Back in day when I lived and worked in London (off and on for almost three years), I spent a lot of time pounding the terminals of this massive airport. Heathrow can be incredibly busy, so come prepared. If you are arriving in Heathrow, there are plenty of shops for souvenirs from cheap touristy keychains and tea towels with Princess Kate's face plastered on it, to very high end luxury brands - think anything from Marks and Sparks (M&S) to Chanel. If you have a layover and need to connect with another international flight, be prepared to literally walk miles to get through one terminal and on to the next. It was mind boggling just how far of a walk it was. If you are tired and jetlagged, it's exhausting. If you are departing LHR, you might find a few shops to get your last sausage roll bite before you board. read more

The Brits do not mess around when it comes to security. They're more intense than TSA in the US. As a result, you are very likely to miss your flight if you have a connection, especially an international connection, even if you don't have to "leave" the same terminal. I say "leave" in quotes because even though I landed in Terminal 5 and my connecting flight was also in Terminal 5, I had to get on a tram to move to a different section of Terminal 5. Regarding the tram, the concept of time is lost here. The screen and voice over the PA system will tell you it's 2 minutes away, but it's much longer. More like 4 minutes. Then, when it finally does arrive and all the passengers on board exit stage left, you then have to wait yet another 5 or so minutes for a computerized security sweep before you can even get on board. Mind you: this is all in the same terminal! As for the baggage screen, every single bag in my queue was flagged for secondary inspection, which created a massive back up. This, combined with the utter lack of urgency from all of the two bag inspectors, added another 20 minutes to my travel time between gates, all in the same terminal! Just to illustrate how close I was to nearly missing my flight, upon sprinting to the gate, the flight attendant knew who I was, calling me by name. I guess I was the last to board. All in all, I landed at this airport from another European country at approximately 1:50 local time and made it to my connecting gate at 3:00 for a 3:15 departure time. read more

This fucking place...... it hot it's gross.... The food sucks. The people are ass. Our flight couldn't land due to traffic on runway I guess. So we missed our connecting flight and got stuck at airport 5 extra hours. Total shit place. No air conditioning in one of the biggest airports in the world? Just stingy. read more

Clean, Beautiful and easy to navigate this airport. Super friendly & helpful airport workers and such easy directions and walking distance to the terminals. Excellent and efficient execution in Security/immigration. Such focused people doing their job at the best. Common waiting place gets a bit crowded but tons of restaurants, coffee places, browsing area to look into. If you have an access to a lounge, it will be awesome. read more

Heathrow Airport - Airports Near Me - Hounslow, XGL

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Not much to rave about here. Getting around this airport is surprisingly cumbersome, often requiring multiple transfers between buses and trains just to reach your destination. The food options are also underwhelming. While I didn't visit every terminal, I did spend time in the major ones. There are a few snack stands and a couple of decent restaurants, but very little that is both quick and genuinely good. The sit-down restaurants I tried were solid, but they're not always practical when you're short on time. My biggest frustration was Terminal 5. The gates are incredibly far from the main food and shopping area, and a glass wall runs down the middle of the corridor with very few crossover points. To make matters worse, when an arriving flight is deplaning, sections of the hallway are closed off, forcing passengers to wait around 20 minutes before they can continue walking. It's an unnecessarily inconvenient design that makes navigating the terminal far more frustrating than it should be. read more

Heathrow Airport - Airports Near Me - Hounslow, XGL

Heathrow Airport is where I landed when I came to London from Los Angeles. I landed in terminal 2 which is named the Queen Terminal. This was my second time in London and my first time was also landing in Heathrow Airport as well. The landing was fine, exiting the plane was good, going through the broader agent was simple and picking up my baggage was great. I also flew out from Heathrow to go to Germany which was my layover before going home to Los Angeles. The only issue I experience here was the check in desk was not open until like an hour before my departure. Then the walk from the baggage drop off and security was far. read more

