Arriving on an International Flight (not inc. DUB) - Connections and Arrivals
This post covers in detail all the possible connections you can do when arriving on an international flight in to T5, and provides information on all the possible routes you can take to do those connections. This post also covers when you are simply arriving on an international flight and not connecting onwards. Please see the diagrams above which are referenced as well.
Please note that arrivals from DUB are international flights but they are discussed separately in the above post.
If you have a bag which is already checked through to your next flight you do not need to pick up your checked bag on any of the types of connections listed in this post. If you do have a checked bag but this is only checked to LHR you will have to exit via the arrivals route (see ‘Arrivals from INT’), collect your bag, exit landside, and re-check your bag for your next flight. There is some more information on checked bags
in this post here.
Please bear in mind that for some of the options listed below involve crossing the UK border and going landside. This assumes you have automatic right to pass in to the UK (for example as an EU/EEA passport holder). If you do not have right of entry in to the UK and would require a visa to cross the UK border then you should ignore the landside route options and use the airside routes only.
- Arrivals from INT
- INT-UK connections
- INT-DUB connections
- INT-INT connections
- INT-T2-4 connections
International arrivals can come in to any of T5A, B, or C. If you arrive at the satellite building you need to proceed to T5A using the underground walkways or TTS (see earlier post) and then cross the UK border at T5A in order to exit.
For international arrivals to remote stands you will be taken by bus directly to T5A. The bus entrance is on the ground floor around half way along the eastern face of T5A. Proceed up the escalators or lifts and you will be at the UK border area.
There are two possible routes open to you when you arrive at T5A.
- Go through immigration to landside, up to departures, then through the first wing or north/south security to get airside.
- Stay airside and using the FCC.
The signed route is the airside route via FCC and up to the connection security channels. However, FCC and connection security can sometimes be very busy so you may probably find it quicker to simply go via the landside route.
For connections to UK/DUB flights connections you have to cross the UK border at T5. As of late 2017 there are now 5 e-passport gates dedicated for the channel in the FCC so the immigration queues have significantly improved. However, going landside may still sometimes be quicker.
When the older 5 e-passport gates were present at T5 it could often be a 50/50 call whether to exit landside or go via the FCC route. However, as of September 2015 T5A had 15 new e-passport gates (
see this thread for discussion), and that number has since been increased to 24. These can be used by EU, EEA, Swiss, certain UK Overseas and
Registered Traveller adults having a biometric passport. They are very efficient and it rarely takes more than 5 minutes to queue and go through. The e-passport gates are at the left hand side of the UK border area in T5A.
Other factors which may make you decide to go via the landside route are:
- Look at the area between the escalators at the back of Flight Connections and the area in front of the passport area on domestic. If they are holding back people from the escalator going up, that can only mean it is very busy at connection security.
- If there are a lot of people queuing in front of the domestic flight connections passport desks.
However, if the passport is relatively empty and the area by the escalator clear you may wish to go through the airside connections route since it is a shorter route then going landside.
Also see the section below if you arrive at T5 with less than 45/50 minutes to go before your connection.
Landside Route
Exit landside using the route as described in the ‘Arrivals from INT’ section. Once through the UK border head down to the baggage hall and exit landside, go up to the departures floor, and going back airside by passing through the first wing or north/south security.
If using the exit near baggage carousel 9, when you exit the orange lift is in front of you - this is the best way to go for the first wing or south security. If heading for north security you need to exit by baggage carousel 5 instead and use the lifts near that exit. For the orange lifts you may need to push both call buttons since the two lifts aren't connected for some reason. Below is a graphic showing the route out landside to the orange lifts.
Graphic courtesy of
corporate-wage-slave
When you go through the gates just before the first wing security or north/security your photo will be taken and this will matched to you later on at the gate when you board to check the person who went through security is the same person boarding.
Airside Route
The airside route involves going to the FCC and using the channels on the left hand side marked for UK & DUB flights.
