Flight change at Heathrow from US to Inverness

(DISCLAIMER: more than 3 months old, but I don't think it has changed. Someone will let us know if it has) The process is quite simple. When you land, you will follow the signs that say Flight Connections. You will reach a point where there are two possible paths in flight connections. The first is for UK/Ireland flight connections and the second is for other flight connections. Your path will take you to a special passport control and then you go through security one more time. I have never had a problem with liquids in a quart size zipped baggie that I brought with me and I have gone through security at Heathrow several times. It is important to make sure you empty or throw out any water bottles, have your liquids and and electronics larger than a phone ready to go, and pay attention to the directions being given by staff. After security, you will exit right into terminal 5 airside. The BA lounge can be accessed with a short walk.

Carol is lucky. I've always had LHR security (been through their security 5 times since 2019) remove all my liquids from my quart-sized ziplock and put the items in THEIR ziplock (which has a handle). First time, the agent didn't zip their baggie and admonished me "know your airport." I took a photo of what she accepted. The next time, the agent could not zip their baggie with the same item, so he removed what he thought didn't fit and asked if I wanted to check my luggage instead. I said no, so he asked which item I wanted to surrender so that he could zip the baggie. He didn't care that another agent had accepted the items unzipped or that I was using my own 3-1-1 bag and/or quart-sized ziplock. He said "you must have it fit in OUR baggie."

And you definitely can't argue with them or change their mind! LHR is daunting.

I have been through Heathrow but not in the past 3 months. I was connecting from the US to Glasgow. Yes, I went through immigration and security. We were stressing because we had a tight connection and some idiot brought a suitcase full of makeup, nail polish, etc and didn’t put a single thing in a ziplock. Held up the whole line, because rules couldn’t possibly apply to HER.

They were making people use baggies provided by the airport. You had to transfer your liquids from whatever you had them in, into THEIR bag. They handed you a bag as you entered the security line. I think this is probably because people purchase bags that are bigger than regulation and try to be sneaky. So plan accordingly. Don’t over stuff your quart sized bag. You can buy toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, etc there. Or pack solid forms of these items.

You've been given correct information. Immigration and security before the lounge. After the lounge, you just go to your gate.

Regarding the 3-1-1 bag, I use one of theirs then put that into a sturdier, clear plastic case. Never a problem as they see their bag inside the other.

Regarding toiletries, you can probably buy any non-prescription item you need in the UK.

Go to the Boots website and search for any product you may need. Boots is the largest pharmacy chain in the UK and is a sister company of Walgrerns.

Many of the larger supermarket chains also carry toiletries.

A tip...if you are using the BA lounge, there are two in the main part of terminal 5...North and South. The north lounges is always super packed. Head to the south lounge. It may be busy but it's much larger than the North one.

Be aware that BA is constantly canceling regional flights for crew shortage problems. They'll probably get you to your destination eventually, but you might be arriving in Inverness later than you planned. They usually give you a two week notice, so keep your fingers crossed. Our last BA flight required flipping Glasgow/Edinburgh both ways, which meant long phone holds and stress, twice. We now fly IcelandAir to avoid Heathrow.

We flew from Heathrow to Boston on August 25. I was offered a plastic bag with a handle. I replied that I had my own plastic bag and was told that was fine.