Heathrow T3 drop-off

[Hokulea]

Dear all,

For the first time in over a decade I'll be spending Christmas back in the UK, arriving and then departing from Heathrow terminal 3. I haven't been back to the UK since the Glasgow so-called terrorist attack earlier this year and was curious if it is once again possible to be dropped off by private car outside terminal 3 departures when I head back?

The BAA website says it is but due to my experiences over the years I don't always believe what BAA say.

Incidentally, for anyone thinking "why Heathrow?", I realise it's only slightly more enjoyable than hell, but the convenience of its location just outweighs the cons.

Many thanks in advance.

[Rainboe]

Yes it is. But because of permanently ongoing building, it is still a walk into the terminal, and then you may have to follow the signs for quite a long walk outside to your particular zone. Quite frankly, it's a complete mess. But yes, you can get dropped off by car, just not a close as you could get before, for security reasons. Do allow plenty of time, security queues awful. The zig-zag queues are worse than peak-time Disney, except rather than showing interminable videos of 'It's a Small World', you will have jackbooted green uniform security staff marching up and down screaming orders at you. It would be almost funny if it wasn't so tragic. You will not repeat the experience.

[Hokulea]

Thanks, Rainboe, I think I'm looking forward to the experience less than ever!

I was back in the UK last April (via Heathrow) and don't remember seeing green uniforms then, so it sounds like something has changed or I've just blanked it out due to post-traumatic stress syndrome. Thanks for the heads-up, I hope the time I spend outside Heathrow will make up for all the pain I'm expecting there.

[SilentHandover]

I flew out of T3 a couple of weeks back, dropped of outside, checked in and sitting having a coffee airside past security within 10 minutes. So it is not always a nightmare.

[Hokulea]

SilentHandover - what's the secret? I've flown out of T3 for 20 years or more now and have never managed to get to passport control that quickly, let alone through security as well.

[PAXboy]

Hokulea The 'secret' is chance. In January, it took a grinding an hour from kerb to airside and in April it took a breezy 30 minutes. Same terminal, totally different experience. The first was a mid-afternoon and the other mid-evening, but the next trip could be different again. There is not telling what combination of flights, pax and staffing levels (BAA + carrier) there will be, so you have to allow the max time.

[Hokulea]

PAXboy - absolutely understand that I need to allow the maximum time, I always have. I just find it hard to believe SilentHandover's claim that from drop-off to airside it took 10 minutes or less. I've done it in less than 30 minutes on occasion, but I just can't see how it's possible in a third of the time. If there's a way to do that, I'd love to know how.

[SilentHandover]

Arriving early! Dropped off at 05:55 on Tuesday Oct 9th, no queue for AA check in, straight through security we even had time to collect US dollars from the For-ex bureau. We were honestly ordering coffee airside by 06:05.

[Hokulea]

SilentHandover - I do apologise for doubting you! It looks as though there's a possibility you were on the flight I usually take (I fly with AA). I tend to turn up at around 6am or just after and have never had the luck you did.

My last trip was actually on the early AA flight to Chicago (around 7am or so I think). I was there before the AA check-in opened and got through that quite quickly once an agent turned up. Passport control was a breeze, but once I got through their doors there were hundreds of people lining up for security. This was not long after 5am if memory serves. Where did they all come from?

To add to the insult, after spending 30 minutes in line and close to the actual X-ray machines, we were ordered to take our shoes off. 5 minutes later, the same guy tells us we can put our shoes back on. I went through with shoes back on only to be told to take them off again to go through an additional X-ray machine - I assume some specialized shoe-X-ray machine (?) - before I finally got airside.

I don't know. I wish I could avoid Heathrow and I'll see if there's a way I can do that in the future, but more often than not I'm visiting a place just a few miles from the airport, so it's convenient for that, plus AA just so happens to have a schedule that really suits my needs.