drklain

Have a weird flight routing this weekend. BRU-MUC-LHR on Lufthansa connecting to LHR-IAD on United. All a United ticket.

I fly out of Brussels a lot and know the flight from BRU-MUC is inside the Eurozone and no passport control. Believe I have a passport control flight from MUC-LHR and will have to leave the Eurozone in MUC. Once in LHR since I am a through-passenger, I don't think I go through passport control again but will stay behind security and go right to the gate.

Questions:

Will I have to go through passport control or security in London?

If I check my bags all the way through, will I have to claim them anywhere and recheck them?

I've got a fairly tight connection in Heathrow and don't want to jeopardize it...trying to figure out whether I am better off checking or not checking my one bag...

thanks in advance.

UAPremExecflyer

You're mixing up a lot of terminology.
When traveling BRU-MUC you are within the Schengen zone. (The Euro zone is currency-related not immigration/security-related).
When you fly MUC-LHR you are traveling Schengen to non-Schengen.
Your bags should go straight through from BRU to IAD, assuming you are on one PNR/ticket and your connections are legal/meet MCT (Minimum Connection Time).
When you arrive at LHR T1, just follow the signs for "Flight Connections".
Keep to the left at immigration and you will go through security and a passport check.
You will end up in the T1 Departures area and then go to your gate. It's a good 10-15 min walk from the departure lounge to the UA gates.
There will you have another security and passport check.

Skymonster

At MUC, you will arrive from BRU at one of the Schengen gates (or be bussed there if your flight parks on a remote stand), and then you'll leave for LHR from the non-Schengen gates. These sets of gates are on different levels in the Lufthansa terminal at MUC. As you go between the levels you will have to pass through a passport check, but not security screening.

At LHR, I think you go through a security check when you move from the EU arrivals area into the main departure area from where you access the UA gates - BTW, UA uses gates that are quite a long way from the main terminal building so it'll be a fair old walk to your departure gate. Sometimes there's also a security check at the UA gate, but not always and even if there is a check in my experience its random rather than everyone.

Bag should be checked all the way from BRU to IAD by Lufthansa... But to be honest, if you're on a tight connection at LHR and given the distances you'll need to walk you should perhaps be more bothered about making the connection yourself, rather than whether your bag makes it.

drklain

Appreciate the feedback. This was the only routing I could get on a short notice trip. Have a 45 min connection in MUC and a 2 hour connection in LHR, so I think I'm ok. My concern was that if I checked the bag through I'd have to do one of the funky "go out of security, get your bag, drop it on a re-check" like you get some other places. The Schengen-non Schengen I get, is the UK one that throws me (I rarely connect through the UK).

cranky1K

This has been my experience at LHR.

Once flying MUC-LHR-ORD the LH agent at MUC insisted I could not check my bag through to ORD and would have to pick it up at LHR and recheck. I could not dissuade her so at LHR I went through immigration, picked up my bag, gave it to a puzzled UA agent and went back through immigration. The immigration agent asked how long I had been in the UK. I said, about 20 minutes.

Skymonster

45 minutes should be OK in MUC, but again the walk can sometimes be a fair distance depending on which gates you get... If the inbound is late, they sometimes do direct aircraft-to-aircraft transfers at MUC to ensure passengers make their connections... YMMV... Two hours at LHR LH to UA should be absolutely fine with plenty of time to do the *A lounge too

That definitely shouldn't happen

Andy

drklain

Thanks. I've done thE Munich run (including the fun stair climb!) before, but was unsure of LHR.

Appreciate all the info from the group.

drklain

Just as a way of closing this loop out for those who are interested or may want this info in the future. As a reminder, the route was: BRU-MUC-LHR-IAD.

BRU - domestic (inside Shengen zone) departure, regular security.
MUC - Leaving Shengen zone, go through the "connecting flight" passport control booth, then on to flight. no security screening.
LHR - transit passenger, no passport control, But I DID have go through security screening (x-ray machine) again. You do NOT pick up your checked luggage and recheck, so any duty free items you picked up along the way need to meet security rules (meaning bottles with liquids over 3 oz get tossed since you can't add them to your checked luggage). There was a huge shelf filled with what were obviously brand new, duty free purchases of wine, liquor, etc. right at security.

Lessons learned:

- If doing a route from Europe to the US with a connection at LHR, don't pick up anything that can't go through security screening until you get to LHR
- For United flights, as you get off the flight,follow signs for connections. You will get to an area which splits you off depending on if you are going to Washington or Chicago (they depart from different terminals apparently). Signs are clear, but you need to watch for that and make sure you go to the right place.

Thanks to all for the help!

OtleyFlyer

Just to add, or vice-versa. If you're going to Europe via any point of entry where you need to go back through security (which is everywhere I know of), then you won't see your bags till final destination either. Don't pick up oversize duty free airside in the US expecting to be able to stick it in checked bags.