London Heathrow Airport

T3 Departure/Arrival Sept 2011 - JAL to Tokyo. Drop off is generally chaotic and overcrowded check-in areas are dark and dingy although JAL Business Class check-in never has queues. Security "fast-track" is anything but although it has improved recently. Airside you come through security into the duty free shop. Not into a shopping area but into the shop itself you have to fight your way through people stopping to look at goods in an area crowded with display stands. All the retail outlets/restaurants have long queues gate areas are small and crowded. Arriving back is no better - on two occasions this year I've arrived back to find the queue for passports going outside the immigration hall and back up the ramp towards the planes. Many people here have complained about the lines for non-EU passport holders but I can assure you it is not much better for EU passport holders - took me 40 minutes to get through on Sunday. Only good thing is that our bags had arrived by the time we got through but had all been piled into the open area next to the belt by staff to prevent the belt being overloaded so finding your bag was something of a challenge. On leaving the baggage hall the arrivals area is absolute chaos you can barely get through and the lifts cannot cope with the volume of passengers. This terminal simply cannot cope with the volume of passengers.

No free WiFi available and all the cafes and stores are located so that you can't see the tarmac. Looks a little dated as well. Service was smooth and efficient and no long queues. Good connections to London city centre as well.

My first T5 transfer experience which I could call acceptable and that was only because for some strange reason there were virtually no passengers at the usual peak 6.30 am time. I have always maintained that the transfer security area is woefully inadequate and this was the proof. An unusually pleasant experience for all the wrong reasons.

Terminal 3 while improved is still too small to cope with the volume of passengers. Maybe things will improve when they re-open T1 and T2 to full capacity. Still a very inadequate airport in terms of number of check-in desks space ambience and light. Plenty - maybe too much shopping.

T5 out to HK this weekend. Checked in online and through security quickly. They should give earlier warning about belts computers and pockets as some people are taken by surprise when getting to the x-ray. Restaurants although expensive are a great alternative to inflight catering. When you go to B or C gates the facilities are not so good.

Arrived T3. Used new e-passport gates but didn't work with new passport so had to use agent (about 50% did). About 1 hour to wait for bags to arrive. Air Canada arrival lounge good.

Arrival in to T5 was not bad although the line for border control took around 15min to clear. Once through it took another 15 min to get our bags which seemed a bit long. However after that we were on the tube in a few minutes and it is far better than T1 T2 T3 which takes a long time to walk to the tube station. Airport is very modern and airy and gives a good impression. Departing we arrived with the tube again and the lift to the departure level is efficient you don't have to walk a lot with your baggage to reach check-in desks. Check-in was quick but the VAT refund did take a while as they only staffed the desks with 2 people. Security was quick and the shopping choices are great. Boarding was on time and it's great to leave from terminal 5A.

Used the airport back to Washington DC from London on United. Terminals are old and look tired. Substandard facilities and the walk to the United gate was long. Little to no facilities near the gates.

I used it for arrival and departure 2 weeks ago. T5 both ways. I liked the new C gates concourse and the train system that seems to be efficient despite quite slow. Food and duty free selection is impressive. On departure no queues anywhere. On arrival it was a long immigration line for non-eu passport holders. Despite many wide bodies landing at the same time they only staffed 12 positions. As a result I had 1hr 15mins wait to reach border control. After immigration I picked up my bag (had already been on the belt) and got bus to the city. Overall processing time on arrival was around 1hr 35 mins. They must know their flight schedule and should expect that some 300 non-EU citizens (in our case Japanese) arrive at the same time every day and there is a need to staff desks appropriately.

For such a large airport it was easy to get around with clear and direct signage. Terminal 5 clean and modern. I wish that they use trains instead of buses to link to each terminal as the bus seems to take a while. Terminal 3 was modern with pleasant service. The food court had lot's of choices many shops around the airport. Easy currency exchange from pounds to euros around stores. It's a great airport to have a layover with plenty to do while you wait.