Is 2 hours long enough for a layover in Heathrow?

[doobeedoo]

Heading to Europe next week by way of Heathrow (LHR).  My layover is 2 hours.  Will that be long enough or should I be looking at a flight change?

[Deleted]

Do you have to switch terminals? Even if you do have to switch, at most, it shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes to get between terminals.

I would say it's more than enough time.

[pittpurple]

I have horrible luck at Heathrow so I would say no but if you're booked on a straight itinerary they will rebook you if you miss your flight.

[emilyinchile]

The question about changing terminals is important, but even if you do have to switch, I'd just hurry rather than changing your itinerary to have a longer layover (especially if that would involve a change fee).

[GilliC]

I aim for 2.5-3 hours, but I would book 2 hours and be ready to hurry.

What are the airlines? For a BA-to-BA connection (not code shares), it would likely be all in Terminal 5, and 2 hours is plenty.

Switching terminals does take a while, but the big variable is security. I've been through the same checkpoint for connecting passengers and had a 45-minute security queue one time and absolutely no queue another. However, if you're connecting to a European flight, rebooking shouldn't be hard even if things go wrong.

[CloudBee]

It really depends on how security is being managed when you fly in. We've also had bad luck. Having a 4 hr gap only allowed us about an hour of leisure time, but I'm sure that was the exception. I would also aim for 3 hrs.

[alleinesein]

If you have to switch terminals- NO

If you are flying on BA and will be in T5- Yes but if your inbound is delayed you might have issues.

They do have a fast track security line option for short connections and the BA staff is pretty good about getting you through. Also with a short connection you can sometimes skip the main concourse and head straight to B or C and the security lines are much shorter. I did 2 connections at LHR with less than 90 minutes between flights last year and made both of them.

[Whitecaps]

It took us close to two hours to go through security and that whole deal when we passed through in 2013. I have no idea what terminal we were in or any of those details, but we did have to go from one building to another in the process. We were flying American and our final destination was Dublin.

[frlcb]

We have never had an easy connection at Heathrow, ever. Even in Terminal 5, on the same airline. I would rather have 3 hours.

[Wanderista]

I've actually never had a proper connection in Heathrow. I usually stay for a few days if going through London but I have been in the airport a lot. I typically fly Virgin not BA when going into London. I would probably err on the side of giving myself some extra time. The times I've run into annoying queues at Heathrow have generally been when I've assumed that security would go quickly and it was a mess.

[osumelissa]

In June I transferred at Heathrow. I was on Virgin Atlantic, connected in Heathrow with final destination of Edinburgh. From the time we landed until the time I was sitting at my gate to Edinburgh, it took 1 hour almost exactly. I had maybe 30-40 minutes of "down time" before boarding and taking off on the next flight.

I found there to be a lot of steps involved with connecting at Heathrow (immigration, had to get my picture taken, multiple checks along the way, going through security, etc). It was quite the process. I would probably plan a longer connection next time.

[dutchgirl678]

It should be. Last time I went through LHR was in November. On the way to the US I had 1.5 hours and the lines through security were so slow. It took me more than 30 minutes to get through but I stayed in the same terminal and still made my flight just fine. On the way back I had 3.5 hours and of course it only took 10 minutes. It just baffles me that you have to go through security again even if you are in transit.

[GilliC]

Feb 18, 2015 16:33:14 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

It should be. Last time I went through LHR was in November. On the way to the US I had 1.5 hours and the lines through security were so slow. It took me more than 30 minutes to get through but I stayed in the same terminal and still made my flight just fine. On the way back I had 3.5 hours and of course it only took 10 minutes. It just baffles me that you have to go through security again even if you are in transit.

This is the only part of Heathrow that strikes me as normal! So many places have an additional security check for transiting long-haul passengers - Frankfurt, Lisbon, Dubai, Beijing... Heck, even Oslo has a tiny security checkpoint for international transfers, and they only get a few dozen each day!

The rest of Heathrow's transit experience irritates me far more. Funneling all transit passengers through a single Flight Connections point per terminal? Keeping everyone in the crowded departures lounge area and not even announcing the gate until an hour before the flight? And then having to make a long trek at the last minute through a whole bunch of empty airport gates to get to yours? The whole process is just weird.

[tres3]

I haven't seen my luggage since the time we tried to do a 2 hour layover... We did a inter-europe flight and then had to go through security again and connect. I would prefer a lot more time.

[dutchgirl678]

Feb 18, 2015 23:08:18 GMT -5 GilliC said:

Feb 18, 2015 16:33:14 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

It should be. Last time I went through LHR was in November. On the way to the US I had 1.5 hours and the lines through security were so slow. It took me more than 30 minutes to get through but I stayed in the same terminal and still made my flight just fine. On the way back I had 3.5 hours and of course it only took 10 minutes. It just baffles me that you have to go through security again even if you are in transit.

This is the only part of Heathrow that strikes me as normal! So many places have an additional security check for transiting long-haul passengers - Frankfurt, Lisbon, Dubai, Beijing... Heck, even Oslo has a tiny security checkpoint for international transfers, and they only get a few dozen each day!

The rest of Heathrow's transit experience irritates me far more. Funneling all transit passengers through a single Flight Connections point per terminal? Keeping everyone in the crowded departures lounge area and not even announcing the gate until an hour before the flight? And then having to make a long trek at the last minute through a whole bunch of empty airport gates to get to yours? The whole process is just weird.

Oh I agree, the funneling through the single point was ridiculous and what slows everything down the most and then just sitting and waiting in the main departure lounge because they won't show where your next flight takes off from? I am totally with you there. 

[GilliC]

So in keeping with this thread, I just realized that I'm flying through Heathrow tomorrow with 1 hr 35 min! Luckily it's Terminal 5, and I'm hopeful, but I'm also fully prepared to miss that connection. It's the earliest morning flight, and I don't have plans for the day, so I'll get home eventually.