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Very easy entry process to the UK. You do have to register ahead of time on their governments website. It costs a bit, but it's good for a few years. Although once you're exiting the airport, it's confusing where to go to get picked up by Uber. We had to ask someone. You gotta take the elevator to level 1, which is the carport (garage), and then you walk to Row R. You'll see the group of people waiting. Although there's no signs to lead you there. You just gotta start walking 'til you walk in the direction of Row R. read more

Heathrow Airport - Easy entry to the UK as long as you already registered ahead of time - Airports Near Me - Hounslow, XGL

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Heathrow Terminal One was gross. Landed here on a brief layover from Belfast. I've been to other terminals and they're clean and less crammed. Usually, this airport is very good. Terminal One was having a bad congested day! read more

Heathrow Airport - Airports Near Me - Hounslow, XGL

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Finally got to experience it. Heathrow is massive!!! Get ready to get a good amount of steps. Great to use the rail system to get to and from the airport. read more

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This is a very busy airport and a bit of a challenge to navigate, especially when you fly in and have a connecting flight in a different terminal. Since we missed our connecting flight due to a delay with the incoming flight, we ended up getting re-booked for a flight 6 hours later. Not fun. But, this airport has tons of high end shops, if that is your gig. I was not impressed by their deletion of good places to eat, though. They do have sections of general seating areas, which are nice, especially with all the throngs of people going in every direction and all at one time. read more

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Not bad at all! Quick moving all throughout, from getting the boarding pass, through check in, and security. Clean. Lively. Big and spacious. Easy to navigate and great signage. No negatives whatsoever. read more

Heathrow Airport - Signage at Heathrow. - Airports Near Me - Hounslow, XGL

A lot of folks don't seem to care for Heathrow. The countless times I've flown in and out here have been a good experience. It's a large airport and it gets really busy. However, it's easy to get around and get to where you need to be on your own. There are various restaurants and shops and areas for relaxation to pass the time whilst waiting for a flight. read more

A huge airport with an historic name and legacy, and it can be a bit of a harrowing experience for less experienced travelers. Be sure to get there extra early for departing flights. I have flown into and out of Heathrow a few times now and it's always very busy. Terminals and gates are spread far apart so wear comfy shoes or sneakers. Check in and customs process was pretty smooth, no complaints. Plenty of retail shopping with many of it the high end variety, along with restaurants, lounges, and assorted spots for magazines and snacks. I saw multiple seating areas which is always good to have while waiting. Also, its easy to and from Heathrow by using their subway - The Tube - which is right here. Very convenient to have the train station on site for transportation. If I recall we took the Elizabeth line into the city. Yes, it's a bit outdated and could use a refreshing but gets the job done otherwise. read more

Heathrow Airport was pretty smooth to fly in and out of when I traveled to London. Flights were on time and security was pretty smooth. I also found a cool British store beyond security where I purchased a tshirt and socks. There were tons of food options and restrooms were readily available. Our Delta gate was quite a hike from security at one end of the airport. Along our journey I noticed little cubby holes where passengers could relax or even lay down for a nap. That was cool as I've never seen this in any other airport. One was large enough for two people to fit inside. The longest wait was when we arrived and went through immigration. One of my travel companions was in a wheel chair. This line was shorter but we still waited roughly 30 minutes. I hope to go back to London again and it's always less stressful once you've experienced an airport so you know what to expect. read more

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While I didn't have any problems with Heathrow itself, and enjoyed a final pret sarnie, then a nice glass of bubbly at the posh bubble bar, and found security easy and finding my way around easy, I did have a problem with United's gate methods. UNITED GATE Even though the plane I was catching to LA was only half full the gate staff made it hell and were bullying everyone, insisting on lines, then closing them while you were still standing in line.....very frustrating and very confusing. I don't appreciate being SHOUTED at and herded like a farm animal by staff who don't know what they are doing, who quite frankly couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery! I always walk around before boarding as it prevents blood clots and helps if you have lymph nodes removed....so I was walking in the concourse and was told continually to sit down by staff, even though I wasn't near the actual entrance to the gate. Rude and uncalled for bullying behaviour. Gate agents don't have the right to stop people walking the concourse if they are not causing any problems. What started as a reasonably relaxing end to my visit to the UK soon turned into a UNITED pain! read more

