London airports - need help - in hospital in Italy

I think you've already identified your options and British Airways direct to Heathrow is your best one.

I agree, guess I just wanted to know how the bus rides are from the other airports to LHR

I do not know what you consider a long bus ride but I just flew from Zurich into London Luton a couple of days ago, arriving an hour or so before the Queen’s funeral began.

It was a long walk from the plane to the e-gates, I am assuming you will be requesting wheelchair assistance, and a short walk from there to baggage collection and out into the terminal. I needed to get to Heathrow Terminal 5 and took a National Express bus to get there. At Luton, NE has a counter at the travel center right next to the terminal exit to help those needing to depart the airport, including the sale of tickets. You can also see their schedules and purchase tickets online. My ticket was £29. They do have an app. The bus pulled up into the bus park right outside the terminal entrance. The bus driver checked my ticket and then loaded up my luggage in the storage area. The bus was clean, comfortable, and there was plenty of room. An hour and fifteen minutes later I was being dropped off at Heathrow T5, a short walk from the Sofitel Hotel where I spent the night.

I flew in on easyJet. I hope this helps!

Keep in mind that, if you have travel insurance, they may pay for any extra expenses that you might incur due to this trip interruption. They may also have a “concierge service” that can help you navigate these changes to your original plans.

Davey - great information. Thank you.

Renee - thankfully we do have travel insurance. Will check with them, Good to hear from a fellow Minnesotan - I was born there and still have lots of family there.

Getting from Gatwick to Heathrow is pretty easy, but there might be some traffic on the M25. Luton or Stansted are further away.

Any reason you are looking at flying from Milan? Innsbruck would be my first choice in your situation.

Fly directly to Heathrow. If you wish to stay overnight there, choose the Sofitel. I became quite ill while traveling home one time and the staff there were incredible.
We landed at Gatwick, had a private driver, and it was a rather long ride to Heathrow.

Innsbruck is closer, but can’t fly in to Heathrow from there. I guess it’s a toss up between a longer train ride to Milan, the fly directly to LHR or a shorter train to Innsbruck and bus ride in London.

Suki: thanks for the hotel tip. Can’t believe we’re in this situation.

Yikes, that's really too bad. Personally, I would pay up to fly directly to LHR, sitting comfortably in a train watching the scenery go by, rather than traveling between airports in London by bus & getting stuck in traffic.
Found a few recommended hotels right at Milan airport - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/milan-airport-hotel-5cdb8a8b-45fc-4976-9bd7-3374c256d269

You don't say who your original ticket was with, but before you buy a separate ticket from Milan to London, check with your airline what it costs to change your return flight to be from Milan or Innsbruck rather than from London. Even if a bit more than what the purchase of a separate ticket to London would be, your connection would then be protected in case of any further schedule issues. As others have mentioned, your travel insurance may pay the extra cost.

Laurie Ann - I did check that. We’re flying Delta to Atlanta. About $3,000 each to change it

That doesn't sound correct. You can get a one way ticket home for less than a $1000. Did a quick check from London or Milan back to Atlanta on the 3rd. Tickets range from 600 to 900 for a one way ticket.

Since you have travel insurance contact them before you leave the hospital. You need to get your claim started and the insurance company can tell exactly what documentation they will require to process your claim. The same goes with your flight changes etc.

I have already started a claim with travel insurance. They have I told me what I need to get from the hospital before I leave.

We have decided to fly British Air from Milan to LHR two days before our flight home. We will stay in a hotel at the airport.

I hopefully will be leaving the hospital today. We will stay in Bolzano until we take the train to Madrid. We have cancelled our plan to go to Portugal. At this point we just want to do what will be the most relaxing. Haven’t had an opportunity to enjoy Bolzano and surrounding area yet, so we will spend the rest of our trip doing that.

Thanks to all of you for your input. Much appreciated.