Originally Posted by
brunos
I transited in LHR 5 twice very recently. So did my family on different days.
The security clearing does indeed take long and all agents look at you as a potential terrorist. But the lines are well organized and it never took any of us more than 20 minutes (with a norm of 10-15 min).
That is too long, unpleasant, and a sufficient reason to try to avoid LHR. But nothing like what CDG immigration has become.
Yesterday it was not all well organized. They started shutting economy people into the fast track. Some people pushed their way up to the front and it was a mad scrum. The security staff themselves do nothing to manage this mess, leaving it to the lesser airport staff who can't be bothered. Mind you the queues went all the way back down the hallway to where the inter-terminal bus drops transit passengers off. The UK overall is horrible at security, but LHR as the busiest airport is where it shows most poorly.