Heathrow Airport is a mixed experience. On the positive side, security was impressively speedy and the staff were friendly and helpful, which definitely made the start of my journey smoother than expected. The terminals are clean and there's a good selection of shops and restaurants to pass the time. However, one major frustration is that they don't announce the gate number until about 45 minutes to an hour before departure. This makes it really stressful if your gate ends up being a long walk away....everyone suddenly rushes at once, creating a bit of chaos. It would be so much better if gate information were available earlier to allow for a calmer boarding process. Overall, it's a decent airport with good service, but the late gate announcements make the pre-boarding experience far more hectic than it needs to be. read more

Heathrow Airport - You can see when your gate will be announced. - Airports Near Me - Hounslow, XGL

I have a love/hate relationship with London Heathrow Airport. I loved it when I lived in the UK. That's when I traveled back and forth to Miami when visiting stateside. It's a smooth transition when you're not connecting to other flights. Although traffic wise, it was much easier getting to Gatwick from the east side of London. Our most recent visit brought back memories of the not so great times changing terminals to get to connecting flights. Make sure that you have at least 90 minutes as a buffer between flights. It's always a rush trying to get from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 and vice versa. Going through security will be the longest part of your journey. It's not the friendliest staff you'll ever meet. Our aircrew was even late getting to the gate due to a hold up in security which delayed our flight back to the States. We usually try to give ourselves 3 hours so that we can relax in a lounge to decompress, but the schedule doesn't always work out that way. The good news is that there are clear directions on where you need to go. The transportation to and from the terminals by bus is very organized even though it's a very long walk to get there. You'll be rewarded with lots of nice shops and lounges once you get to your terminal. Fortnum & Mason is one of my favorite shops at the airport. Unfortunately, I missed it this time around. Another good thing that I noticed is that we didn't need to claim our luggage and drop it back off between connections here. That was a very welcomed change. What more can I say? It's a massive international airport. It's going to be a minor inconvenience for a short period of time. Just try to do the best that you can to get through it all. You can always rest on the plane. read more

I have a very strong love-hate relationship with this airport and will avoid it if I can. I love that there are many direct flights from my home airport and London is a major hub to travel to many countries I've visited. I very much dislike the size of this airport, the many terminals and how complicated it can be if I having to switch terminals. On my most recent trip, I flew with British to terminal 5 with a connection to American Airlines in terminal 3. I'm glad that I had 3 hours for my connection because so many things that could go wrong happened. I understand why people may send their elderly relatives with wheelchair assistance because it is not the easiest of places to navigate. I'm sure I'll travel through Heathrow again in the future but only if a more convenient option for my travel plans is not available. read more

Heathrow is by far one of the nicest airports I've ever stepped foot into. The hustle and bustle of airports, Heathrow will make you feel like you're in a city center. TSA and immigration lines are organized move rather quickly. We had to check in our luggage, and that line too flowed well. This airport is big, so be prepared & know where you're going. Shops & more shops everywhere. The gate level is lined with luxury cosmetics stores, Louis Vuitton & Dior shops to purchase a last minute handbag and an entire store with a variety of alcoholic bottles and beverages. Make your way to the salon for a quick blow out if you have time. Plenty of restaurants to choose from with a variety of choices for everyone. We had a great experience. read more

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For a decade, I really despised and hated this airport...have stand on busses from the aircraft to the terminal, 2-3 different security check points by manned security, multiple baggage checks...it took forever to get around. Today, perhaps due to Brexit and the new Electronic Travel Authorization(ETA), getting through Heathrow is a breeze! From American to the UK, we didn't have to talk to a single person or security guard. We scanned our passports and faces, picked up our luggage, and were on our way! Same with going to back to America...so fast and easy! Not sure what the UK government did, but it is excellent! Also, restaurant and shop prices are reasonable compared to American airports...you can get food and drink for reasonable prices. Looking forward to my next UK adventure! read more

