New FCC in LHR T3 (July 2018)

As of mid 2018 there is now a new FCC open in T3 which you would pass to if arriving in to T3 and wanting to take the airside bus to T2/4/5, or if arriving in to T2/4/5 and taking the airside bus to T3. There is more information and lots of photos in post 383 here.

Arriving at T5 and Crossing the UK Border at T2/3/4

One of the quirks of the airside transfer buses and the flight connection areas in each terminal is that you can arrive on an INT flight at T5 but cross the UK border at another terminal. In fact you can also do this in reverse, so arrive on an INT at T3 for example, and cross the UK border at T5. Whilst this is not really recommended normally, you may wish to do this if you have your car or left luggage at another terminal or you find the UK border at the terminal you arrive at to be very busy.

There is no boarding pass check to use the airside transfer buses so just make your way to them, and when you get off at the other terminal head to the UK border there.

Going to T4 is not recommend, there is a very long passageway involved and the e-passport there are old, slow and not always switched on. On the other hand the connection landside between T5 and T4 is particularly ropey so it's probably the best of a bad deal.

T2, on the other hand, is better than exiting via T3, given the choice, so a great way for the HBOs to get to the Bath Road hotels. The bus takes significantly less time than T3 (9 minutes) and the UK Border is much closer to the bus location than T3. It also has 12 of the new e-gates. This then brings you to the baggage hall, landside, across the big arrivals floor to the lifts to the Tube. It probably saves 10 minutes on T3 all told for the tube and bus connections, perhaps a bit less for HEX.

You can even do this by using the airside bus stop at T5B as discussed in post 9, so you can go direct from T5B to another terminal.

Bear in mind that the airside transfer bus frequency tends to tail off after 2130 simply because there are virtually no connections for arrivals at that time. Therefore, using the airside transfer bus after that time is not possible.

Connecting to an AA Flight Departing From T3

If you are connecting to an AA flight from T3 you will need to get a boarding pass and clear the security checks before boarding - the verbal security check will generally ask you why are you travelling, for how long, where you are /were staying etc. When you get to T3 there is a dedicated hall for AA's transfer passengers before security.

Since late 2016 there area agents based down near the airside bus pick up point in T5A and they can issue bps and do the security check for BA passengers transferring over to AA before departing from T5. Basically it allows those waiting for the bus to do the clearance in T5 rather than do it in T3 Flight Connections. They only work during the relevant hours, so you won't find them down there later in the evening, but the AA desk remains in place there.

If a T3 bus pulls in, you are probably better off jumping on board, you can still do the check in T3, which is done in a hall before security. Alternatively if you have access to the Terminal 3 AA Admirals Club / Flagship Lounge there is some case for doing it there rather than T5, the lounge agents tend to shortcut the process somewhat to those with status. If doing this you'll have to ignore the various agents asking for AA passengers to identify themselves in T5 and then T3. If all else fails, it can all be done at the gate prior to boarding, but you'll appreciate they can't process 300 passengers at that late stage.

Checked Bags

As of June 2016 BA no longer checks through bags on to separate tickets - even when it they are two BA tickets. This means if you can’t check through your bags and they are only tagged to LHR you will have to take the landside routes detailed above, so follow the arrivals signs to the baggage hall, collect your bags, exit landside, up to departures, then re-check your bags for your separate ticket.

For more information see this dedicated thread:

BA no longer through checking baggage with separate tickets

Connections to LCY/LGW Flights

If you are connecting on to another flight departing from LCY or LGW then you need to follow the arrivals signs at T5, collect any checked bags (bags cannot be checked between the three airports LHR/LGW/LCY), and make your own way at your own expense to LCY/LGW.

For transport options between LHR and LGW see this guide done by corporate-wage-slave:

Heathrow to Gatwick transport options: a pictorial guide

For LHR to LCY there aren’t any direct transport options other than taxi/uber. For public transport your options are either:

• tube to Green Park, change on to Jubilee Line to Canning Town (see post 352 for Globaliser's tip on connecting at Green Park), and then DLR (Woolwich Arsenal bound train) to LCY
• HEX to Paddington, Bakerloo Line and connecting to Jubilee Line at Baker Street or Waterloo (Baker Street connection is strongly recommended, especially if you have luggage, as it is a cross-platform connection whereas changing at Waterloo involves a fair hike and a combination of steps/escalators/walkways​​), Jubilee Line to Canning Town, and then DLR (Woolwich Arsenal bound train) to LCY

Duty Free

If you are connecting at T5 and arriving on any flight other than a domestic flight you will need to go through security at LHR and you will need to comply with the liquids restrictions.

In order to be able to take any duty free purchasesyou made at your origin through security at LHR you need it to be placed in a Security Tamper Evident Bag (STEB which is a secure sealed bag) at the time of purchase. The receipt must be sealed inside the bag and be visible to be read as the STEB is basically valid for 24 hours.

Smoking

There used to be an airside outdoor smoking cage at T3 but this is no longer available since the new T3 FCC opened in 2018. At this stage there are no airside facilities for smokers in either T5 or T3. Your only options if connecting may be to go landside at either terminal rather than staying airside during your connection, and then once you have had a smoke use one of the landside options (HEX or tube) to go to the other terminal.