London Heathrow is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom, and July and August are some of the busiest travel months of the year. I fly in or out of Heathrow every month or so and although it has a pretty bad reputation, I don’t find it to be that bad once you are actually there, especially if I’m using Terminal 2, which is home to the Star Alliance airlines, as I find it to be by far the best Heathrow terminal.
I do consistently observe long wait times at inbound immigration, regardless of the Heathrow terminal I am using (and regardless of the London airport for that matter). Inbound immigration is split into two sections, one of which is those who have chip passports from the European Economic Area (EEA), who can use the e-gates (and those such as myself who don’t have EEA but can still use the e-gates because I have applied for the Registered Traveller program, the benefits of which I have written about here). There are also manual desks for those EEA passport holders who either don’t have a chip passport, or the e-gate does not work for them for whatever reason.
I have never waited more than five minutes to use an e-gate at any London airport, at any time of the day, week or year.
The other general line is for those other travellers who need to be processed manually by an immigration official. They are required to complete a landing card, have their passport scanned and stamped and are likely to be asked a series of questions about the purpose of their visit, how long they are staying, do they have onward travel, etc. These questions can be long and probing, especially if the travellers do not have a strong grasp of English.
I find the immigration officers in London to be particularly unpleasant to anyone who does not have residency in the UK, and certainly not a welcome start to any visit to the UK. It was amazing how much their demeanor would improve when they saw my UK Biometric Residence Permit, and the conversation would change from ‘why are you in the UK’ to ‘welcome home sir!’
Current wait times
Wait times at Heathrow have always been long in the general queues. Flights into Heathrow arrive from 180 destinations in 90 countries, and with so many different people arriving from so many different places, of course immigration will have plenty of questions for some travellers as people overstaying tourist visas is a particular problem in the UK, as it is in many countries.
But at the same time, it’s almost dangerous forcing people to queue for too long – there’s no bathroom breaks, or any food or water available. Fortunately as it rarely gets that hot in London, the immigration halls do not reach the uncomfortable high temperatures I’ve experienced in some humid Asian cities.
Border Force UK is the entity that operates the immigration control, and they have a Service Level Agreement they are supposed to meet which is 45 minutes for 95% of passengers in the general queue. They receive service credits (i.e. a financial bonus) if they meet their performance targets.
But wait times at Heathrow in July have stretched to 2 hours and 30 minutes for some passengers. On only one day in July did Border Force meet its SLA target of 45 minutes.
The CEOs of Heathrow’s biggest airline operators, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, have both come out publicly to criticise these wait times.
Virgin Atlantic CEO Craig Kreeger has said of the wait times:
Only the Border Force can resolve these unacceptable queue times and they must take action. We all agree that security and safety at our airports is vital and remains our top priority, but other countries are managing their borders more effectively. At a time when the UK needs to show the world it is open for business, the Government and Border Force need to provide a great first impression, for every visitor, every time.
While British Airways CEO Alex Cruz, also said:
Two-hour queues are fast becoming the norm for those visiting from outside the European Economic Area. This is unacceptable. Queues are significantly worse than at many other major world airports. What kind of message does this send, as we try to build links outside the EU?
Mr. Cruz also noted that during the recent Football World Cup, immigration queues in Terminal 4 reached three hours as immigration staff stopped work to watch a football match.
This to me, is absurd.
Bottom line
Every busy airport will have long wait times, especially during peak seasons. The volume of travelers in London airports in summer is quite overwhelming, and with August traditionally being the busiest travel month of the year, I would expect the wait times this month to be even worse.
I do note each time I pass through the immigration halls that there are always immigration desks that are unmanned and this is one area that should be able to improve wait times. The Home Office in the UK said they have deployed an extra 200 Border Force officers to help with the summer peak. It seems that Border Force does not consider the financial incentives to meet performance targets to be that important given they are so far from meeting them – or perhaps they consider the massive amount of extra resources required to meet these targets to outweigh the financial benefits of doing so.
Even if every single desks was manned at all times there will still be massive queues – there’s no easy solution to this problem. Heathrow is not alone in having long wait times.
What is the longest you have waited at immigration at Heathrow or elsewhere?
