Terminals and Connection times

[Kazorina]

Hiya! We are looking at British airways flights from Gla or Edi into Mia, will consider other options depending on the deals but what I am wondering is... most flights go to London Heathrow terminal 3 and then you have to get to terminal 5. From the website it says shuttle takes 20 mins and they come every 15 mins?

But realistically what amount of time should I be leaving for a connection? Especially on the way home as the shortest waiting time is 1hr 35mins but is that enough? I don't want to be waiting for 3-4 hrs to get home if it can be done swiftly but I also want to lessen the chance of missing the connecting flight?

I am new to booking indirect flights so any advice welcome

[sassysar]

We missed a connecting flight home as passport queues in heathrow were long . We got booked on the next one for free but had a five hour wait which wasn’t nice .
On the way out it’s not so bad seems a slicker process
I would be happier with a stress free 3 hour wait on return

[pinkstargirl]

I would also go for a longer wait that will be less stressful. The buses are frequent but if the queue for the transfer bus is big you could wait for 2 buses to go before you actually get on one. It is rare but it does happen.

[nanu]

The minimum connection time is 90mins between terminals 3 & 5.

[sotagals]

The problem isn't with the buses - it's with security and passport control.

Allow at least 90 minutes outbound and 2 1/2 hours inbound.

We waited 50 minutes just at passport control for transferring to domestic flights because they were calling out people who had missed or were in danger of missing their flights to come forward first.

[Cloverlady]

We've just done Edinburgh to Miami via Heathrow with BA.
On reflection having returned we've decided we won't go via Heathrow again.
It's just so huge. Changing terminals is like changing airports there, having to go on a bus via terminals and through security again as well. It took us about 2 and a half hours to change terminals.
We had no time to get a coffee or relax in any way.

On the plus side it was nice not to have to collect baggage at Heathrow, and to fly from Edinburgh which is very local to us.

[Sue]

It’s Heathrow, inbound, that’s the problem in my experience
We had 2.5 hours once at LHR and still missed our connection (this was inbound), due to Border control and security being bedlam with no prioritising.
We were lucky as there was another flight to MAN 2 hours later but the queue at the BA desk for others who had missed connections was huge. One American couple had missed their connecting flight to pick up a cruise in the Med and it would sail without them. I have no idea how that was resolved!

If I ever (heaven forbid) have to connect through LHR inbound again, then I’ll leave at least 3 hours between flights.

As an aside, we had 45 mins to connect at Zurich, coming back from Australia in February and we made it, narrowly but it was fine

[tspill]

I would be looking for 4 hours.
It isn't just transfer time, but what contingency do you want to build in for delays on your flight to London.
Personally, I would be travelling to London the night before.

[Kazorina]

Hmm Ok, I will definitely look into avoiding Heathrow then if possible and price up some different routes.

[LPCKG]

If you book a through booking, same ticket/airline through to final destination than your bags will be checked through outbound and on the return flight.

You’ll also be able to access the airside bus to from T5 - T3, we’re flying via LHR next year and the LHR - MIA flight departs T3 so we need to take the airside bus. We also had a T5-T3 transfer this year albeit to PHX rather than MIA. If you have the same terminal transfer then the airside transfer/connection point is well sign posted. The airside transfer buses are accessed in terminal 5 very near to where the domestic flight lands and you’re required to go down the signed escalators to the bus transfer each terminal has a stop and there are plenty of staff visible to offer assistance.

The journey takes about 10mins and we stopped at one of the T5 satellite terminals - can’t remember which but it was the only stop. It pulled in/picked up then left. No waiting around. You will need to go through a further security check point when you get to T3, there were minimal queues when we did in June. It helps to have any liquids accessible post bus transfer to expediate the process then you enter T3 airside and can proceed to your departure gate. I think they scanned our tickets but save for that it was a fairly straight forward process. Some people prefer convenience, direct flights - as a general rule I prefer direct but we have loads of BA miles and an AMEX 241 voucher so for an extra 3/4 hours I’m content. I wouldn’t do a LHR-LGW transfer and I am content to switch terminals at LHR. THIS won’t suit everyone but it is manageable.

The minimum connection time between terminals is 90mins.