This was the airport we flew out of in the UK (London). It's a pretty nice airport. The layout was easy to navigate and it was pretty easy to find our gate. The TSA check went smooth for us, which was nice! read more

I'm not a fan of this enormous cattle market and I never look forward to travelling through it. Ripping customers off for mostly average food is at the top of their agenda. This is across the range: food, drinks and gifts. Their duty free sure isn't profit free and there's lots of goods cheaper on the high street. I could have saved a fiver buying a litre of Jameson but it was not worth the hassle. Their chairs are terribly uncomfortable and most of their phone chargers, fitted into the uncomfortable seats don't work and this is in a multi million pound a year airport with a chief executive earning well over £1.5 million annually. The laugh is on us and it's really not funny but beyond the pale, whatever that is any more, in a world devalued by the solipsistic Trump, with his parasitic tech emperors and the internet itself, degrading all our long held values, making honesty, honour and integrity seem anachronistic. read more

Heathrow Airport - Rip off anybody? - Airports Near Me - Hounslow, XGL

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Landed safely! Staff extremely polite and helpful. Airport clean as well as restrooms. read more

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Heathrow Airport was our layover while traveling from Tampa to Mumbai. Upon arrival, we went through security, which was quick and hassle-free. The airport offers a variety of shopping stores, making it a great place for travelers looking to shop. However, the airport was quite crowded, and finding seating was challenging. One downside was the limited food options. We had a meal at YO! Sushi, which was just okay. If you have a long layover, I'd highly recommend booking a lounge instead of eating at airport restaurants. The food at the airport is overpriced, has long wait times, and isn't great quality--a lounge would be a much better option for a more comfortable dining experience. read more

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Ginormous airport but super easy to navigate through. When we landed here, we did wait about 30 minutes at baggage claim to gather our luggage. Customs was to the right after baggage claim which is where you would go though when flying in from another country (as I would assume so) but there was nobody there. So we just kept on walking towards the exit. Nobody stopped us so we just kept on. Next thing you know we were on a train headed to our hotel. I kept thinking to myself this is the easiest arrival I've ever experienced in a foreign country. Departing Heathrow is just as easy as well. Again, easy to navigate through. If you have liquids in your carry-on, they have display cases of how they should be packed. There's a centralized area of shops and restaurants as you wait to see where your gate is. We got to the airport 3 hours prior so we had time to eat and do some shopping while we waited for updates on the monitor. Our gate was a 20 minute walk. So if you're flying from Heathrow, get there early enough to walk to your departure gate. This is a huge airport. You will do a lot of walking. read more

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Very well laid out and not confusing airport. Employees are friendly and helpful. We had no issues finding our gate and were given correct information when made an inquiry. (Example, where's the nearest toilet). read more

Total nightmare of an experience transferring through Heathrow Airport. Would actively avoid transferring through here in the future. Common trend of airport staff being generally unpleasant and rude didn't help. Security process was traumatic for my children which seems to be a trend according to reviews, social platforms and online discussion boards. This airport needs to do better on. Walk times when transferring are long, hallways are rundown and in need of repairs. A two hour layover was just long enough to change terminals and get to our second flight. Bathrooms were dirty and water filling stations were not functioning. read more

I arrived here and departed here both on weekday afternoons on a late August/early September in Terminal 5. Arrival immigration process = seamless as it's automated (scan passport and have photo taken) and there was little-to-no-queue at the time. No-fuss quick TSA process as well (though I had a dedicated British Airways business class queue for it; can't comment on general TSA queue). Navigating to reach the public transit train lines here to London city proper wasn't complicated. Specifically boarding a flight leaving Heathrow though......a bit of a clusterf*ck lol. Gates don't get assigned to flights here until up to an hour before departure time, and for me my gate for my flight back to San Francisco wasn't assigned until 15 minutes before boarding time. On top of that, I got the short end of the stick and boarding on the plane had to be from the tarmac; shuttle bus travel directly to the plane sure was a doozy as staff stuffed flight passengers into the bus like sardines. 30 min departure delay due to an issue regarding the plane cargo hold. *Crowded* airport, and with flight gates not being assigned early, there is very active foot traffic as people mad-dash to their flight gates across the large terminal. Lots of lingering in general areas with minimal seating availability also, so very much recommend splurging on lounge access at this particular airport if you plan to be here for at least a couple of hours. read more

