Transiting in and out of Heathrow at T5 - but can I use a lounge in T3?
 

Flying into and out of T5 Heathrow and have a long layover time.

I want to use the Cathay Pacific lounge in T3 as I have Oneworld status.

Is this possible?

As T5 guessing some BA / OW flights
Are T5 lounges if flying OW and have OW Emerald / OW sapphire / access by class of travel
https://www.oneworld.com/airport-lounges?location=LHR

BA forum-->https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...tive-club-446/
2022 https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...lhr-t5-t3.html
2017 https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-...t5-t3-lhr.html

Welcome to FT.

You should have posted your Q in the BA forum for much faster and accurate response.

Moderator please move to BA forum.

No because you need to pass security. You should be able to use the BA Galleries Club or First lounge at T5 depending on your status.

This topic comes up quite frequently. The general concensus is Yes You can if you are in transit

provided you do not go into the departures area at T5 but instead hop on a transfer bus to T3. You can get into T3 with a T5 boarding pass but it may take a little persauding. Its not true the other way around, no T5 access with a T3 boarding pass.

Security in T3 may decline at first but with some investigation, talking to a supervisor, they will find out you can. I suspect this is mostly down to new staff not so familiar with the rules

But, you are looking at around potentially 30 to 40 minutes transfer time each way, and 2 security checks instead of one, so this falls into the "is it worth it" camp. For some people it will be, for others it will not be.

After clearing security at T3 one would be in the departures area. Is getting from T3 departures back down to the T5 transfer bus a seamless experience? i.e. follow the purple connections signs for T5. I’ve never tried this but may give it a go with an upcoming 5 hour layover T5/T5.

as long as you know where you are going it is relatively straight forward. there are some diagrams in this post in the T5 connection guide https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...l#post29998308

Thanks for the link KARFA. I was concerned getting from the T3 departures area back to flight connections would be difficult or invoke asking staff to let me pass. I’ll need to spend more time reviewing your guide so I know the door, hallway, or escalator to look for.

I am getting different answers here. I will be departing T5 but if I get to the airport 6 hours before my scheduled departure, could I use the airside transit to T3 and use the lounges there. ( I have extensively read the post but some members say yes, others are adamant you need to stay in T5)

If you are just departing and not connecting at LHR then it’s just about possible but really not recommend at all.

but why not recommended? I arrive by bus at heathrow at 9am in the morning. My flight is 17.30. Whilst I like the first wing lounge, the T3 lounges are calmer IMO as is shopping in T3

hi

if leaving from t5 there is a lot of faff.

After clearing t5 security you will need to get into the arrivals stream
Best way to do this is transit to c gates the stay on the transit
Once back at the a gates take the flight connections bus to t3 clear security there
After t3 take the flight connections bus back to t5
there at the boarding pass check issues ( potentially even affecting seat choice iirc) will arise as you will have been marked as entering the terminal already and will take time to resolve ( not sure of the exact process)

Regards

Tbs

thanks

This gets a little more complicated. I assume you mean you are arriving at LHR by car or bus or whatever rather than on a plane and transiting. On a connecting flight it is easily doable if you use the excellent above mentioned guide. If you are not connecting, you CANNOT go directly through security at T3 with a T5 boarding pass. You'd need to go through T5 security first. Then get the train to B & C gates. Then stay on it past stop C. At that point you are mixed in with transit passengers. And you can use the airside transfer buses to get to T3. I've never personally done this but there are tales that it has been done. Don't know why it wouldn't work, other than someone kicking you off the train before it turns around. If that were to happen, you'd have to walk from T5C back to wherever your flight departs from.

I am definitely a fan of breaking up a long layover with some time in Cathay and/or Qantas lounges. But I wouldn't arrive 6 hours early for a flight just to do it. Hang out somewhere in London. Or you could just hop around the 3 BA lounges in T5.

EDIT: just seen my compatriots earlier comprehensive answer above.

Thanks for the detailed response.

I did a T5 to T3 to T5 transfer on the 29Th April and it was relatively easy. IMO absolutely worth the effort if you have a lengthy layover or airport stay( but we are all different)

I was just about to say the same thing: why would anyone want to hang around at the airport (however nice the lounge) for so many hours, unless you wanted to get horribly drunk!

When we had a 6 hour layover at Vancouver, we went through immigration (where the Canadian version of TSA was astonished we simply wanted to go into Vancouver for a few hours, but showing him our upcoming flight info, a few hours later, convinced him), hired a car we'd pre-booked and paid (this was so quick from Vancouver) and went into the city. We had about 3 hours to spare and got a lot done - quick stop at a coffee shop, swung by the city, drove around and stopped at a park, had a walk, got some food, another coffee on the way back and all done easily within 3 hours. To this day I'm amazed how much we managed.

Remember at Heathrow, you're only 15-20 minutes away from Paddington, where there's plenty of things to do and see. In fact, I once got the Heathrow Express and walked from Paddington to Chilern Street, had a look around, got a coffee at Monocle Cafe and headed back. Didn't take long at all and was a really decent day out rather than sitting in Heathrow for hours.

I am just about to propose what I and others have counselled against. I'm due to fly out tonight to Geneva at 2005. Sadly I'll just miss getting the 1335. I'm able to change to it, but work is getting in the way. I stayed at the Premier Inn last night as it was just too hot at home. I'll be getting booted out of here at 12. Then I have to find a quiet place for a couple of calls. SO I'll have nearly 8 hours to kill at the airport. No way I'm going to get on the Piccadilly Line sauna for a fun day trip.

