpful and I have never been more frustrated in an airport. Will avoid flying there in the future.

Terminal 5. This morning my bag was taken for an extra search and I was kept waiting for over 20 mins. My complaint is two fold: Firstly I was picked up for a minute bottle of perfume in my bag that has been there for multiple flights. Airport security should be consistent in its findings. Secondly was the total lack of urgency of the staff. Hard to believe they were looking after travellers with deadlines as they strolled around without a care in the world with that pompous air of power they held over you. It was the worst experience of poor customer service I have ever experienced. As I mentioned it took over 20 mins to look into 3 people's trays that just shows you how lazy the staff were.

Do avoid this airport at all costs expect delays and queues from the moment you get near the airport. First we had to wait for a landing slot so queued in the air circling for 20 mins. Then when we did land it took 40 mins of queues to pass through passport control. Then a queue of 30 mins to collect baggage and no trolleys. Then when we made it through the airports the m25 motorway was jammed. Not a good airport. Too busy too cramped too many delays and queues. It's dated compared to modern airports - avoid.

Used T1 this summer. Long queues at passport control and extremely long distances to walk even with the conveyors but all that was nominal compared with the horrendous experience leaving from T1. The idiocy with the liquid strictness is terrible. At least put up signs so we could put things in our suitcases before they were checked in and not have valuable drinks creams etc even water thrown away. Seems they want the stores there to make money. But worst of all was the security scanning. They were abrupt and rude. inefficient and chatted with each other instead of giving service. My bag was re hauled and pulled apart after having waited 20 min all because of an empty bottle. It astounds me that a scanner cannot see if there is liquid or maybe they are down right incompetent.

No problem either going out or coming back into T5. Security was a breeze and staff friendly and co-operative. Returning into T5 there were no queues at immigration and luggage came out within 10 minutes. I may have been lucky though but no complaints at all.

Departure from T4 went smoothly with no delays at security screening. Shops and food outlets tend towards the high end and expensive but I did get a very good deal on a camera for my holiday. Had a coffee and a snack in Pret a Manger - plenty of seating available and prices seemed comparable with the high street. However there could be a better range of food outlets.

Arrival at T5 is quick and painless. Bit of walk a to immigration through in seconds today (5am arrival) bags out in about 20. Good coffee places etc outside. They do charge for people dropping off and picking up in cars though!