Once upon a time, this Faerie Queen landed here for a little r&r before continuing on to Ireland. I appreciated the seating, kind and helpful staff, and the clean restrooms/open spaces. The security team was diligent. A lot of high-end brands. I especially enjoyed visiting Harrod's! The rose and violet creams are my favorite- just in time for Easter. The end. read more

This is a very busy airport and I thought it was a bit confusing, but luckily I was with a tour leader that was able to maneuver our group around. While we were in London the underground subway went on strike, which would have been a convenient way for us to get from the airport to our hotel. So we needed to take separate taxis, which wasn't terrible, but still inconvenient and cost us 110 pounds which we were able to split among our passengers. The day before we were going home they shut down terminal 4 because of a suspicious substance. Since our hotel was at the airport and happened to be in terminal 4, we had a nightmare of a time getting back to our hotel. I realize none of this was because of the airport, but I will always have that memory!!! read more

Heathrow Airport - Airports Near Me - Hounslow, XGL

Heathrow is pretty much the definition of a busy airport. It's huge, bustling, and full of people from all over the world. Getting around can feel like a bit of a hike (seriously, some of those terminals are a workout), but the signage is clear and there's always staff around to help if you're lost. Security can be a mixed bag, and the lines are notoriously long (so arrive very, very early). But once you're through, the place has plenty of shops, restaurants, and lounges to keep you occupied. It's easy to get to via public transport too, which is always a huge plus when dealing with the stress of flying (especially internationally). There still isn't enough seating nor phone chargers, but the people watching is off the charts. Heathrow is not the coziest airport in the world, but it's well-run, clean, and gets the job done, which is really all you can ask for before or after a long flight. read more

This was such an iconic visit for me! My first time to London. The employees of the airport was just as I'd imagine - something similar to east coast but with the coolest accent to get me where I needed to be. It was super outdated. And soooo far to get to the ground. Outside of that - can't wait to go again. read more

Meh, wasn't impressed by Heathrow. It took forever to get anywhere. Had to take buses to my plane, which seemed incredibly inefficient. The process to have to wait to know the location of your gate is extremely odd. But the airport was clean. read more

Heathrow Airport is the primary airport near London and is one of the busiest airports in the world in terms of number of passengers. From here several dozen airlines fly to a couple hundred destinations worldwide. Recently my husband and I had a connecting flight in this airport. While we waited to board our flight, we dined in a restaurant and shopped in stores. We felt happy with the assortment of restaurants and stores. We think that a gate change could have been communicated better. Unfortunately, our flight to Barcelona departed 1.5 hours late. read more

Horrible airport. Crazy gates get posted 1 hour before flight. You need 2 to 3 hours for connections given trains and busses and long walks. British Airways boarding and planes are a joke. read more

We arrived at Heathrow on Virgin from Seattle. Quite the walk to get to immigration an customs but after that is was very easy, Instructions and signs everywhere. We took the Heathrow Express to the Paddington station and suddenly we were in London. The airport seems quite aged especially the gate and walk way we were on. We were not privy to other parts of the airport and won't be until our return in 12 days. read more

Heathrow Airport - Airports Near Me - Hounslow, XGL

Going through security is a nightmare here. Heed my warning, water in metal flasks will not be allowed. Anything in metal flasks even soup if you are sick for medical reasons not allowed. Glass containers , plastic yes, no tumblers. You will have an option, to either dump your flask, or go outside security dump your contents and go back into line to grab your flask. I had to show my letter for my ice vest and frozen ice. Forgot had juice that was frozen in a glass container. Had to dump that. Completely non-sense. Using ADA booking ahead was interesting. Found our way to assistance only to wait in another area to get a shuttle type Trolley to take the 3 people in our party to the gate. Good news is that: there is a WC and a drinking water station to fill water if needed. Were put on a cart 6 people with luggage and sent to our gate. Smooth. Heathrow is very big, im glad this resource exists. There is No way i would have been able to maneuver and walk to my gate without it. 10/10 read more

