London Heathrow Airport

Travelled through Terminal 5 on 31 Mar arriving at 2.15 pm from Canada. Immigration Control was horrible. It took 2.5 hours to clear through the non-EU non-UK queue. On the way home a week later I was stuck in one of the lifts from the Underground to Departures level for 25 minutes. We also had to board a bus to a remote stand for departure. For a new terminal using a remote stand for a Long Haul International flight is quite poor. Otherwise the terminal is really nice! Clean lots of food shopping and plenty of seats. The first contact arriving is the Immigration Hall. It's gives a really poor impression.

Flew in and out over Easter weekend. Inbound the immigration queues were horrendous as predicted. No excuse - just poor planning and management. An embarrassment to be British if this is people's first impression of the UK.

Arrived at T5 from MAN then T1 to WAW return. Mid-morning outward flight; no major problems before departure but the flight departed 35 minutes late. Facilities still good after security. Staff unusually friendly and polite. 3.5 hour layover upon return to await flight to MAN. After my connecting flight was called I learned I had used the wrong "flight connections" channel thus missing passport control after landing from WAW. Customs and security staff were understanding and helpful and ensured I did not miss my connection. Overall my impression is that customer service is improving at LHR. Cleanliness much better than my last flight from T1.

T5 is a pleasant experience modern and spacious though would like to see more eateries landside. Terminal 3 - cramped no natural light long walk to the gates. T4 and T1 average. Iris is used at immigration and costs nothing to add to your UK passport. Good links to and from London and frequent public transport to the nearby hotels. Unfortunately getting between terminals is a real pain in the backside. The bus service takes a long time and is every half hour or so the trains only runs every 15 mins leaving you stranded on the featureless miserable platform drumming your fingers if you have a tight connection.

I have travelled through Heathrow twice in the last few weeks (T3 T5). In most respects the airport is fine and in particular departure security queues are much quicker than a few years ago. The problem is immigration control. On one occasion the queues were bad on the other appalling - even for EU passport holders. Lots of desks were unstaffed and the queue for the new e-passport gates seems to take even longer than the queue for the staffed desks. I travel around Europe for work almost every week and UK airports consistently have the worst immigration queues anywhere.

I fly into T5 regularly and transit to T1 for a domestic flight. Security is a nightmare. There are 10-12 scanners at T1 security only 3 or 4 are ever manned no matter how big the queue. Same story at the photographic check 6 camera positions only 1 is ever manned. If you arrive on a flight that is late you have no chance of making your connection if less than 2 hours. Security staff are generally very rude. Rules seem to change on a daily basis.

I flew into Terminal 5 en route from California (via Dallas) to India. Navigating through Flight Connections was easy and I was through security in under 10 minutes. It is impressive in size although was surprised how "unfinished" some of the architecture is. Impressed by the size of the terminal and the large number of shops and restaurants. My biggest complaint is that T5 is simply not designed for long-haul transit passengers. Even if you do find a relatively quiet area there is a constant barrage of PA announcements. Since I was not a premium passenger I could not use the lounges and there are no pay lounges. Seating is uncomfortable and hard. It was such a contrast with an airport like Singapore Changi.

Flew into T5 on March 7 mid-afternoon to find passport control lines extremely long for non-UK passport holders. There were only 2 then 3 passport officers for plane loads of visitors. There were 24 un-manned desks. The EU UK and Iris Scan lines had passport officers and no lines. The Fast-Track line was closed which made no sense to those who had paid for that service. It took 2.5 hours for our group to get through. Passengers grumbled quietly and behaved patiently. No special assistance offered to travelers with young children and babies. I did not feel welcome at all to the UK with that queue and do not recommend coming back!

Last week used T5 for 2 arrivals and 1 departure. No lines for check-in or security well organised boarding called by row. Toilets clean and well stocked. Eateries are good quality plentiful and not crowded. The only minus was immigration line on arrival. First time I was out of the terminal within 15 minutes after flight next time I queued for 35 minutes or so. Bags are always waiting on the belt.

Flew into T5 on March 9th 2012 and spent nearly 2 hours at passport control. They had only 2 people in the Non-EU Non-UK line. At one point around 2pm both employees just got up and left (coffee break)? For the next 15 mins we all stood in horror as there was nobody! The crowd of people began yelling and pleading for somebody to return. I've honestly never seen such a mis-managed airport passport control in my life! Whoever manages the Customs at Heathrow is seriously damaging perception of Heathrow BA and London.