I will be flying from Austin to Copenhagen this summer. My best option is a flight on British Air, AUS to LHR, then to Copenhagen. My question is.. will I go through customs at Heathrow or in CPH? I have a 3 hour, 15 minute layover. I usually just have a carryon, but I can check luggage on through to Copenhagen if that makes it easier.
Also, when I fly home I will have the same layover at Heathrow. Since they are no longer in the EU will I go through customs in London or my final destination of Austin?
I usually have direct flights or have layovers in the US, so I’m not sure how much time to allow between flights. Thanks.
Posted by
New York, NY
4008 posts
Customs is a walk-through unless you have something to declare. Your question is about immigration. They are not the same.
Are you on BA on one ticket or two separate tickets? LHR is your connecting airport so you will not be entering Great Britain thus you should be going through immigration in Copenhagen. The UK is no longer in the EU so that’s also why you’re not going through immigration there.
You will go through US immigration & customs on your return trip in Austin. Again, customs will be a walk-through unless you have something to declare.
If your flights are on one itinerary, I would allow a minimum two hours to connect.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16385 posts
The only “customs” you will face is on returning to the US, where you may have to declare items. In Europe, it is a walk-through. What you really mean is immigration/passport check. Assuming your flights with BA are on one ticket, which it appears they are, you will stay “airside” and not show your passport to border control at Heathrow in either direction. You will show it, and get it stamped, on arrival in Copenhagen. You should also get it stamped on departure from the EU.
You will go through security at Heathrow in both directions. This is routine—they do not trust security at other airports outside the UK. When you deplane from your flight from Austin, you simply follow the purple signs for “flight connections”. British Airways uses Terminal 3 and 5 and you may have to change between the two. I just check flights and it looks like the Austin flight may arrive in T3 and the Copenhagen flight may depart from T5, but you should confirm that for your actual dates. You can use the Heathrow journey planner to figure it out:
https://www.heathrow.com/connecting-flights
It is no problem if you have to transfer terminals; they provide an airside bus for the 10-minute ride. We have done this several times.
With 3 hours 15 minutes for the layover, you should be fine. The minimum connect time is usually around 90 minutes for transferring terminals. As long as your plane from Austin is not terribly late, it will be fine. And it looks like your plane is an A350, which is good. They have been having maintenance problems with the big A380’s which have caused delays ( we were caught up in that last month), ut I have not heard of problems with the newer A350.
Posted by
OP
Temple,Tx
417 posts
Thank you Lola and Continental. Yes it will be on a single ticket. I have not purchased tickets yet. I looked at the layover time and There is one that is a little over 3 hours and another one that is 5+ hours.
Yes, you are both right about the term immigration vs customs. I’m glad that you clarified that for me. Thanks so much. I will be booking the flight with the 3 hour and 15 minute layover.