Originally Posted by KWads

Hi folks,

I was directed to Flyertalk elsewhere, from someone who posted your AMAZINGLY helpful pictoral guide for transferring from Heathrow to Gatwick. I have an upcoming flight that has a connection in London, and this is making me MUCH more hopeful that I'll be able to get from Heathrow to Gatwick in time for the flight!

However, NOW I have people warning me that "okay, the travel time from one airport to another is all well and good, but you still have to get through passport control." I've been warned that standing in line at the passport control at Heathrow can take "several hours" for non-EU citizens, but that seems REALLY unlikely. I've been through Heathrow twice, and both times the passport control center only took me about 20 minutes. I'd still like to stack the deck in my favor, however.

So. What, if anything, can I do to ensure that I have only a short wait at passport control in heathrow?

Some possibly-relevant details:

* I fly with only carryon baggage. I pack rather light because I don't want to faff around waiting for my luggage unless I have to.
* US passport, up to date (it doesn't expire for several years).
* Absolutely no criminal record of any kind (I've never even had a parking ticket on my record).
* Assume I know the rules about liquids, etc.
* My flight is all on British Airways - I will be flying from Berlin to Heathrow, arriving in Heathrow in the early afternoon. My connecting flight is out of Gatwick three and a quarter hours later, and is going on to JFK. I will be checking in to the whole itinerary in Berlin, and will have my boarding pass for the Gatwick-to-JFK leg in my hands with my passport.

I have looked into the pre-entry check thing they have for the UK, but I haven't been to the UK often enough to sign up for that. What else can/could I do?

thanks - I've gotten a lot of naysayers warning me, and something tells me a lot of what they're warning me about is just catastrophizing.