Hey, I'm brazilian and I'm going to arrive at Heathrow from Lisbon at 10:30 am in September (probably in terminal 2). I will have to go to Euston to catch a train to Liverpool, so I would like to know at what time I might arrive there and how is the best way to get there (by underground?), because I need to buy the train ticket asap. Thanks!
This is our revenge for the shambles that is known as ‘Tom Bradley’ at LAX. Get to the front of an immigration line and suddenly some surly official closes it and sends you to the back of another long line. Finally get thru and your bags came thru so much quicker than you they’re lined up by the half mile alongside the carousels.
Dallas Fort-Worth was also a shambles my one trip thru there...
This is our revenge for the shambles that is known as ‘Tom Bradley’ at LAX. Get to the front of an immigration line and suddenly some surly official closes it and sends you to the back of another long line. Finally get thru and your bags came thru so much quicker than you they’re lined up by the half mile alongside the carousels.
Dallas Fort-Worth was also a shambles my one trip thru there - half of immigration closed off, no sensible queuing systems for machines that had you answering immigration questions you were asked again at a desk, slow baggage delivery to the point half our party missed the connecting flight.
Agree Heathrow can be hideous for non-UK citizens or those residents not on fast track programmes but it’s hardly unique.
1.5 hours to go through passport once landed from NY. Maybe 150-250 passengers in line.
In late March.
There were TWO passport people. Maybe 20-30 people "helping" guide passengers inside and "helping" the line. wtf.
The line is designed by a torture expert. As you can't see where it's going to divert to next and goes back and forth and left and right at random.
Can’t wait for post brexit, currently waiting for girlfriend traveling on a sub passport. Two hours and no end in sight. If I had known it was this bad I would never recommend anyone to fly in to this airport. It really spoils the start of a vacation especially after a 11 hour flight and more travel later, thanks Heathrow.
we traveled yesterday on British Airways from Lisbon to Heathrow arriving at about 2:15 pm, the non-EU immigration lineup was 2 and a half hours, they did bring us water. When we left there were probably 500+ people still in the queue, they were lined up all the way to the back and out the hall entry. The problem seem to be that there was most of the time only 2 immigration agents worked, would temporarily increase to 4 with change over.
My upcoming flight is DFW-LHR-EDI. Will I be subject to Immigration? Layover at LHR is 2:35 hours. USA passport.
My record is 14 minutes from plane door to Heathrow Express platform. Always use the e-gates. Had to put up with ‘other’ on an Antipodean passport for five years but never heard of the RTP which may be a more recent innovation I’d willingly have signed up for. Biometric residence permit is also a new one on me.
In 30-odd years only had one unpleasant immigration officer experience - at the sh*thole known as ‘London’...
My record is 14 minutes from plane door to Heathrow Express platform. Always use the e-gates. Had to put up with ‘other’ on an Antipodean passport for five years but never heard of the RTP which may be a more recent innovation I’d willingly have signed up for. Biometric residence permit is also a new one on me.
In 30-odd years only had one unpleasant immigration officer experience - at the sh*thole known as ‘London’ Stansted - and that was when I was between spells living here. After I shoved an expired residence permit up his nose, the attitude softened. These days, my main contact with immigration officers is winding up the e-gate attendant over why more aren’t open on the rare occasions I am delayed a few minutes.
Worst in my experience are the inept Americans; friendliest the Kiwis though I feel a bit embarrassed at ‘welcome home’ after abandoning the place decades ago. They once asked me to help - after checking my connection times - with new e-gates by entering the place about eight times with a newly minted passport. When I left a fortnight later, the passport checker commented on that as they’d put a note on the file to explain the unusual activity.
Post Brexit, the plan is a U.K. only lane. I expect retaliation in Europe as we are barred from EU/EEA lanes.
Last week my wife and I traveled to London, then Switzerland, then returned to our country via LHR. We were using T2, and our experience was quite good, and no, I dont have U.K residence, neither I lived in EU. inmigration officers were just normal inmigration officers, rutine questions, but no more than 2 or 3 minutes
@Christian
HKG has massive queues and long wait times for non-residents and peak times - easily up to an hour although nowhere near as disgraceful as Heathrow.
I am surprised to see so many comments about SIN as well; although wait times there are not bad in general they have also stretched to 40 mins for me before (although I have had other times with no wait at all).
