Arrival at Heathrow

[mark_milhouse]

Hi everybody, just wondering if someone could please shed some light on the following:

1. Does it take long to get through immigration at Terminal 3 on arrival from outside EU at heathrow? If so, how long? I'm arriving in the evening
2. What happens at immigrationc check? do they interview you for long?
2. Does anyone know if Virgin offer a through chech in to BA flights? I am arriving from America on virgin and have a connecting flight to Scotland on BA within 3 hours of my arrival at heathrow. Wondering in Virgin could check in my luggage straight to my BA flisht without me waiting for my bags?
3. Do you think I have a realistic chance of making it in time?

Any help will be appreciated.
Cheers

[thsths]

Hi Mark

1. Does it take long to get through immigration at Terminal 3 on arrival from outside EU at heathrow? If so, how long? I'm arriving in the evening
2. What happens at immigrationc check? do they interview you for long?
2. Does anyone know if Virgin offer a through chech in to BA flights? I am arriving from America on virgin and have a connecting flight to Scotland on BA within 3 hours of my arrival at heathrow. Wondering in Virgin could check in my luggage straight to my BA flisht without me waiting for my bags?
3. Do you think I have a realistic chance of making it in time?

I'll answer the last question first: I think you should be fine. 3 hours is a good time for a connection, even with the increased security. Nothing is certain, though, and booking with different airlines makes it more difficult if it does go wrong.

About 1: there can be some queues at times, but usually it should only take about 20 minutes.

About 2: they ask for the purpose and the duration of your stay. It is certainly a lot faster than getting into the US!

About the other 2: you can ask, but since BA and Virgin are in heavy competition across the Atlantic, I doubt it. If you have a single ticket, it happens automatically (unlike in the US).

PS: if you have to go to Terminal 4, that could take a while. You should check which terminal you need to go to, and check online how best to get there.

[mark_milhouse]

Hi Thsths,

Thanks very much for your reply. It certainly has lessened my anxiety.
My connecting BA flight is from Terminal 1.

Would you know if baggage collection is after immigration check or before?

Cheers!

[mym]

Hi Thsths,

Thanks very much for your reply. It certainly has lessened my anxiety.
My connecting BA flight is from Terminal 1.

Would you know if baggage collection is after immigration check or before?

Cheers!

It's after.

[Christophe]

All the above answers seem sensible. Transferring from terminal 3 to terminal 1 at Heathrow is easy - they are near to each other and connected by underground walkways. Follow the signs once you've cleared customs and you're out in the "real world". You can use a luggage trolley all the way if you are happy to use lifts rather than escalators.

Assuming that you are not an British/EU/EEA passport holder or don't have the right of abode in the UK, you will have to fill in a landing card before you reach passport control. The form itself is very simple. The cards are normally given out on the plane, but if not it doesn't matter, there are plenty in the terminal in the passport queue area. The form does ask for your address in the UK, so make sure you know it or have it handy. Don't forget you'll need a biro too.

As to your luggage, you will probably have to re-claim it at Heathrow terminal 3, go through customs and check it in again at BA desk in terminal 1. However, ask when you're checking in to your Virgin flight - you just never know!

Three hours ought to be quite enough time to make the transfer. Of course, things can always go wrong, but it should be fine. If you're flying to Edinburgh or Glasgow, the BA flights are very frequent.

[tekaweni]

...and if you do happen to miss your connecting flight, BA's usual practice is to simply put you onto the next one at no extra charge.

[mark_milhouse]

guys, thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

[bbdivo]

It might be worth having a look at the terminal 3 website and checking to see what other arrivals there are at the time you are arriving (I think you can only do that the day before you travel) A couple of years ago I arrived at T3 and three jumbo jets had just landed from China before I arrived, and needless to say the line was absolutely massive! If you're in that sort of situation there are usually a number of immigration officials around that you can ask nicely if you can go ahead!