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Heathrow question

Posted by (Gator country) on

I’ve never transited through Heathrow before and I would appreciate any insight as to what to expect. I am arriving on a Friday in September at 11:10 on a Delta ATL-LHR flight. This flight was booked using a Delta Skymiles FF award ticket. I then have an Air France flight to CDG (my final destination) departing at 15:50 (separate ticket purchased from AF, I know the risks associated with delays from the first flight).

I will have no checked baggage on the ATL-LHR flight. I have the older Rick Steves' wheeled bag which meets Delta’s carry-on limits but may be slightly too large to meet the Air France carry-on size limit..

The LHR website “Flight Connections” says (1) the incoming flight and outgoing flight both use Terminal 4 and (2) normal connection time is 60 minutes. I’ve read the step-by-step connection plan, after reading that my questions are: (1) where do I go through immigration? (2) If my carry-on bag needs to be checked for the Air France flight will I be able to check the bag without going through airport security again? Thanks in advance for your help!

Posted by
8889 posts

Since you have two separate tickets you will need to check in again at the Air France desk. The "Flight Connections" plan assumes you have one connecting ticket, which you don't.
When you land:
(1) Immigration (passport control), (2) luggage reclaim (not relevant) (3) customs, just walk through the green channel. This can take up to an hour.
Then you turn round and head for the check-in desks in departures:
(1) Check in, hand over your bag if necessary (2) security and outgoing passport control. (3) Wait for your flight.
AFAIK there is no way to check in to Air France before exiting through immigration, even if you only have hand luggage. you have to enter the UK and leave again.
When you land in Paris you go through French immigration, but no customs as you are coming from an EU destination.

Posted by
92 posts

Ray, I'm sorry to say I can't help with your query but if you wish to seek further opinions, you could consider posting this question in any or all of the following:

London forum at TripAdvisor
air travel forum at TripAdvisor
Flyertalk

Hope your trip goes well.

Posted by
3102 posts

We flew to Spain through Heathrow on separate tickets a couple of years ago and did not go through the rigamarole that Chris F describes. Our route was SEA to LHR T5 and then T3 to BCN. So we had to transfer terminals but did not go through immigration or reach baggage claim. This worked because we had our boarding passes for the second flight in hand ( we printed them at home before leaving Seattle) and we had carry-on bags only.

So, unless things have changed drastically, you can stay "airside" and go to your next gate, but only if you can get your boarding passes HeD of time, and you make sure your bags conform to air France requirements. It would certainly be faster than going thru immigration, and picking up and checking your bags.

While four + hours should be ample, if your incoming flight is late in landing (a frequent occurrence at Heathrow where incoming flights may have to circle several times before getting clearance to land) you could be pressed for time.

Posted by
5327 posts

It is perfectly possible to transit Heathrow airside (ie not going through immigration) with only hand luggage without a boarding pass with a copy of your itinerary. However, it is sensible to check in online before you board your original flight and a requirement if AF has no airside desk.

The UK trusts no other countries' security. So you will always need to go through that stage whether or not you transit airside or landside..

If you need to check a bag you need to go through immigration and check it landside. At least you don't have to change terminal as terminal 4 is a bit of an outlier these days in terms of convenience at Heathrow,

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