muji

I am trying to advise relatives who will arrive from Iceland at LHR terminal 2 at 11:30, would like to use the AA lounge in terminal 3 (since they have day passes), then will leave on a flight from terminal 5 at 15:30. Have never been to these terminals, so am wondering if it is easy enough to get from T2, to T3, then T5.

Upon arrival I assume there will be a required immigration checkpoint; will it be necessary to first go through immigration...or can it be bypassed since they will not be leaving the airport?

Any advice you can provide about how easy or difficult (going from T2, to T3, to T5) this will be - and how much time will be needed, would be appreciated.

Scots_Al

No immigration if they remain airside and in transit (although they will have to re-clear security). A bus runs airside between terminals. They will not, however, be allowed airside in a terminal for which they have no valid boarding pass.

RichardInSF

To use an airside lounge in any Heathrow terminal, as far as I know, you need to have a boarding pass that allows you to enter that terminal. If I'm right, and I believe I am, then your relatives won't be able to get into T3 airside to use their day pass.

If your relatives hold passports from a country that doesn't need a transit visa, then they can transfer from T2 to T5 without going through immigration and customs (if they can interline their checked bags), although they will be required to go through security.

Microwave

There is no boarding pass check at Flight Connections T3 security, so it is perfectly possible to enter T3 without a BP for that terminal. However, there is a paid lounge at T5 now, so maybe best to proceed there and use that lounge? From the reports I've read it's not amazing, but then again neither is the Admirals Club in T3. Also, given the fact that inter-terminal transfers are handled by bus and all require a security check upon arrival, 4 hours isn't a lot of time to be doing all of this busing around and security screening... I'd cut out T3 if possible.

lhrsfo

It might be possible to reach T3 airside from T2 Flight Connections without a boarding pass (I'm sure it is not intended to be possible) but your problems will then begin. How are you going to get out of T3 airside? The only way you can leave is on a flight, or ask to be escorted out through Immigration and Customs - and at that stage you will probably be asked how you got there. There's no way you'd be able to get to T3 Flight Connections to take you to T5 AFAIK.

benberg2013

When presenting the passes to the lounge, will they not ask for your boarding pass?

Microwave

This is incorrect.

When you arrive to T3 Flight Connections, you pass through security, then pass the airline desks, and end up near the lounges. If you do this, look above you as you walk into the departures area and you'll see that the passageway you've just come through is signed with a big purple Flight Connections sign. It's absolutely possible and permitted to enter T3 via Flight Connections with no T3 boarding pass, do whatever you want to do in the T3 departures hall, then follow the purple Flight Connections sign from the T3 departures hall and head back to the Flight Connections area to board a bus for T5. At this point you'll need a valid boarding pass for T5, as unlike T3 it is necessary to have a valid T5 boarding pass to enter the T5 Flight Connections security area and onward to the T5 departures hall, but that's not what the OP said was desired.

The question was whether it's possible to arrive to T2, use a lounge in T3 then leave on a flight from T5, and from the perspective of security and passenger flow this is indeed possible and is signed.

This is a valid question; the OP indicated that the desire was to use a paid lounge at T3... I'd imagine a paid lounge would sell admittance irrespective of one's onward flight, however I suppose there's no stopping them from asking for a BP and turning you away. I've not done this so would have to defer to someone who's bought an Admirals Club day pass at LHR recently and can confirm whether they do any such checks.

TWA884

Things may have changed, however, a year ago, November 15, 2014, to be exact, I was transferring from a BA flight that arrived at T5 to an AA flight that departed from T3. I and everyone else getting off the flight connections bus at T3 were asked to show boarding passes before permitted to proceed through security.

I am an Admirals Club member, so it may differ from holders of day passes. On at least two occasions, AA security personnel at a lectern at the entrance to the Admirals Club - before the check in desk - asked to see my passport to verify that it had the requisite security clearance sticker before I was allowed to check into the lounge. I don't recall if I was requested to show my boarding passes. I was asked for my destination and flight number, though, and the security agent verified that my name was listed on the flight manifests.

Raffles

This is a crack-pot idea given the relatively modest 4 hour gap. T5 has a very good Gordon Ramsey restaurant and I would head there then hit the shops.

Microwave

Boarding passes are not required to enter T3 Flight Connections security as the airline transfer desks are behind security, therefore it is perfectly valid to arrive to T3 Flight Connections security with no onward boarding pass. If you used Fast Track you may have been asked for evidence of eligibility, however I've never had a problem showing my elite status membership card and advising that I needed to collect my BP from the airline desks. At this time there is absolutely, unequivocally no requirement to have a BP to access T3 Flight Connections security and proceed in to the T3 departures hall. To set up such a requirement, HAL would have to move the airline desks to the other side of security, and given the layout of the area I'm not sure how that could be accomplished.

If you access the LHR Admirals Club while flying with another airline (as crazy as that may be!), you will not be harassed by the AA security people. Indeed the last time I was there the security people were nowhere to be found, and I specifically asked the lounge agent if I could answer the security questions there–she said that I would need to go to the gate. Having no appetite for this I walked back to the airline desk at Flight Connections (which, again, is accessible airside as it is behind the security in the same area) and answered the security questions there. This saved time at the gate.

In any event, I can't say if it's a rule or just happened the once as I do not regularly use the AA lounge facilities at LHR, though I can say that last time I was there less than a month ago there were no security rent-a-cops at the AA lounge entrance, and I can also confirm that accessing the lounge when flying a partner airline will cause you to be dismissed by the security people in any event as they only care about you if you're flying AA.

TWA884

I did not use Fast Track and I had no elite status card. I did spend quite a bit of time at the transfer desk afterward, as I was travelling on separate tickets and had to get the APD waived.

I have no idea what would have happened had I not printed my AA boarding pass.

Calchas

APD is not supposed to be "waived" on separate tickets. Indeed there is an explicit paragraph about this in the APD rules. Did you succeed? The carrier will still be liable for the bill to HMRC at the end of the year.

Agreed (well I would not "hit the shops", I would find a bar to get a drink and read a book). It's just a waiting room, and security at LHR is no fun, why do it more frequently than necessary ...

LondonElite

Agree with Raffles that this is not a good plan. If the flight lands at 1130, it'll be more like 1200 by the time they're off the plane. I suspect the earliest they'll be at the AC in T3 is something like 1230. You should leave there by 1400 to get to T5 in time and to contend with any queues you'll face along the way. This gives you all of 90 minutes in a very unremarkable lounge. I do think you'll face some issues along the way of not having a T3 BP, but as I've never done this I can't say for certain. I'd skip it entirely and either go to the T2 arrivals lounge if it must be a lounge, or go straight to T5 and Plane Food.

muji

Thanks to all of you for the advice on this.

TWA884

Yes, I was successful. I had to present the boarding pass for the flight to LHR and it involved about 15 minutes of typing by the agent, though.