LHR transit questions
 

I have connected through LHR several times but not quite this scenario so would like some guidance.
U.S. citizen, U.S. passport.
Outbound:
DEN to ORD, ORD to LHR, LHR to EDI, all booked on AA, one ticket (last leg operated by BA)
Assume I clear immigration at LHR?
Is bag checked all the way to EDI where I clear customs? Or do I claim bag in LHR and re-check to EDI (the way it would be in U.S.)

Return:
Helsinki to LHR, LHR to DEN
All booked on AA - first leg operated by Finnair, 2nd by BA
Assume simple transit through LHR, no customs or immigration?

I sure wish there was an app or website where all flight details could be put in, and transit process could be clarified! Why doesn't someone create one?

You go through immigration in LHR, you will not see your bag until EDI, not need to re-check.

Return, yes - assuming same day,etc.

Regarding website, LHR does to an extent:
https://www.heathrow.com/flight-connections

Be aware that at LHR you will need to clear security in both directions. I think the BA board has a good guide to connections at LHR.

Hi Notsofrequentcolorado,

Hi,

Who operates your ORD-LHR flight (AA- arrives T3 or BA ( arrives T5)

If AA then you will need to take a flight connections bus from T3 to T5 where you will clear immigration and go through security.
If on BA ( same terminal ) then immigration and security
Bags will be sent through to EDI ( no visible customs at EDI

Return
Both flights use T3 so you do not need to get a bus between terminals just a security check. ( there may be additional random security at the gate). No immigration or customs at LHR as you are transiting

Regards

TBS

Thanks a lot, all good info! I knew about the security and possible terminal changes. (MAN, I hate Heathrow!)

I am not quite sure why any of the above has made you hate LHR? The steps seem no more onerous than the US?

On your arrival you clear immigration at your first entry point if connecting to a domestic destination. You also have to do security before your connection - again like the US. Fortunately at LHR (unlike in the US) you do not have to collect and re-check your bag at your first port of entry, and instead you can just pick it up at EDI.

On your return transit you do not have to do immigration during your LHR connection - something which you would have to do in the US when transiting on to a third country.

In any case if it of use there is a T5 connection guide here which may be of use for your outbound at least as your LHR-EDI flight departs from T5 https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...ng-lhr-t5.html

You are right, this process is not too onerous. On past trips I always needed to do the terminal change which is a pain. I also hate their security process, I always end up with an intrusive pat-down. Hopefully this trip will be better. And thanks for the links to the guides, I will bookmark those for sure!

Granted I’m probably more used to European security, but it’s very rare for me to need a secondary that requires a pat-down - I can remember only one in the last couple of years and that was probably because I forgot to remove a belt given I don’t usually wear one, and it certainly wasn’t what I’d think of as intrusive. Random stops are normally extremely quick and little more than cursory.

If you’re being pulled every time, there must be something you can alter which would improve your experience, possibly something that’s treated differently in Europe compared to the US. Do the security staff tell you the reason you’ve been selected, or can you supposition a guess?

It's whenever I'm required to go through the wave scanner. For the last (6-7?) years I get a false positive 100% of the time - all airports, domestic and foreign. There is never anything in my pockets, no belts or other metal, I have no implants, etc. etc. EVERY time. Use to be I'd just get a little pat-pat, now they want to touch everything - hands forcibly up in my crotch, down inside the back of my pants, "widen your stance", "go back through the scanner", etc. They just can't believe their machine is wrong even though they have a documented high rate of false positives. And my demographics? 71-year-old white native-born American woman - 0% probability of being a terrorist or criminal. I've researched online about what could be causing this, the only thing suggested is sweat - and I rarely sweat. All I can think of is wrinkles or body folds? Elderly as I mentioned, and somewhat overweight (but not really obese). I only singled out Heathrow because my latest pat-down there was one of the worst. (Dulles was awful too - and I have precheck, which they refused to honor).

That's very odd sounding. Certainly at LHR T5 (and most other UK airports) the metal detectors seem to be the default first scanner and you only get sent to the wave scanner if the metal detector pings (either due to detecting something or as a result of random selection). I would say I get pinged maybe 10-20% of the time.

On the wave scanner in the UK if you get the green OK there is no pat down - for me this is mostly what happens. If you get a highlighted area the pat down only seems to be for that area, I can't honestly remember the last time I had a full pat down anywhere (UK or otherwise), it must have been at least 3 years ago.

Yes I went through the metal detector first and got a random ping - lucky me! Then the wave scanner and the thorough grope. After years of this I've decided I must haved picked up some bad Airport Karma somewhere ! I try not to let it stress me out but not doing so well with that....

As my learned colleague KARFA has said, this simply is not standard practice in the UK - the body area checked is only that which shows up as an issue on the screen, perhaps with an additional shoe swab.

If you're being searched in multiple areas, that can only mean that problems are showing up in several places on the secondary scanner image. That, in turn, might lead you to the conclusion that the need for a secondary wasn't random in the first place and the metal detector arch picked something up given they don't detect sweat - particularly as you say it's every time, and random selections are most certainly no-where near 100%.

It sounds like perhaps you need to politely ask some more questions - if you phrase it as "I always get this, is there something I can change to help myself next time?" the security agents might well give you some helpful guidance.

ATH to LHR in transit to JFK
 

Not sure where to post this. On Monday July 30th I fly from ATH to LHR on Aegean Air. I will only have carry on/no checked bags. I am a Canadian Citizen flying with a Canadian Passport. Prior to boarding the flight I will be disembarking a cruise that embarked in Trieste Italy 7 days prior. My question is...when I arrive in LHR, will I need to clear both customs and security again as I am " in Transit"with only hand luggage. I am listed as a "stand by " passenger on an AA flight that departs 5pm from Terminal 3. My inbound flight arrives at 3.30pm at Terminal 2. My question...on a Monday at 3.30 pm... assuming no unusual circumstances at LHR, what are my chances of making the connection in Terminal 3 for flight departing at 5pm? I have read that it is probably quicker to walk between the 2 terminals and takes about 12 minutes. Am I dreaming that I can make this flight?

I don't post often here but I also have an LHR in transit question.... On July 30th my first flight of the day is on Aegean Airlines from Athens to LHR . I am a Canadian Citizen, Canadian passport and returning from a week in Europe.
I will have no checked baggage only a personal item and carry on. I have to change terminals ...I believe from T2 to T 3 to catch my AA flight to JFK. Since I am in transit, but because I have to change Terminals, I assume I will be going back through security. My flight lands at 3.30pm and my flight to JFK departs at 5pm. Is it possible to disembark walk to T3 from T2 and make this connection. What are Monday afternoons in the summer like at LHR. I have connected here a few times over the years, and never been too too bad, but I have heard a few horror stories..... thanks

I'll move this to the destination forum, where this question will be answered more quickly.

chgoeditor
co-moderator, Info Desk