Your plane lands in Europe after an overnight flight from America. You notice that you have a good bit of time before your next flight departs to your mission trip destination. What can you do to pass the time? More importantly, how do you find your way around the massive complex of gates, moving walkways, and constant commotion?
We’re launching a three-part series on European airports, focusing on the most common transfer airports for Ministry Travel’s clients. Today we will look at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Heathrow is a major international transportation hub. Accommodating more than 60 million passengers in 2009, it is officially the second busiest airport in the world. Of the five airports serving passengers in the London area, Heathrow Airport is by far the busiest and biggest.
The city of London is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, and Heathrow Airport welcomes a considerable portion of the tourists. With more than 100 airlines and hundreds of destinations worldwide, Heathrow Airport is also a common place for flight transfers.
When first arriving at Heathrow, it may be overwhelming, especially for passengers waiting for a connecting flight. Heathrow has four active terminals, all of which offer transfers for international flights. Before you start searching for activities to kill some time, you must pass through hand baggage checks and security screenings. Then, you will find yourself at the departure lounge full of amenities, shops, restaurants, and services. Bus shuttles are available if your connecting flight is from a different terminal than which you arrived.
Each terminal’s departure lounge at the Heathrow Airport has the basic facilities and amenities you would expect, such as public restrooms and wireless hot sports for internet access. If you are at Terminal 4 and want to freshen up, you can take advantage of the public showers.
London Heathrow Airport provides religious accommodations for multiple faiths. Prayer rooms can be found in all terminals. Located outside the terminals near the bus station, the St. George’s Chapel offers services for various denominations. It is staffed by members of the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains.
Shopping and dining are the best options while waiting for a flight transfer at Heathrow. There are more than 20 shops in each of the departure levels at Terminal 1, 3, and 4. Terminal 5 has the least amount of shopping options, with just over 15 stores. You can shop for clothing and apparel at fashion stores of designer brands such as Bvlgari, Burberry, Escada, Gucci, and Versace. If you are looking to buy travel accessories, check out stores such as Dixons Travel, Excess Baggage Company, and WHSmith. You can also expect to find several duty free shops at each of the terminals.
Each Heathrow terminal offers unique cuisines. Terminal 3 offers the most food options, with a total of 10 eateries including Yo! Sushi, Rhubarb, and TGI Friday’s. You can also grab some coffee at Starbucks in Terminal 3 and Terminal 4. If you want a taste of home, grab a Krispy Kreme doughnut in the arrivals area of Terminal 5 or outside security at Terminal 3.
We’ll continue our look at European airports in our next post when we explore the Frankfurt Airport.
I am unfamiliar with what Heathrow offers in the way of resting areas or rooms. With a 10-12 hour layover at Heatrow, we’d like a place or room to take showers and relax. What are the options? Any links to show comparisons of all that is available for resting places? Thank you.
Terminal 4 has showers. Here’s the link to Heathrow Airport and information about showers: http://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk/toilets-showers.html.
Since you have such a long layover, you may want to look into the various city tours. Although we have never used them, so we can’t make a recommendation one way or the other, there is a company called London Magical Tours that offers a layover tour out of Heathrow. Their website is http://www.londonmagicaltours.com/london_layover_aiport_tours_londonaiporttours.html
Hi
How do you move from one terminal to another?
I am flying in to terminal 5 and have access to lounges in terminal 1-3-4, but can I move freely between the lounges without having to go through security in each terminal?
Concretely how do I get from Terminal 5 to Terminal or Terminal 4?
Thank you.
Good question Michael!
We haven’t made that transfer ourselves so we can’t say with certainty. We’ve done some research on this and believe that you do have to go back through security if you are going from terminal 5 to another terminal. That is not the case with all of the terminals, but it does seem to apply to 5. The airport’s web page dealing with this is http://bit.ly/a1dUmJ .
If anyone else has made this transfer, please pass along your insights. Thanks.