The first step is to go through immigration. The immigration queues for UK/DUB flights are separate from the main UK border area. To the left are 5 e-passport gates which can be used by EU, EEA, Swiss, certain UK Overseas and
Registered Traveller adults having a biometric passport. They are very efficient and it rarely takes more than 2-3 minutes to queue and go through. To the right are queues for those who can’t use the e-passport gates and non-EU citizens.
As you cross the UK border at T5 it means when you arrive at your domestic destination you are treated as a domestic arrival. Also once through the border you will not need your passport any further on your journey at T5, and you do not need to present it at the gate when boarding.
The next step is to use the automatic gates which scan your onward boarding pass – this is where you are marked as ‘Ready to Fly’. Also the gate will prompt you to take a photo which is linked to you bp. When you board your UK/DUB flight later on the photo taken at this point is matched to you using biometric facial recognition equipment to check the person who went through connections is the same person boarding.
Once the photo is done proceed upstairs to security. There is a marked fast track escalator to the right which leads to north security, and a path to the left for non-fast track passengers which leads to south security.
Less than 45/50 Minutes between Flights?
The exception to the above advice to look at the landside route is if you have less than 50 minutes if arriving at T5B or C, or less than 45 minutes or less if arriving at T5A when stepping of the plane. T5 operates a system called conformance which means you need to be marked as ‘Ready to Fly’ at 35 minutes before your flight (this can occasionally be less for some connections but it is best to always work with 35 minutes). If you do not meet conformance you will very likely be denied to travel and have to be rebooked on a later flight.
You are marked as ‘Ready to Fly’ and deemed to meet conformance when you first have your boarding pass checked at either FCC or at the entry gates for the first wing or north/south security. It can be quicker to get to the boarding pass check at FCC than to get out landside and to the entry gates at the first wing or north/south security. Therefore if you are close to the conformance limit you will be better off going via the airside route to ensure you meet conformance, even though the landside route overall may have been quicker.
Generally if you have e-passport gate access and have more than 45 minutes before your onward flight it is recommend that you take the landside route.
If you are doing an INT-DUB connection you go through the same process as INT-UK connections as described above. The reason for this is because the UK and Ireland form a Common Travel Area which you enter at LHR. The UK connection channels at the FCC are signed for connection to the UK and Ireland. Therefore, for INT-DUB connections please follow the routes and advice in the above ‘INT-UK Connections’ section.
When you arrive at DUB the immigration there is still an ID check since you mix with arriving passengers from places other than the UK, in a sense they check your passport to see if they don't need to check your passport!
There are two possible routes you can take when doing an INT-INT connection. You can:
- Go through immigration to landside, up to departures, then through the first wing or north/south security to get airside.
- Stay airside and using the FCC.
The signed route is the airside route via FCC and up to connection security. However, FCC and the connection security channels can sometimes be very busy so you may well find it quicker to simply go via the landside route.
Going the landside route may be particularly preferred if you are able to use the 24 new e-passport gates. The e-passport gates are at the left hand side of the UK border area in T5A. These can be used by EU, EEA, Swiss, certain UK Overseas and
Registered Traveller adults having a biometric passport.
If you arrive in to T5B or T5C and your onward connection is already listed as departing from either of the two satellite building it is possible to go through flight connections at either T5B or T5C without having to go to T5A. Both T5B and T5C each have a small FCC. Please see the post below for details of T5B->T5B and T5C->T5C connections.
Also see the section below if you arrive at T5 with less than 45/50 minutes to go before your connection.
Landside Route
Exit landside using the route as described in the ‘Arrivals from INT’ section. Once through the UK border head down to the baggage hall and exit landside, go up to the departures floor, and going back airside by passing through the first wing or north/south security.
If using the exit near baggage carousel 9, when you exit the orange lift is in front of you - this is the best way to go for the first wing or south security. If heading for north security you need to exit by baggage carousel 5 instead and use the lifts near that exit. For the orange lifts you may need to push both call buttons since the two lifts aren't connected for some reason. Below is a graphic showing the route out landside to the orange lifts.
