We have family members (US) who are arriving mid afternoon on a non-stop from LAX at the south terminal and are then taking a flight the same day leaving from the north terminal on a different airline booked separately. Up until yesterday there had been a 3.5h layover time at LGW. Yesterday they were notified that the non-stop flight from LA would be leaving 1.5 hours later giving them only a 2 hour time to get to their next flight. They will only have carry on luggage and know that they have to change terminals at Gatwick. My question is about the passport control and customs process at Gatwick. Do any of you have experience with how long this process has taken you? I know there are a lot of variables I'm just trying to see if anyone thinks this process can be done in 2 hours (provided their non-stop flight leaves on time). The family members want to give this 2 hour time a GO if it seems possible. Their alternative is to spend the night at an airport hotel and rebook their 2nd flight. BYW, LGW has a great website that gives a lot of tips on getting between terminals, getting through passport/customs more efficiently, etc. I'm just hoping for some personal knowledge from some of you if this is a possibility or not.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7994 posts
Mona-this reply may only be partially helpful, as I haven't flown into Gatwick in some time, but for what it's worth, at least they're not looking at having to change airports (which I did many times in the past, and Gatwick to Heathrow, plus passport control, security, etc. would take a while). Hopefully the 2 airlines can also give some advice now as to whether they would consider this 2-hour timeframe to be doable. If your family members proceed with the plan, there will be signs at Gatwick directing them to the "Flight Connections" desk and staff, who can help get them where they need to go.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5866 posts
To where are they flying? They will only go through passport control if their second flight is to a destination in the UK or Ireland. Also what is the second airline? Airlines have different rules regarding check in and time at gate.
On a single ticket, 2 hours would be fine. The challenge with separate tickets is that if the first flight is late, the second airline is under no obligation to put you on a later flight. The decision is really one of what kind of risk they are willing to accept. They may have to buy a new and more expensive ticket to their final destination. You'll have to weigh the cost of rebooking with the cost of missing a flight.
Posted by
OP
California USA
4115 posts
This is where I'm a little unsure of their time. The LGW website says "Everyone arriving at Gatwick has to go through passport control" so I'm assuming that once their US flight lands at the south terminal they will need to go through passport control then take the shuttle/train to the north terminal for their next flight on TA to Istanbul. I don't think they will have a "connecting flight" stream to go through that avoids passport control/customs when they first land and before their second, separately ticketed flight. Thanks to responders so suggested we take a look at MCT, minimum connection times, and we are in the process of doing this too. I'll let you know how it goes as we figure things out.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5866 posts
Mona, the minimum connection time only applies if you are on a single ticket.
One important thing to determine is will they be able to check in to Turkish Air online and print their boarding pass before they leave the U.S.? If they have a boarding pass, they won't need to go through immigration. See this link.
http://www.gatwickairport.com/at-the-airport/Flight-Connections/
Posted by
OP
California USA
4115 posts
Upate--after calling Expedia, Norwegian Airlines and Turkish Airlines yesterday and getting a variety of information about international connecting times at Gatwick our son's family took NAs offer to rebook their long haul flight. They had to rebook two days earlier because NA only flies 4x a week from LAX. They couldn't adjust their TA flight at all. Bottom line, they have some wiggle room now and 2 extra days in London. Thanks for all of your help.