My family & I are heading to Rome but first arrive at Heathrow around 11:00am on a Monday. Our time between flights is 1 hour, 50 minutes. Will customs/passport control take long? I assume our checked bags will be sent to our final destination, but am a little concerned about making our connecting flight. Any tips would be appreciated!
Posted by
OP
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
7 posts
Thank you both! That relieves some stress.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5557 posts
You will not have to go through immigration and customs at Heathrow. Italy is part of the Schengen area but the U.K. is not; thus you will stay airside. You will go through immigration and customs when you arrive in Rome. You will go through a security check and you may have to change terminals. If you check the Heathrow website you can see specific info for connections. Basically, you will follow the signs for flight connections to the terminal which you are departing from.
Posted by
Bainbridge Island
3126 posts
What Laura said. If you bags are checked through, all you need to do is move from the terminal where you flight arrives to the terminal where you Rome flight departs. You stay "airside" meaning you do not go through passport control. Basically you follow the purple signs that say "flight connections". They have special buses that take you between terminals if you need to transfer, say from T5 to T3. Here is the link to the Heathrow webisite with detailed instructions: http://www.heathrowairport.com/heathrow-airport-guide/flight-connections Look at your tickets to see what terminals are involved and you can plan it all in advance. You should have plenty of time.
Posted by
South Yorkshire, UK; formerly St. Louis, MO, USA
317 posts
Erin - as others have said, you wont have to clear immigration at Heathrow. I have done the T3-T5 shuffle many times. As a frequent flier that knows where to go, I can make the turn and get to my onward gate in under an hour comfortably. One hour 50 minutes is plenty.