London Travel Forum

Hi,
just cross posting this as this forum is a bit busier than the Heathrow one. I'm arriving in T3 and transferring to a domestic flight in T1 but i have a 5 hour wait. Rather than do the normal Flight Connection transfer, i thought i'd hang out in T3 for awhile and then change over to T1 and check that out before going through security to the gates. I know i can walk between T3 and T1, that's not a problem. My question is do i have to go through passport control again as well as the security scanners if my next flight is a domestic flight? My bags are being transferred straight through so i'll only have carry on.

Is Heathrow still sticky about having only one piece of cabin baggage? i.e. i have to stash my handbag/purse in my carry on until i get through the security.

We're also transferring in T5 a few days later, domestic to Euro international, but with hand luggage only so I expect that will go pretty smoothly.

Thanks
Tvor

You will be required to go through security to get to your next flight, no matter what. This is required for all LHR transfers, no matter where you are traveling to/from, no matter whether you are changing terminals or not. You won't be able to get into any terminal, including T3, without going through security again.

You don't say where you are arriving from and where you're going, so it's hard to know what the situation is with passport control. If you're arriving on an international flight and connecting to a domestic one, you will go through passport control at the T1 Flight Connections Centre.

On the hand baggage issue, two carry-ons are now allowed. This has been the case for about two years now.

Hi
Oh yes, i know i'll hav eto go through passport control at some point. I wanted to avoid the FCC and go through passport in T3 when i arrive. I just wondered if, when i go through security again in T1, if i have to go through passport control again. I have done the transfer through the flight connection centre and you do both when you get to the T1 end but that's coming through by transferring. The way i want to do it, i would go through passport at T3, out into arrivals and then go through security at departures T1 to get to the gate again. It's no big deal i guess, i just haven't come into T1 from that direction before and the maps on the heathrow website don't really answer my question. There could be two different security checkpoints in T1, one for the transferring people and one for those just coming into T1 normally.

Diane

> The way i want to do it, i would go through passport at T3, out into arrivals and then go through security at departures T1 to get to the gate again... There could be two different security checkpoints in T1, one for the transferring people and one for those just coming into T1 normally.

If you transfer "airside," then you go through passport control at the T1 FCC. If you do the transfer "landside," i.e. going out through passport control at T3 and then back into T1 via the departures check-in, then there's no passport control to get back airside in T1. The UK does not check passports for outbound flights at all. You will have already gotten your entry stamp at T3, and that's all there is.

Thank you! It's not that it's that important, if i had to go through passport again, no problems but it is just another long line up and messing about. I've always come into T1 through the FCC so was unfamiliar. Once you're through passport and in the gate area, there's nothing to see and do so i thought i'd do it differently this time.

Thanks again

Tvor

So, this is very similar the to the question I was going to ask. I am an American flying to Germany from the US in June. It looks like my flight will have a layover at Heathrow for seven hours. I was hoping that I could scoot out of the airport and into London for dinner. I have never been there, and I may never get the chance again. As, my bags will be checked through, I will only have my carry-on. Does this seem like a good idea? or a terrible one? As I understand it I will have to go through passport control, out to the street, find a taxi, drive into London, eat dinner, drive back to the airport and go back through security. If my flight is on time, it seems like 7 hours should be enough time, but if it is not, I think I should look for a different flight (as sitting in the airport for seven hours does not sound like fun).

Thanks for your advice.

I'm not sure i'd be brave enough to drive into London, especially if you have never been there before but if you take the tube, it's about an hour in to the centre of the city, thus, an hour back to the airport and you'd need to make sure you're checked in for your next flight at least an hour before it leaves. That's three hours plus the time to get off the plane and through passport control. you'd probably only just have enough time to have dinner, probably not see much of London really. I didn't think, for me anyway, it was worth dragging my carryon around just to go in and only have about an hour and a half to two hours. But your mileage may vary!

There's another thread going right now (I think it's in the London forum also) about the possibility of going into London on a shortish layover. Please read that one (start date was maybe 5-6 days ago or less). The huge point I would make is that a taxi is the absolute worst method of getting into town. Take the Heathrow Express (expensive and ~20 minutes) or the tube (about half the price and 3x the time) instead. Personally I would not bother trying to leave the airport with a 7-hour layover, but I have access to elite lounges, wouldn't want to spend all that money on transport for such a short visit, and have spent lots of time in London already. Your circumstances may be different.

Thanks for the tips. I have never been to London, and I may never get a chance in the future - so 2 hours is better than nothing. :)

Well if you spend the money and take the Heathrow Express, then you'll double your time in London.