Heathrow’s wait times are awful...
@Christian
HKG has massive queues and long wait times for non-residents and peak times - easily up to an hour although nowhere near as disgraceful as Heathrow.
I am surprised to see so many comments about SIN as well; although wait times there are not bad in general they have also stretched to 40 mins for me before (although I have had other times with no wait at all).
Heathrow’s wait times are awful and embarrassing and need to be fixed, but I can’t really think of any major airport in a global city where immigration is especially fast for non-residents arriving.
Hell, in the US the lines are appalling even if you are a resident/citizen.
Landed yesterday in IAD. 2 hours for immigration... USA doesn't look better
Heathrow isn't bad, actually one of my favorite airports when I am traveling without my spouse. When it's just me (I'm British & American), it is a breeze through security and I'm in London before I know it. With my spouse we all have to go through the non-UK/EU/EEA line which takes forever, and we have 2 small kids. Not sure why they put those who need visas and don't need visa's in the same...
Heathrow isn't bad, actually one of my favorite airports when I am traveling without my spouse. When it's just me (I'm British & American), it is a breeze through security and I'm in London before I know it. With my spouse we all have to go through the non-UK/EU/EEA line which takes forever, and we have 2 small kids. Not sure why they put those who need visas and don't need visa's in the same line.
My spouse has thought about getting the UK's Trusted Traveller program but it so overpriced compared to the one in the USA.
As a OW Emerald, my wife and I like to transit through Terminal 5, take a 3 h rather than 90 min connection to our destination (e.g. CDG, NCE), and relax in the excellent first class lounge while waiting. Yes we do plan our travel through LHR to use that lounge (vintage champagne, tasty cooked meals, comfortable couches ...). The Fast Track line to get there can seem a little slow, but always less than...
As a OW Emerald, my wife and I like to transit through Terminal 5, take a 3 h rather than 90 min connection to our destination (e.g. CDG, NCE), and relax in the excellent first class lounge while waiting. Yes we do plan our travel through LHR to use that lounge (vintage champagne, tasty cooked meals, comfortable couches ...). The Fast Track line to get there can seem a little slow, but always less than 1 hour so far. I realize this is Transit not Immigration, however even with that said, the non Fast lines can be unbelievably long, so might use up a big piece of that 4h.
It would help if they started accepted biometric ID cards at e-passport gates. There is a huge portion of EU passengers traveling without a passport - these people must go to manned booth. If biometric ID cards where accepted at automatic gates, some of these people would move to gates, allowing to reassign some officers from EU booths to All Passports booths.
But then again, it's not yet clear whether entering without passport will be...
It would help if they started accepted biometric ID cards at e-passport gates. There is a huge portion of EU passengers traveling without a passport - these people must go to manned booth. If biometric ID cards where accepted at automatic gates, some of these people would move to gates, allowing to reassign some officers from EU booths to All Passports booths.
But then again, it's not yet clear whether entering without passport will be allowed after March, so reasonability of investing into such update depends on that.
@ Derek Glass
“Bad weather, nasty people, over priced, a feral flag carrier airline”
I’m not necessarily disagreeing with your other points, but the UK doesn’t have a “flag carrier” in the normal sense of that phrase, any more than the US does.
British Airways was privatised in the 1980s. It has no closer relationship with the state than Virgin Atlantic or easyJet. Like every airline operating in the UK it has “grandfather rights” to...
@ Derek Glass
“Bad weather, nasty people, over priced, a feral flag carrier airline”
I’m not necessarily disagreeing with your other points, but the UK doesn’t have a “flag carrier” in the normal sense of that phrase, any more than the US does.
British Airways was privatised in the 1980s. It has no closer relationship with the state than Virgin Atlantic or easyJet. Like every airline operating in the UK it has “grandfather rights” to slots at LHR or other airports - but those are not “special privileges”.
Arguably the US carriers are closer to the definition of “flag carriers”, with the US government policy that insists flights paid for with public money must be taken on US-owned airlines (no equivalent policy in the UK).
But I would join those who argue against travel to the UK: it would certainly ease the pressure on all those immigration lines for the rest of us.
@ Ever
You *chose* to transfer through LHR? What the Hell were you thinking?!
