I am traveling to heathrow on one ticket and then onto Dublin on another ticket so I will have to go back through security. I have not purchased the second ticket yet because I am wondering how much time to allow. I land from Charlotte NC on an American flight into terminal 3 at 7:40 AM on a Thursday May 16. I have a British airways option at 10:40 AM out of terminal 5 or Aer lingus at 12 out of terminal 2.
Is 3 hours enough to get through immigration and back through security?
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
You’re kidding, right??
My flight from CDG to DTW a couple of years ago was delayed by 5 hours...
Delays and cancellations happen all the time so it would be EXTREMELY unwise for you to book a separate ticket even on the same day.
Posted by
11169 posts
Traveling between terminals at LHR takes a lot of time. There is a train down below but still takes time. Down and up. Terminal 3 is not my favorite.
The later flight would be better but two different tickets causes problems.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23282 posts
When I do this and do it with the understanding of the risk, I always allow a five to six hour window. It caught up with me a couple of years ago when my original flight was cancelled. I generally try to avoid do this if there are other options.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11188 posts
Any checked luggage? Add time to retrieve and re-check
Is 3 hours enough to get through immigration and back through security?
Possibly. Do you expect the Raiders to play the Buccaneers in Super Bowl LIX?
Why not do a single booking to Dublin? The walk up fare looks to be about $150, so the gamble is not huge if you do miss the flight.
Posted by
Missouri, USA and Essex, UK.
992 posts
I have brought separate tickets to transfer while in Europe numerous times. I always like to have a 6-7 hour connection window coming off a flight from the US just in case of delays. Aer Lingus has several flights going to Dublin in the early afternoon. I would plan on eating lunch at LHR and take an early afternoon flight. 13:25 or 14:15 flight. Both are reasonably priced. You will be less stressed for this long delay built into your itinerary.
You could buy an Aer Lingus lounge pass - use a shower, eat and drink to pass the time away. Now if your flight is delayed, canceled or diverted (yes, I had all three happen to me one year) and you miss that Aer Lingus flight you may be out a ticket. BTW - T2 and T3 are together at LHR - T5 (British Airways) you need to get on the train to transfer. No big deal - but it will take you about 30 minutes longer to do this transfer.
Margaret
Posted by
near San Francisco
4639 posts
I've certainly done this at Heathrow, allowing 5-6 hours between the separately ticketed flights. Everything went smoothly and I sat around the airport for several hours. Had lunch and read a book. Flipped through my guidebook for the 1000th time :-)
The question is obviously one of your own risk tolerance. How much would it hurt you financially if you needed to purchase a new ticket (probably round trip) to Dublin because you were a "no show" - which likely invalidates both the outbound and the return.
If the price isn't much different (it wasn't for my flights to and from LHR) at the very least you may want to purchase one ticket for your flight to Dublin and another for your return. In that case if you miss the outbound flight, at least your return ticket will still be valid.