Heathrow Terminal 3

Unfortunate reality is that some travelers have delusions of adequacy. They always think they’ll beat the system.

Breathe. Fly safe.

From my experience last summer, I think the fluids check at Heathrow Terminal 5 security was the strictest I've seen for a long time. I was embarrassingly unprepared for the "everything in a baggie" check we had between flights. I didn't know there was a system to beat while jetlaggedly combing through my carry-on for the tiny stuff that had scattered during our long flight. What was okay in the USA, wasn't okay at LHR. I do sympathize.

The worst part was people had two hours to remove the liquids but decided arguing with the security folks might work. It never works. Ever. Since, in Terminal 3, each person is screened one at a time all that happened is the whole line waits and waits during the arguments. It is so frustrating but what an inefficient and ineffective way to screen. Never again.

I'm assuming that by screening one person at a time you are referring to the body scanner/metal detector? Whilst they are one person at a time (I don't recall ever travelling through an airport where it isn't) it doesn't mean you have to wait for somebody to argue with the security staff about their toiletries before you go through the scanner. The trays that you place your belongings in can be filled with your stuff and you simply bypass the person arguing and place it on the conveyor before making your way through the scanner and leaving the other passenger still arguing behind. I've travelled through Heathrow (T3 and T5 usually) several times a year and have never experienced queues anywhere near 2 hours, 15 minutes has probably been the longest and that was due to my wife's bag being given the once over. 2 hours is most definitely not the norm so you certainly hit it on a reallly bad day.

Actually, JC, it depends on the screener.

The last time I went through T5, the woman ahead of me kept getting dinged by the walk through machine. She had to keep sitting down to remove boots, jackets and jewelry. The screener wouldn't let anyone else through until she passed. The line got so crowded that no one could get to the luggage belts.

And that was fast track.

Frank is correct. Normally one could just go to the next spot and the problem passenger is taken aside. We have all seen this. The line keeps moving, but because the scanning machines kept breaking down and the problem was taking all the time of the screener no one else could move. We had to wait until each individual could go through. One TSA person said the two days before were even worse. Again, this was fast track.
My original point was Heathrow Terminal 3 fast track is unbelievable. Why lines cannot keep moving despite a problem passenger is beyond belief. All three scanning machines kept breaking. Bags could not go through. It is a complete mess there. The woman behind us had gotten there 4 hours early for a 9 am flight. At 8:50 she had 22 people ahead of her.

Our experience in July was similar. Here are some of the bottlenecks I recall:
1) stood at the delta desk checking in 1 bag each for what seemed forever while the agent kept looking from screen to passports to bags. It wasn't just us. I watched up and down the line and seem everyone experienced this.

2) Many passport and boarding pass checks. Seem like we showed or scanned passport 3 or 4 times getting thru. Everytime you put it away someone else wants to see it. I know and appreciate that this is all for our security but...

3) What was said by others about the scanning part being essentially single file is true. There are so many exceptions and people being given extra attention that every line becomes single file.

There was a person just before the scanners handing out plastic bags but the information the way things were communicated to us was vague. I asked about some makeup my wife had and he said it was ok. So I interpreted that to mean it didn't have to go in the plastic bag. I think if the want to be so strict with liquids etc, then have 3x more people along the way to clearly explain what the rules are. Sadly, not to many people read all the signs...
Just my observations...

I connected through LHR last week and agree that it's a nightmare. I've landed in Heathrow a few times in the past 5 years, but went elsewhere via train afterward, so I never had to deal with the security liquid issue.

On the way home from my RS tour last week, I left from France and they had no issues with my liquids. They were already in Ziplocs, but I didn't even need to take them out of my carry on backpack (I never check my luggage--carry on only). However, when I arrived at Heathrow and needed to connect to my next flight, even though I had already dumped my bottles of water and put my toiletry liquids in Ziploc baggies, I didn't know I was limited to just one. I had been awake since 3:00 a.m. France time so if there were signs about this, I did not see them. I pulled them all out and did my best to prioritize what I could keep and what I was willing to part with. It was an absolute nightmare given my flight was leaving in about an hour. One of the security guys was kind enough to try to help me make it all work. I wasn't about to part with the truffle condiments I just bought in Provence! 😁

It's frustrating that not all airports follow the same rules and processes. I will never connect through or depart from Heathrow again. Thankfully, when I fly domestically, I have TSA PreCheck and have never been asked to take out/show my liquids.