I’m coming in from Bahrain on Gulf Air and connecting to Swiss on a separate ticket in late March.
I have 3 hours 55 mins.
I thought this would be plenty, should I be worried?
@ Ever - Gulf Air is T4 from memory. Are you travelling in a premium class? While outbound at T2 is usually quite efficient it will take some time to transfer between terminals as they are fairly far away from each other. If you are not arriving in a premium class it may be tight.
http://www.traveller.com.au/heathrow-airport-passport-queues-reached-twoandahalf-hours-in-julydata-h13xin
Smh on to it
I have flown into LHR T3 twice this year, both times in business class. First time I arrived in the morning and the fast pass line took about 15 minutes which is similar to my previous trips (I usually fly to LHR a couple of times a year). What I never understood was why they dont have more fast track desks. While that is a nuisance, my bigger complaint was last month when I took...
I have flown into LHR T3 twice this year, both times in business class. First time I arrived in the morning and the fast pass line took about 15 minutes which is similar to my previous trips (I usually fly to LHR a couple of times a year). What I never understood was why they dont have more fast track desks. While that is a nuisance, my bigger complaint was last month when I took a day flight from the US which arrived close to 10pm. The fast pass lane was closed and I had to wait in the general line for 1 hour. First of all, 1 hour is ridiculous for any passenger so I am disappointed to hear they are now more than 2 hours. Secondly, why close the fast pass lane when their are still several wide body artivals with premium class passengers. Hope they get tis fixed soon.
Who wants to go to that dump anyway?
Yes, britain is a pure trash.
And pay the stupid APD on top of that?
@ James
I think this is one of your best posts to date on an important topic @ Heathrow
I was online to clear immigration in Terminal 5 and watched an elderly man pass out from a distance after being in line for an hour or more according to other sources.The folks at Heathrow that work and staff the facility just stared at him as nearby passengers declared a medical emergency
Luckily...
@ James
I think this is one of your best posts to date on an important topic @ Heathrow
I was online to clear immigration in Terminal 5 and watched an elderly man pass out from a distance after being in line for an hour or more according to other sources.The folks at Heathrow that work and staff the facility just stared at him as nearby passengers declared a medical emergency
Luckily fellow passengers rushed to his aide and eventually 20 minutes later somebody picked up his body for medical assistance that worked at Heathrow
The damage in my perception to Heathrow is immense as I book other city's airport hotels at other airports where the airport hotel transportation is vastly superior rates are lower with surcharges and the cost of the rooms somewhat less
At the end of the day I may or may not connect through London at all and have little or no desire too
Its high time all parties work together in the UK to improve the situation at Heathrow before they end up with long term economic damage and traveler trust
The longest waiting time I have experienced in London is not at Heathrow, but at city airport. They only have one desk for non-EU passports every time I land in LCY. Even that one officer often decides to leave the desk and promote regular traveler programme to people in the queue, instead of actually working. Border force is very inefficient in general, the time needed for each passenger is probably the longest in Europe, if not world.
UK immigration officers are FAR more polite than their counterparts in some European destinations ( Holland is the worst, Germany not much better). Not a marginal difference but chalk/cheese, day/night, black/white.
But yes, LHR can be a PITA and is one of the reasons I prefer LCY if it's an option.
Yet another reason to not visit the UK, among so many other reasons. Bad weather, nasty people, over priced, a feral flag carrier airline, the list just goes on and on
Singapore isn't an emerging market, it has the 3rd highest GDP per capita in the world.
Heathrow immigration lines are horrific, but then so are Gatwick's, so maybe it's an institutional problem.
Last time, it took hardly 10 min at LHR T2 to get into the country at 2 pm. Ok, non EU line was longer, but not too long either. As electronic gates didn‘t accept the ID-Card, I had to use the counters.
I've been waiting at Heathrow Terminal 1 for 3 years.
Arrived on AA from JFK at 10:25pm after a flight in J on August 3. Fast track for terminal 3 was closed and we waited almost two hours to clear as a result.
@paul smith. Maybe something about your demeanour. Last two times I arrived at a LHR I chatted to staff about crossing the date line and the recommended the plaza premium lounges at HKG
@lu "just arrived at JFK this morning, took me about 15 minutes from de-plane to taxi line. JFK is very good in term of modernization. That is one of the reason I didn’t apply global entry. The regular kiosk is just as fast."
