terminal 5 heathrow

Johnn64

as terminal 5 at Heathrow has been in the news this week, I was wondering if there are any tips to ensure a quick and easy way to ensure my family will make our connecting flight in a few weeks time.
We are flying in from Manchester, landing at Heathrow T5 at 08:25. Our connecting flight to Barcelona leaves T5 at 11:15 and both flights are with BA. We have already also pre-booked our seats .

This will be the first time I have used connecting flights to an ultimate destination, so I am not sure how it all works. I assume we will not see our baggage at Heathrow and will not need to go through customs, but I am not sure.

If anyone can offer advice or tips, they would be gratefully received

Thanks

luci

We have had no problems connecting at T5 on the outward journey and Customs are only on return to the country, not leaving it.

However prepare for a long transfer time on your return. Security at T5 entering the country is a nightmare with huge queues.

We only made our connection one time with 1.5 hours between landing and catching the next flight because they held the doors open until 10 mins before departure and not the 20 mins advised.

d61mts

The outbound flight will be a domestic transfer so should be fine. Follow the purple flight connections signs, if you're first flight is late arriving there's a chance they may prioritise you through Heathrow's security point. Your bags should be checked through to your final destination and you should be given boarding passes for both outbound flight sectors when dropping off your bags. If you were to be delayed and miss the connection they'd put you on the next availiable flight free of charge.

On the way back, remember the situations reported in the news are unusual and most people are getting through fine, especially if you have a UK, EU or EEA area passport. There are no tips as such, if there's a queue you'll just have to wait it out unfortunately. If you have a newish passport with a chip you may be able to use the E-Passport automatic gates rather than the normal desks if they're open and these gates may or may not have a shorter line. Try not to worry too much, you can't do much to influence the outcome if there are delays.

Have a good trip

Johnn64

luci wrote: »

We have had no problems connecting at T5 on the outward journey and Customs are only on return to the country, not leaving it.

However prepare for a long transfer time on your return. Security at T5 entering the country is a nightmare with huge queues.

We only made our connection one time with 1.5 hours between landing and catching the next flight because they held the doors open until 10 mins before departure and not the 20 mins advised.

We have the same dilemma on the return journey. Back into T5 at Heathrow and a connecting flight back to Manchester, again from T5. We have around three hours between flights. So will we need to go through customs on landing from Barcelona, even though we need to fly from the same terminal ? If so, is there anyway to ensure we are not delayed so that we can make our connecting flight to Manchester

luci

3 hours should be plenty time provided your first flight isn't delayed.

One of our flights was delayed by 1.5 hours and we knew we had definitely missed the connection so didn't stress about it. We just went to the BA desk and were put on the next flight.

There is nothing you can do if you are delayed. It is in the lap of the Gods.

Voyager2002

Johnn64 wrote: »

We have the same dilemma on the return journey. Back into T5 at Heathrow and a connecting flight back to Manchester, again from T5. We have around three hours between flights. So will we need to go through customs on landing from Barcelona, even though we need to fly from the same terminal ? If so, is there anyway to ensure we are not delayed so that we can make our connecting flight to Manchester

Is your entire journey on one ticket, or did you buy a flight from London and then separate flights to get to London?

If you bought one ticket for the entire journey, the airline will take care of you. If not, you are on your own and might find that if you cannot catch your flight back to Manchester your tickets lose their validity. So:

when checking-in for your flight back to London (on-line, perhaps 24 hours before the departure time) choose seats as close to the front as possible. That way you will be among the first to get off your 'plane at Heathrow. And in any case let the cabin crew know that you have a tight connection and ask their advice.

Johnn64

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Is your entire journey on one ticket, or did you buy a flight from London and then separate flights to get to London?

If you bought one ticket for the entire journey, the airline will take care of you. If not, you are on your own and might find that if you cannot catch your flight back to Manchester your tickets lose their validity. So:

when checking-in for your flight back to London (on-line, perhaps 24 hours before the departure time) choose seats as close to the front as possible. That way you will be among the first to get off your 'plane at Heathrow. And in any case let the cabin crew know that you have a tight connection and ask their advice.

All tickets were purchased at the same time, same package via airmiles (as it was). All seats have already been booked and we are 8 rows back from the front of the aircraft. I have checked back online and all available seats are now behind our booked seats on all four flights. Speaking with the cabin crew is a good idea .... thanks