Many thanks Rutan.

So just to clarify a person entering the UK AND flying on to any other country would be treated in exactly the same way as a passenger terminating here and having passed thru LHR, would be expected to take a PCR test and quarantine in a hotel if so required ?

I don't think that's what he meant.

Correct I will try again in simple language

UK border agencies civil, frontier, intelligence and health have advance ACCESS to the passenger manifest of EVERY schedule arrival both via sea and air into the UK.
Entering the UK via the frontier post /passport control/Police stations you are obligated to comply with relevant English/Scottish/Welsh/NI/Bailiwick or Ellen Vanin public health orders. (Public Health is a devolved issue)
If you are transiting and haven't crossed the frontier your name and flight details remain known and shared with other nations, however you will be subject to the C19 regulations at your final destination.

I'll keep it simple as well.

If a plane arrives at LHR BUT a passenger on that flight does not do a PCR test for 48 hours, but subsequently tests positive, there is a reasonable chance it "may" have been passed to other passengers on that flight some of whom may be in transit and exported it across borders before it is traced.

Yes they can be tracked down but isn't 48hours to capture a record a wee bit too late at a major hub like LHR ?

There isn’t really a possible system to avoid that. A pre departure test isn’t a guarantee either. With the time limits it can allow up to two days after being tested but before travel for you to do as you please and possibly become infected then.

The passengers on that flight who end their journey in the UK would have been tested, and I believe if someone tests positive they would be contacted and recommended to test again.

The passengers continuing their journey elsewhere will have to comply with the rules of their destination. Given they will have completed a PLF they would have been contacted and informed of the risk but there is nothing the UK can do to make sure they take any action as they would be outside UK jurisdiction. Some countries would then require a test on arrival like the UK does, others a period of quarantine and some require nothing. That’s up to the destination country and the individual traveller.

So what will happen if you fly into LHR from Europe late evening. Then because its to late for a connection to MAN or NCL you overnight at a LHR hotel then fly onwards to MAN or NCL the next day.
Is that allowed and if so whats the testing /quarantine situation ?

Can you take the test when you get to MAN or NCL on what will be day 1 ( I understand the day you land at LHR is day 0) then isolate there until you get the result.

Or do you have to stay at LHR get a test and isolate for 72 hrs before flying up to MAN or NCL.

Hope that makes sense.

As I understand it - if you cross the border into the UK from Transit - all UK regulations apply. There is not a secure AirSide hotel. Therefore - No, you saty at LHR for tests.

The guidance is a bit vague and says you are exempt on a landslide transfer providing you go from one place directly to the next departure point I.e if you did a flight like CDG-LHR-LGW-MCO. Or you should remain at your port of entry.

I suspect if you said to Immigration that you are in transit for 12 hours and will stay at Heathrow in a hotel they would let you in.

If somebody has Covid but doesn't know it and has no symptoms, and turns up at LHR, then the UK ideally wants them out of the country asap. A PCR test will normally take 24 hours to return a result using an on-site in-person commercial company. If that passenger can show a ticket out within 12 hours of arrival (and has suitable paperwork to enter the next country)... perhaps better to let them get onto their flight out, keep their time in the UK to a minimum, and make provision of healthcare another country's problem

Non UK>UK transit > non UK given how things have worked so far I think you are correct.

The rules keeping evolving but AFAIK there’s never been a requirement to stay in the UK whilst a testing or self-isolation period times out … there’s usually been a clause that allows you to leave isolation to travel direct to port of departure to leave the UK.

With regard to the question about arriving at LHR, overnight there, then onwards next day to e.g. MAN or NCL it might be worth being aware that as a point of interest the rules for non-vaccinated arrivals contains the clause:

”Long journeys to your quarantine accommodationIf you have a long journey within the UK to arrive at the place where you’ll be quarantining, you may be able to stop overnight in accommodation where you can quarantine yourself from others before continuing your journey.”

Interestingly, one of the first three detected Omicron cases was someone in transit - by the time the result came back they had left the country. So they must be testing transit PAX.

It would depend on the definition of transit though? If an individual transit was entirely airside and they did not pass the UK border then there would be no testing, either prior to departure from their point of origin, prior to arrival in the UK or prior to their departure, just the PLF.
Given the state of airline schedules it is entirely possible that they had a connection that was overnight, or required going from one airport/train station to another or an individual might be "self-connecting" on separate tickets. These cannot be completed airside and would require the PLF and a pre-booked Day 0-2 test. They are still considered transits for the purposes of the PLF though they might not meed the conventionally accepted airline usage of "transit", "connection" or similar.

inOban

It’s stretching the transit definition if they found themselves in the borough of Westminster.

According to Metro.co.uk a catering wagon collected the Sharklet of a LOT 737 on stand (due for Warsaw) this picture is from their web site.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....5230cbcdb3.jpg
Tuesday 28 Dec 2021

Strictly speaking, as it's a Max, it's a Split-Scimitar type winglet rather than a Sharklet.

At least it is, now. :O

Anyone recall whether BA ever took on the ex BCAL Hangar 5? It was DC10 maintenance and demolished in 2009. Can anyone confirm whether BA used it at all?

Maybe more for the LGW thread, but yes BA did use hanger 5 post BCal at LGW until 2008 before demolished and gone by Dec 2009.
Similar to your same post in 2019!

Quite right, 100% wrong thread, which explains why I couldn't find an answer there! Many thanks! Clearly dementia is beckoning me.

Terminal 4
 

Are there any plans yet for a full reopening of Terminal 4?

Checking Travelex in T5 for a departure in the next week: I see that they advertise as being Landside near Huxleys Restaurant but the LHR website has no knowledge of that restaurant - so it is probably closed. Travelex say that their Airside desk is 'Coming in Spring 2022'. So that might not be there. Either way, all branches close at 18:00. I was not expecting to get to the terminal until 18:00 so might now need to change time or plans. I see BA departures currently up to the 22:00 hour. Obviously those Pax do not want currency services ...