While Heathrow is not the only International Airport in England, it is the one that connects directly from my local airport in the United States. I have only been through Heathrow on two trips in the past. My flights in and out of Heathrow were uneventful, although the airport can be a bit daunting once you clear customs. Clearing Customs was fairly simple. We were one of the first aircraft on the ground, landing just a few minutes after six. The walk from the gate to Customs took about five or ten minutes and included a couple of moving walkways. Once we arrived at the queue, there were probably 100 people in front of us. However, there were dozens of Customs agents that kept the line moving. We cleared the line in less than fifteen minutes.
With luggage in tow, we needed to find a way to our hotel. Having been picked up at the airport on my previous trip, I was not familiar with the best route into the city. The fast train into London was selling tickets at the entrance to the luggage area. The tickets were L20, or about thirty dollars with the exchange rate at the time of our visit. For four of us, that would have been well over 100 dollars. There are plenty of signs directing people to various transportation points. I started with the taxis, which advised a price of L81 into the city, with traffic that would take about an hour. For that price, we could ride the express train and be there in a fraction of the time. However, a bus driver told me to take the Picadilly Line, which I could access below the terminal and would deliver me directly to my hotel at St. Pancras/King’s Cross Station.
We opted for the “tube” on the Picadilly line, saving a substantial amount of money and arriving in the same amount of time that a taxi would have taken (about an hour). The tube has an area for luggage. As the first stop on the trip into London, it was easy to find seating next to the luggage area. Additional information about the Underground from Heathrow.
If you are staying at one of the local hotels near the airport, as we did the night before our flight departed, you have a couple of options. The hotels don’t run hotel shuttles, but there are a couple of buses that run a circuit near the airport. I had a choice of three that ran directly past my departure hotel (the Heathrow Renaissance). The red buses at the Central Bus Terminal do not charge a fee on this local circuit. You can ride to/from the airport and/or Underground station free of charge. Alternatively, taxi fare will run approximately L10 from the airport to the nearby hotels.
Departures: If you are flying out of Heathrow, your options for returning are basically the same as going. High speed rail, Underground or Taxi. From downtown London, the cheapest option is Underground. The Underground will take you as far as Terminals 1, 2 and 3. The Taxi will take you directly to your terminal. If you are flying out of Terminal 4 or 5, you will need to take another underground train, which offers free service between the terminals. If you need to get to one of these terminals, you may want to allow an additional twenty minutes or so to allow for the additional inter-terminal train shuttle.
When you arrive at the airport, there is a large VAT office outside of the main terminals where you can file any VAT claims. I did not conduct any Duty Free shopping during my visit, so I bypassed this area. There are more VAT locations inside the terminal, once you clear security. I flew American Airlines. The process of checking in began with the electronic issuance of boarding passes. After obtaining boarding passes, I stood in a line where security officials conducted a screening between the entrance line and the ticketing counter. At the ticketing counter, we were able to check our luggage before proceeding upstairs to security.
The security checkpoint was not unlike US Airports. However, before you get to the actual screening line, there is an area where you can obtain baggies for small containers of liquid. If you have any liquid, they must all be consolidated into one baggie before going through the security checkpoint. The checkpoint did not require the removal of shoes, but did require any electronic devices (to include ipads or tablets) to be removed from carry-on bags or laptop cases. The rest was typical of any other security checkpoint. Empty all pockets, remove your belt, place everything in a gray plastic tub…proceed through metal detector. The process was basically the same as in the United States.
After clearing security, there were a host of options for eating and shopping. My flight was departing from Terminal 3. You are not allowed to proceed to your gate until forty minutes before boarding. We arrived two hours before our flight, so we had plenty of time to browse through the incredibly large Duty Free shop before hitting a couple eating establishments for some refreshments to take on our flight. Passengers are basically forced to pass through the Duty Free shop en route to their gates. The sprawling store contains one of the largest fragrance shops of any airport Duty Free I have ever visited. The shop also sold tobacco products, candy and a very large selection of alcohol products as well.
There are a number of “news” stores where you can pick up last minute gifts, soft drinks or snacks. Additionally, the terminal had several eating establishments from fast food to sit-down restaurants. There was also a Harrod’s store in the center of the terminal for the “high end” shopper.
Heathrow is a large airport, but there are plenty of signs to help guide you on the proper path. Understanding travel times and transit options will make your trip smoother. There are plenty of buses, taxis, trains and shuttles that service the airport, providing a host of options for getting to your final destination. The airport is clean and well maintained with a variety of shops inside the terminals for convenience. Security coming in and leaving was efficient. Some airports are designed to effectively move people in and out with the least confusion possible. I wouldn’t give Heathrow this distinction. It can be confusing to new-comers and may require a bit of navigating to get where you are ultimately going. But it is not as tough to get around as a place like Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.