We fly in to Heathrow and have a 4 hour layover. We have friends that live about 30 minutes from the airport that we would like to see.
Is it practical to leave the secured area and have lunch with them at Terminal 5?
We are traveling on to Rome. When we land in London, will we have to pick up luggage and recheck it, or will it be forwarded to our next flight?
Our concern is timing. We don't want to have to drag our luggage around with us in and out of security.
This depends on
1. Is the 4 hours precisely the time between arrival and departure, or have you already padded your estimate with the 60-90 minutes needed to be at the airport for your connection?
2. Is the 30 minutes measured my car or by tube travel?
The luggage will be checked ahead no matter what. 4 hours is not a comfortable time gap for me. If your arrival is delayed you will surely not have enough time. Also if your luggage is on the connecting flight and you are not, it could disrupt the flight or they will likely remove it from the flight in today's security conscious environment.
Can they meet you at the airport for a short visit? I would be so stressed that the visit would be affected.
Sorry, I was not clear. They are coming to the airport. We were concerned about having to deal with the luggage. There are a couple of restaurants outside the secure area in Terminal 5. They would meet us there.
I did that years ago and it was fine, but that was before "9/11" and all the subsequent security measures.
You will have to go through immigration (passport control) when you exit and again when you re-enter. You'll have to go through a security check when you re-enter. How long the lines will be is anyone's guess.
Your luggage will be checked through to Rome. Make sure you have your boarding passes for the LHR-FCO flight when you check-in for the flight to LHR.
Your friends can get timely information on your arrival time - for instance, if your flight is delayed by 2 hours, you would not have time and they would just stay home. It would definitely help to be able to contact your friends by phone at the airport to let them know if you are, say, stuck in a long immigration line.
It is perfectly possible to meet them in the arrivals hall outside customs. At terminal 5 you should arrive with your onward boarding passes for Rome and if you do, you need to be at security at least 35 minutes before the departure of your onward flight. That should give you plenty of time with your friends so long as you flight from the US arrives on time. The luggage as previously suggested will, providing you are arriving and leaving with BA and I assume you are, be through checked