Graphic courtesy of
corporate-wage-slave
Airside Route
Proceed to the T5A FCC. You go through the INT connections channels in the FCC which are towards the right hand side, with the fast track channel on the far right. You will have a boarding pass check by a BA member of staff and also a visa check if necessary, and then head up to security in order to go airside. There is a marked fast track escalator to the right which leads to north security, and a path to the left for non-fast track passengers which leads to south security.
Less than 45/50 Minutes between Flights?
The exception to the above advice to look at the landside route is if you have less than 50 minutes if arriving at T5B or C, or less than 45 minutes or less if arriving at T5A when stepping of the plane. T5 operates a system called conformance which means you need to be marked as ‘Ready to Fly’ at 35 minutes before your flight (this can occasionally be less for some connections but it is best to always work with 35 minutes). If you do not meet conformance you will very likely be denied to travel and have to be rebooked on a later flight.
You are marked as ‘Ready to Fly’ and deemed to meet conformance when you first have your boarding pass checked at either FCC or at the entry gates for the first wing or north/south security. It is quicker to get to the boarding pass check at FCC than to get out landside and to the entry gates at security. Therefore if you are close to the conformance limit you will be better off going via the airside route to ensure you meet conformance, even though the landside route overall may have been quicker.
Generally if you have e-passport gate access and have more than 45 minutes before your onward flight it is recommend that you take the landside route.
There are two possible routes you can take to do an INT to T2/3/4 connection.
- Stay airside and use the airside transfer bus from T5 to T2/3/4.
- Go landside and take either the tube or Heathrow Express (HEX) to T2/3/4..
The airside route will almost always be faster than going landside. Taking the landside route is not recommended normally since the tube service interval is between 8-12 minutes and HEX is every 15 minutes (dropping to every 30 minutes late in the evening). Particularly when going to T4 the landside route is not quick and involves a connection as there is no direct tube/HEX. In comparison the airside buses are every 5 minutes and take 10-15 minutes to get to T2/3/4.
Airside Route
Proceed to the FCC in T5A, and the airside transfer buses are accessed by going down the signed escalators just before the FCC. Buses leave regularly for each of T2, T3, and T4, and the information boards at the doors should tell you when the next bus for your terminal is due. When you arrive at T2/3/4 you will have a bp check and go through.
If you do not have your bp yet you can still get the airside buses - there is no bp check to get on them - bps can be collected at the airline transfer desks in each of T2/3/4 when you get there. Also if connecting to an AA flight departing from T3 see the notes
in this post.
If you arrive at T5B/C as you can get the airside transfer buses from T5B rather than going to T5A. Please see the post below for details of T5B->T2/3/4 connections.
Landside Route
An alternative route is go landside and take the tube or Heathrow Express (HEX) to the other terminals. To do this follow the signs for arrivals (see section above on ‘Arrivals from INT’) and go through immigration. Once landside just proceed to your choice of tube or HEX.
The tube trains are every 8-12 minutes. If going to T2/3 take the tube for one stop to the central tube station ‘Heathrow T123’. For T4 you will need to go two stops to Hatton Cross, cross to the opposite platform, and catch a T4 bound tube. The tube requires a card to check in and out and this can be either an oyster card or contactless credit/debit card. Should you need to buy an Oyster card for other travel in London they can be purchased from the tube ticket machines either on the ground floor of T5A or at platform level. Even though you check in and out for inter-terminal transfers you will not be charged as they are free. For T4 transfers (via Hatton Cross) as long as you remain tube side at Hatton Cross you will not be charged.
The HEX trains are every 15 minutes and it is one stop to T2/3. To get to T4 you need to change at the T2/3 station where you wait for a separate train to T4. As of May 2018 the HEX requires either an oyster/contactless cards to use (like the tube it is is also free between terminals), or you can get one of the free transfer tickets. See
this post 360 for more details.