I've also had relatively good experiences at JFK, but there have definitely been times when there was a line and Global Entry helped me skip it. And other airports in the US...
@lu "just arrived at JFK this morning, took me about 15 minutes from de-plane to taxi line. JFK is very good in term of modernization. That is one of the reason I didn’t apply global entry. The regular kiosk is just as fast."
I've also had relatively good experiences at JFK, but there have definitely been times when there was a line and Global Entry helped me skip it. And other airports in the US can be terrible. Recently I cleared immigration in MIA, where there was a huge line due to several flights arriving at once. With Global Entry, I was through in seconds. It took about 45 minutes for the bags to start arriving on the carousel, and only at that point did people from my flight *start* to show up (presumably, people who cleared immigration the regular way).
I agree with you James, the UK immigration officers aren't pleasant to visitors (they come across even arrogant at times), of course it's the same here for the US as well. Personally I found LHR to be the worst among the European airports I've been to (have been intentionally avoiding CDG). Entering UK takes a long time, even as a connection is way too much of a hassle. And LHR security is just as ridiculous,...
I agree with you James, the UK immigration officers aren't pleasant to visitors (they come across even arrogant at times), of course it's the same here for the US as well. Personally I found LHR to be the worst among the European airports I've been to (have been intentionally avoiding CDG). Entering UK takes a long time, even as a connection is way too much of a hassle. And LHR security is just as ridiculous, hideous and inefficient, if not more, than the TSA in the US.
I wouldn't call: (I) Singapore a "third world" or "emerging market"; or (ii) London the greatest city in the world (far from it frankly - let's talk about moped crime and acid attacks), but wholeheartedly would agree on the sentiment of @Bon that Singapore Changi Airport, in conjunction with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, manages their queues very well, especially now that the automatic gates are open to almost all departing foreigners.
45 minutes is...
I wouldn't call: (I) Singapore a "third world" or "emerging market"; or (ii) London the greatest city in the world (far from it frankly - let's talk about moped crime and acid attacks), but wholeheartedly would agree on the sentiment of @Bon that Singapore Changi Airport, in conjunction with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, manages their queues very well, especially now that the automatic gates are open to almost all departing foreigners.
45 minutes is a deplorable 'target' to aim for.
“ It was amazing how much their demeanor would improve when they saw my UK Biometric Residence Permit, and the conversation would change from ‘why are you in the UK’ to ‘welcome home sir!’”
As a British passport holder I’ve never had that, nor anything vaguely resembling a greeting, smile or anything of the sort. UKBA are a bunch of miserable c*nts. Give me a Congolese immigration officer any time, at least you get a...
“ It was amazing how much their demeanor would improve when they saw my UK Biometric Residence Permit, and the conversation would change from ‘why are you in the UK’ to ‘welcome home sir!’”
As a British passport holder I’ve never had that, nor anything vaguely resembling a greeting, smile or anything of the sort. UKBA are a bunch of miserable c*nts. Give me a Congolese immigration officer any time, at least you get a laugh out of them, even if it is when they try to shake you down.
just arrived at JFK this morning, took me about 15 minutes from de-plane to taxi line. JFK is very good in term of modernization. That is one of the reason I didn't apply global entry. The regular kiosk is just as fast.
@ James – but if connecting at LHR, you have to go thru the Flight Connection Centre, which also takes 90-120 minutes!
Does this mean you can't just go out of the plane, and hop from gate A to gate B?
This doesn't make sense because most connections are less than 90 minutes.
Sorry chaps. I typed my reply poorly. I land at 4pm then my flight to ORD doesn’t take off until the next day at 830am. So I will be exiting the airport.
@ Mick – if you are just transiting Heathrow you will not need to clear immigration so won’t be concerned with these queues.
@ James - but if connecting at LHR, you have to go thru the Flight Connection Centre, which also takes 90-120 minutes!
@ Kevin - I haven't ever connected in Heathrow despite flying in or out of there so many times. If there is a priority line for connections (and apologies, I don't know if there is) and your onward flight is in business class you should have access to a premium transfer line.
