I will be flying from Philadelphia to Manchester UK on an AA flight. There is a brief layover and then flying from Manchester to Heathrow on BA flight. Will I need to collect my bags at Manchester? And will I go through security and passport control at Manchester or Heathrow or both? Is it worth paying the money for the fast track at Manchester if I do need to go through security/passport control? Finally, from what I have read, both Manchester and Heathrow have eGates. Can anyone confirm? Does it make security/passport control faster, I've heard the time to get through these can be quite long. Any guidance on any of these questions is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2600 posts
You will go through passport control and security in Manchester. Assuming this is one ticket your bags will be checked through to LHR so you don't collect in MAN.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7989 posts
Your experience may be really different, but we went thru the Manchester airport in June, 3 years ago. They kept changing the security entry maze, ostensibly to speed up the screening process, but lines were long and slow. Once thru the screening scanner, I noticed that more carry on and personal bags were being diverted for additional inspection than were being forwarded for passengers to pick up and move away from security. Unfortunately, mine was one of them being diverted, as there was a spare water bottle with water on it, which we’d forgotten about and hadn’t drained before security. I notified a security person, and with a plane to catch on a tight schedule, they grabbed my bag, let me get the bottle and chug it empty, and proceed. The staff were very accommodating, but they do have a screening job to do. If you’re clean, hopefully you can breeze through without delays.