So I'm wondering about people's views and experiences of getting to T3 after entering T5 and doing the trick of staying on the B&C train and then on to flight connections.

1.) Will T3 connection security be chaos around lunchtime?
2.) Will I be able to get through security with a T5 BP? (I've done it before but thought they might push back a bit in current environment)
3.) If I exit through border in T5 and go through First Wing (again), is it a massive song and dance to get my BP reset at check in to get back through security?

I have time and don't mind getting my steps in. Thoughts?

Well you have time so why not try it out. If they reject you at T3 connections can't you just go back to T5? Why would you exit through the border?

I’d have to get my boarding pass reset and kind of assume that would be easier at First Wing (after going through border in T5). Plus it will certainly be quicker at FW vs security at flight connections. Only question is whether FW will still be open at 6pm.

So you are planning to go through security at T5 to get airside, then get the transit, take the airside bus to T3, use the lounges there, go through connection security there (no fast track btw), come back to T5, go landside, go through the faff of getting Ready to Fly reset, and then go through security at T5 to go airside for your flight?

Seems like a heck of a lot of effort going on especially in this weather. Why not just go through security at T5 and use the GC lounge in T5B which will be quiet? (if you need to get back to T5A remember to use the walkway on -4 and not the transit on -2)

Yes that is the gist of it. I wouldn’t attempt it in any other circumstances but with the 8 hours to kill I figured it would help pass the time.

It sounds like you have nothing to lose - worse case scenario is that you won't be able to do it and end up in a T5 lounge?

Good opportunity to get a definitive answer - could post a guide once you finally make it into whatever lounge you end up in?!

We’ll be heading over to CX at T3 for some noodles after landing from SOF. Have a 4.5hr connection so may as well!

RichieMc maybe we’ll see you there? ;)

I assume you’ve all been on tenterhooks wondering what happened to old Richie. Well it was interesting but relatively straightforward to get here. I’ve done this before as a transit passenger so never had the round trip train trick to get to flight connections or the ready to fly issue. I’m now sitting in my favourite corner seat in the CX F lounge having showered and eaten some dim sum and biryani.

Took the TfL bus from T4 Premier Inn the got through FW at T5 just after noon. FW was dead but FastTrack south looked long and normal security was pretty hairy. Hopped on the train to B&C gates. I usually use the walk way and haven’t taken the train in ages. I noticed for the first time that if you ever tried to stay on the train coming into A gates and mix with departing pax, you’d get booted off as they do a security sweep to make sure everyone gets off. Nothing like that happened when I stayed on at C and I was joined by a few incoming pax back to T5 flight connections.

There was a bus right away and it was pretty full. Got off first and got to BP check. It beeped and agent asked if I had already been through security. Explained what I was up to and when I said my flight was not til 8pm, she waved me through.

Decent crowd and 4 security lanes were open. No fast track; 2 for regular and 2 which looked like it was for people needing assistance or those that thought they were too good to wait in the normal line. As the only Brit in line; I stepped up as tutter in chief. I guess one gets spoiled by the FW. But although it seemed like eternity, I arrived at security at 1pm and was brushing my teeth in CX lounge by 1:30.

First lounge not terribly busy. Business lounge a bit busier. I asked the bartender if things were busier with AA and IB returning to T3. He said he hadn’t noticed any difference.

All in all pretty straightforward. Only potential complications would have been pushback at BP scan or massive queue to get through security. Funnily enough, the couple ahead of me in security were also leaving from T5 and had the same idea as me (although I would assume they were transiting like normal people!)

Now just hope there’s not too much faff getting my BP reset. Wonder if I might be able to do this at BA lounge or in flight connections in T3.

UPDATE: got bud back to T5 nae bother. Had a look from afar at flight connections and it looked very crowded. So just exited through immigration and back through FW. Was a minor faff but the lady scanning birding passes sorted it out after checking my passport. Not sure if she actually changed my status or just waived me through. All in all a successful day out. Managed a decent day of work in cool temperatures.

I can’t stress this enough though, I would never attempt this unless you happened to be connecting and have a long layover. The special circumstance of noon checkout and an evening departure plus a heatwave made this a one off and the fannying around with the train there and back to C gates just about worth the trouble. It would have been horrible had there been hour long lines at security and immigration.

Sorr to drag this out. But one final, final update. I said I had a bit of faff at security where they removed my airside flag when passed through FW the 2nd time. They waived me through and I assumed I was good to go. Well turns out I get to the gate, and we were using the automatic gates to scn BPs. Of course I get a red beep and Seek Assistance. Obviously assume I have miraculously been OpUp'd. But GA tells me I've been offloaded. So I get pulled to the side and have to sit like a drug trafficker as everyone else streams past looking at me suspiciously. Eventually the GA sorts it out and even gets me back to my old seat. Flight was pretty full, but if there had been any standbys who got my seat after I had been offloaded, not sure how this would have been resolved. Would have sucked to miss the last flight of the day and spend yet more time in airport and airport hotel.

I followed the instructions in this thread to get from T5 airside yesterday into arrivals stream and then connected by bus to T4. Didn't have an issue doing this other than slight confusion when I came back to T5 but the guy sorted it and had no problems after that with boarding plane etc.

The bigger issue is that Heathrow no longer seems to be allowing people to enter terminals airside with boarding pass from another terminal, see here. So even if this was worth all the hassle to get to other terminals before (debatable), it def is not now.

This has never been permitted, at least not in the last 15 years or so.

My bad, I meant to type airside. Have edited my post.