I have visited London six times in the past year. I always get the Fast Track access since I am a Delta Diamond, and I have never waited more than 10-15 minutes. Also, while some of the officers weren't "sweet and perky," no one has ever been unpleasant to me. I return again in October and hope I have the same pleasant-for-an-immigration-experience experience.
It's pretty bad in Krakow when going through security. Many times they will only have one or two scanners available for the boarding passes. And people with mobile phones are the worst. The scanning mechanism just doesn't work.
The irony is Americans complaining when visitors to the USA have to sometimes wait hours in line on arrival
and pay for the privilege of an ESTA.
Then international transit doesn’t exist so if you have to fly via the USA you risk missing your onward flight
Without a doubt it’s time for the UK and EU introduce a reciprocal electronic visa waiver and fee for Americans
LHR is not as bad...
The irony is Americans complaining when visitors to the USA have to sometimes wait hours in line on arrival
and pay for the privilege of an ESTA.
Then international transit doesn’t exist so if you have to fly via the USA you risk missing your onward flight
Without a doubt it’s time for the UK and EU introduce a reciprocal electronic visa waiver and fee for Americans
LHR is not as bad as some say and immigration staff are generally pleasant compared with their counteparts in many other countries
That being said last time I arrived in the US I was off the aircraft and curbside within an hour
If you arrive at LHR early you can be out pretty quickly.
At least they recognise the delays here
@ Icarus - I'm flying into MIA the day before Thanksgiving (in a premium class), and I'm not looking forward to the immigration lines there!
It’s strange how third world and emerging market airports like SIN are capable of managing queues at their airports, but not London - the greatest city in the world.
@Ben Hughes
Funny thing, I was about to say the same thing. Target of 45 mins is TOO LONG.
The whole point of setting bonus is to make it attainable, If you hit the target 1/30 days or 3% then you are making the goals wrong. You can set unrealistic goal and bonus and no employee would care. This is same as giving a bonus as free trip to the moon if they...
@Ben Hughes
Funny thing, I was about to say the same thing. Target of 45 mins is TOO LONG.
The whole point of setting bonus is to make it attainable, If you hit the target 1/30 days or 3% then you are making the goals wrong. You can set unrealistic goal and bonus and no employee would care. This is same as giving a bonus as free trip to the moon if they can make the wait time of 5 seconds.
What LHR should do is PAY THE PASSENGER (from your crazy landing fees) if the wait is longer that 45 mins.
I have an AA J award arriving from Amman on royal jordanian and connecting the day to Ord (all through LHR). My flight from Jordan is in economy though. Will they still give me a fast track pass? Can picture an argument ensuing....
Btw can’t wait to visit the Cathay lounge at lhr again. Always empty in the morning.
@ Mick - if you are just transiting Heathrow you will not need to clear immigration so won't be concerned with these queues.
@Ryan: Is Registered Traveler available to all countries?
While I understand the inevitability of queues at airports as busy as LHR, I can't understand long waits when there are a number of unmanned stations. Same with TSA in the US. Long long long lines and only two of five lanes open. That is bad planning, and also bad optics.
Another short-term option for flights into LHR would be to have immigration at the...
@Ryan: Is Registered Traveler available to all countries?
While I understand the inevitability of queues at airports as busy as LHR, I can't understand long waits when there are a number of unmanned stations. Same with TSA in the US. Long long long lines and only two of five lanes open. That is bad planning, and also bad optics.
Another short-term option for flights into LHR would be to have immigration at the outbound end for a portion of the arrivals (aka Abu Dhabi for US flights). While this would come with headaches of its own, at least it would somewhat ease the gridlock at LHR.
It's still considerably better than at Luton Airport. I refuse to fly from there now (despite it being in a semi convient location), after a 4+ hour wait in the queue. Prior to that I'd never made it through in under an hour.
I have found over the past two years that taking a day flight from the US that arrives @LHR in the evening reduced my wait time. Last time I did this was back in April and even though Fast Track was closed, it took 20 minutes to clear immigration in Terminal 3. Not a solution for everyone but just a data point. My friends that took a "regular" overnight flight from ORD that arrived @ 8am the next day: two hours to clear...
Registered Traveler is the way to go. Even when connecting, it is easy to clear immigration, make your way to your connecting terminal landside and then clear security.