Heathrow Airport - Airports Near Me - Hounslow, XGL

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We've had stopovers at LHR Airport several times, and the experience was routinely unpleasant. Our most recent experience transiting through LHR onto Istanbul was the worst one so far. Let me count the ways: 1. Airport staff indicated our bag would not transfer, so we had to retrieve it from baggage claim and recheck it, but our bag never came out. I contacted the baggage staff and they indicated our bag was transferred to our next flight. This was a waste of at least 30 minutes. 2. Then we proceeded to follow the connecting flight signs (which we are familiar with) and reached an exit that no longer said connecting flights. We saw 4 or 5 "Border Police" all having a casual conversation, and kindly asked one of the officers (female) if she could tell us if we were headed in the correct direction. The female officer rudely said we needed to say "good morning" before she would answer. We walked away. 3. Next, you have to take a tram train to get to the other terminals. This time, everyone was required to obtain a free ticket from a machine to access the airport tram/train. This resulted a mass of people trying to get this "free" ticket. It appears LHR Airport is using this as a way to track how many people are accessing the train. It was a complete waste of time and inconvenient. 4. Since we were traveling on a business class ticket and British airways is a partner with American Airlines, my boarding pass was listed as "Fast Pass," but my wife's didn't for some reason. As we approached the electronic bordering pass scanner, my wife was denied access. She was required to get into the much longer line, while I stood on the other side waiting. She was then allowed to proceed with me through the rest of the Fast Pass process. 5. The security check was next. I'm not sure if LHR airport security changes their procedures hourly, daily, or monthly. Each time we visited, the requirements were different. In fact, while waiting to approach the X-ray machines, a security staff member told everyone to take out any baggies containing approved levels of liquids and keep the baggies separated from carryon bags and backpacks. This created a frenzy with everyone trying to pull these items out their bags. Then, as we approached the actual staff working the machines, they said to put it back in the bags. Again, another example of a waste of time. 6. And a pro tip, don't even think about questioning any of the staff about their rude behavior. There are signs posted through the airport that indicate "verbal abuse" toward staff will result in prosecution. Who knows what they constitute "verbal abuse" as. As a frequent domestic and international flyer, I've had the opportunity to experience several airports. Based on my experiences, LHR Airport is the worst. It is disorganized, rules seem to change on the fly, some staff are flat out rude, and they create and change processes that only result in a waste of valuable time and a frustrating experience. In short, LHR Airport is completely mismanaged. Moving forward, I should point that the airport staff who work with the airlines and at the gates were very helpful. read more

Historic and iconic, just the name alone conjures memories of personal travel adventures, movies, and books. Once the home of my favorite airline, BOAC, I remember also the glorious Pan Am but alas the reality is this monstrous large busy airport is not a place for a tight layover. Always plan on 2 and a half to three hours minimum to transfer between flights and always carry a change of clothes on board if you are checking luggage through. Good choice of restaurants but the airport is so busy there are peak times when you'll have to wait for a seat and it's such a long distance between gates you'll get a hike in plus often a bus ride. Not enough WCs in the many high traffic areas so if you pass one that doesn't have a line, stop and use it. Restaurant and shop prices aren't as bloated as in the US but aren't cheap either. Remember, TSA won't honor sealed Duty Free bags on your way back to America. read more

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Arrival experience. Got off the plane and was really easy to navigate through the airport. Clearly labeled signage for finding the exit and baggage claim. Baggage claim experience also smooth. Clearly labeled screens to identify which carousel out bags were arriving on. Opted for the Elizabeth line train to get into the city. Was a little bit confusing just to ensure we went the right way to get to the right train but needed to working out after several minutes of looking over all the signage. Did miss the train we wanted because of a little confusion but another came after 25 min. read more