Waiting times have reached 3 hours at Lisbon Intl. during this summer
I have never waited less than 2 and half hour after landing in US airport (Miami, Dallas) with European passport
i was waiting to clear immigration in LHR for 1.5 hrs last summer and 2 hrs last months. Even connecting through LHR is always a hassle and even with Priority lines. Last time our last BA flight from Paris was late by 1.5 hrs, BA had allocated the last row seats for One World Emerald, so we ended up dead last in the immigration line (priority lines are closed late night). As we were approaching...
i was waiting to clear immigration in LHR for 1.5 hrs last summer and 2 hrs last months. Even connecting through LHR is always a hassle and even with Priority lines. Last time our last BA flight from Paris was late by 1.5 hrs, BA had allocated the last row seats for One World Emerald, so we ended up dead last in the immigration line (priority lines are closed late night). As we were approaching our turn, the immigration officers were leaving one by one so just 2 kiosks were left. All this looked quite intentional just to keep people in line...
The simple conclusion of all of this is to avoid LHR and BA at all cost and this is what I have been doing for the last 5 years. They can post on Heathrow wall numerous times what is "great" in Great Britain but they should certainly add a poster about "Great Immigration Lines".
Does anyone find it ridiculous that their "SLA target" is 45 minutes? To me that is unacceptably long *as a target*. No wonder they are such a mess. Classic case of external costs not being realized on the people actually imposing them: I have no doubt that the total value of time lost by passengers waiting in long vastly exceeds any staffing cost differential for 5 minute wait times. But the incentives just are not there.
Christian has a point up there!
It’s so true!! Also applies for other EU Citizens. EU people that I talked to about this issue just simply shrugged their shoulders as they never experienced this and thus can’t relate to this issue.
Therefore, no complaints from Eu incl Brits....
@ Donna
"With all the money they collect in airport taxes, you’d think they’d hire a better company or put in better systems"
LHR is a private company. They don't keep any of the taxes they collect on behalf of the government. Equally, provision of immigration services is a government responsibility.
Bizarrely, LHR has relatively low fees: there is a highly effective regulator that prevents LHR exploiting its market-leading position by charging monopoly rents....
@ Donna
"With all the money they collect in airport taxes, you’d think they’d hire a better company or put in better systems"
LHR is a private company. They don't keep any of the taxes they collect on behalf of the government. Equally, provision of immigration services is a government responsibility.
Bizarrely, LHR has relatively low fees: there is a highly effective regulator that prevents LHR exploiting its market-leading position by charging monopoly rents. For many years (no idea if this is still the case), it was cheaper for airlines to land at LHR than LGW or STN.
The immigration service comes under our Home Office, possibly the most useless UK government department. The passport agency does, too. A few years back I needed to renew my passport at short notice. The normal wait time is 3 weeks (guaranteed). But I knew I could pay a huge amount extra for the "same day" service.
So I took my passport to the main London office, but was told there that I had to phone the central reception office. I did. They informed me that they needed to make an appointment for me to have the "same day" service, and the first one they had available was in 6 weeks time. In Liverpool. They could see nothing odd or unusual about that situation. I waited 3 weeks.
@ The nice Paul - as I've noted in the article, I've found immigration officers to be very pleasant to UK residents and citizens.
Landed at LAX Terminal 2 on Virgjn Atlantic and got to immigration just behind a Qatar aircraft. There were 2 officers on one of whom left! 4 hrs to get through, and I was the first person off our flight!
LHR is amongst the worst airports, IMHO. And it’s not just for arrivals; the Connections Centre is abysmal. It is hell on earth. I pay extra to avoid LHR (maybe that’s their goal?) or plan a minimum 4 hour connection. It is unconscionable that airlines allow 90-min connections, regardless of the MCT.
I have registered traveller, and still stood in line for 30 minutes for the eGate at Luton this past Sunday afternoon.
Can’t imagine how long I’d have to wait if I were in the non-UK/EU line.
A truly awful situation. Maybe because no UK passport holders are the ones having the massive wait times, the government just doesn't care. Possibly look at places that have short wait times, like ICN or HKG.
" Fortunately as it rarely gets that hot in London, the immigration halls do not reach the uncomfortable high temperatures I’ve experienced in some humid Asian cities."
Okay, maybe not that bad, but the temperature is always an issue. It's always warm and stuffy in the LHR immigration halls. When you're standing there and the line isn't moving, it's actually pretty stifling. Any friends/family members who are going through there for the first time we...
" Fortunately as it rarely gets that hot in London, the immigration halls do not reach the uncomfortable high temperatures I’ve experienced in some humid Asian cities."
Okay, maybe not that bad, but the temperature is always an issue. It's always warm and stuffy in the LHR immigration halls. When you're standing there and the line isn't moving, it's actually pretty stifling. Any friends/family members who are going through there for the first time we always warn about it being warm in the immigration hall.
It’s amazing that LHR just keeps getting worse instead of better. With all the money they collect in airport taxes, you’d think they’d hire a better company or put in better systems. Sounds like they have endless contempt for tourists and other residents. I’ll never use that airport even though I have an Italian Passport with chip and can use e-gates.
LHR is a hellhole, and only a fool would use it if there was an alternative (yes, I'm looking at the c.30% of arrivals who are actually just transferring through LHR - are they insane?!).
I'd agree that T2 is the least-worst of the LHR terminals. But then you wrote this:
"I find the immigration officers in London to be particularly unpleasant to anyone who does not have residency in the UK".
You are wrong....
LHR is a hellhole, and only a fool would use it if there was an alternative (yes, I'm looking at the c.30% of arrivals who are actually just transferring through LHR - are they insane?!).
I'd agree that T2 is the least-worst of the LHR terminals. But then you wrote this:
"I find the immigration officers in London to be particularly unpleasant to anyone who does not have residency in the UK".
You are wrong. They are just particularly unpleasant, full stop. Minimum wage jobsworths in polyester uniforms designed to make them feel as if they part of some powerful agency - but even the name "Border Force" is a joke. They are puffed-up junior civil servants; they have a lousy job, and I don't blame them for being permanently miserable.
Incidentally, the opening paras of your article are confusing: the big separation at UK immigration is people who have UK/EU/EEA passports (which are then divided into e-gates and staffed desks), and people who have passports from other countries. Although God knows what will happen after Brexit, with this and indeed everything else.
To be honest, my worst experience was SFO before the electronic booths were installed. Probably about 90-120 minutes after an 11-hour flight at the back of the bus but it felt like more.
Now that I'm returning on the same passport, probably about 20-30 minutes the last few times. Not sure registering for Global Entry for 2 visits a year is worth it, even once I get my British passport... (I'm interested in opinions on that point!)
Australia, has moved in a positive direction with SmartGate. If only the UK,US, Canada etc. would follow....
I waited 2.5 hours in Cebu, Philippines earlier this year. Arrived at midnight from Seoul, and didn't get to my hotel until 3am.
Thankfully, the new terminal is open now and wait times seem much less.
How long is the fast track line wait?
@ Beachfan - I've only used it once - that was at Terminal 4 and the wait was about 20 minutes.
For me it was 90 mins.. in the priority lane! These lanes are generally a joke in Heathrow as Border Force tend to man them with 1 or 2 officers. So if there are multiple flights coming at the same time (which is all the time in LHR) sometimes it is just better to go to the normal line. I have observed that at least 3 times in LHR in the past couple of years.
Ironic the British should complain given their history:
"as people overstaying tourist visas is a particular problem in the UK, as it is in many countries"
My experience in Heathrow is not too bad. But generally I notice in many airports that manpower planning is lousy. It should not be too complex to map th resources against incoming flights.
Airports like SIN, CGK, KUL get it quite right, esp SIN.
Maybe some of the Heathrow resource planners should be sent to Singapore for a training.
I also notice a significant difference in e-gates. The ones in SIN or...
My experience in Heathrow is not too bad. But generally I notice in many airports that manpower planning is lousy. It should not be too complex to map th resources against incoming flights.
Airports like SIN, CGK, KUL get it quite right, esp SIN.
Maybe some of the Heathrow resource planners should be sent to Singapore for a training.
I also notice a significant difference in e-gates. The ones in SIN or eg CUR and AUA are fast, the ones in AMS are super lousy.
No wheels need to be invented, airports should just benchmark their throughputs against best in class.
No need to look at US, airport handling there is still in the last century.