I’m planning a trip to Italy this summer. The best fare I’ve found for Boston to Venice connects in Heathrow with a 1:10 connection time. Do we have to clear customs/immigration between our connection, or does that only happen when we arrive in Venice? And any chance that will change due to Brexit? All travelers are US citizens, some are teenagers. Thank you.
I’ve never had that short a layover at Heathrow, but when you get off your plane, look for the purple signs that guide you toward connecting flights. You don’t have to go through the main security area, which can take an hour.
I’ve found some information on the Heathrow site that may be of help to you: Connecting flights | Heathrow
If you have a through ticket, then you should not need to clear customs in England. Simply be sure to follow in the ‘in transit passengers’ or the like, and don’t follow the lines to customs/immigration.
With 1:10 to connect, hopefully you’re on the same airline, since connecting between the terminals in Heathrow can be a pain (and some of the terminals are quite large). Check the Heathrow airport website for maps and flight information before you go,
IMHO (been a few years since I traveled to LHR).
ETA: What Miss Mapp and her link says.
Thanks. The heathrow link says they’re both terminal 5 (both flights are on BA), so I assume that means we’re just walking to a different gate, no security/immigration/customs whatsoever? That’s the only way I’d be willing to risk a 1:10 layover, especially when the 2nd leg is probably the last of the night.
The number one question is this all on one ticket? Discount travel websites are known for Frankenstein tickets where they book two tickets back to back on unrelated airlines. So, you’d want to make sure you’re booking directly with the airline.
If it’s all on one ticket with a single passenger reference number, then you will able to use the connecting flights queue and will not have to go through passport control at LHR. One hour is very tight but it becomes the airline’s responsibility to get you to Venice should there be a delay with your incoming flight.
If this is two separate tickets back to back, forget about it. One hour isn’t enough to even clear immigration (passport control) much less make a connection. You’d also have to reclaim baggage and then check it in again with the second airline.
Minor nitpick: Immigration is the long line where you present your passport to the immigration officer and S/he asks you the questions and stamps your passport. Customs is a non event for most people, that’s where you walk through the ‘nothing to declare’ lane and you exit. Easiest way to think about it is that immigration is for people, customs is for goods.
Brexit should be a non event. The UK isn’t part of Schengen anyway, so you’d still have to go though passport control for non-EU passports when entering Italy.
Agree with all others here, that it is tight be doable- make sure that it is viewed by BA as a single journey and have them connected by the airline if they are not. But make sure that you aren’t the last BA flight from LHR to Venezia for the day. You will want to know all of the next BA flight numbers and times in case you do miss your flight and just tell the BA help which one you want on- if you aren’t automatically rebooked.
I personally don’t (and wouldn’t ever) check bags (and especially to Venezia as you are going to be lugging them everywhere there), but in either case, I would be agressive in getting off the flight and getting moving quickly. Heathrow is not a small place!
Thanks for the advice all.
The flights would be booked either on American Airlines with a codeshare, or British Airways directly, but it’s definitely BA flights. It would be the last flight out of Heathrow to Venice on BA that night, so we would be screwed if we miss it. Definitely will be checking bags as well.
Now I’ll tell you the good news, flights from the USA to the UK often arrive early. It’s either the jet stream or prevailing winds, I’ll let the pilots and meteorologists among us come up with the correct terminology.
Also, it doesn’t sound like you’re arriving in the early am when a glut of international flights arrive at LHR. My most pleasant LHR experience was on a day flight from ORD to LHR arriving around 2230, Heathrow was quite calm then.
The minimum legal connecting time is one hour, so you’ve got an extra ten minutes. It could be tight.
If, as you say, it is within terminal five and all on one ticket, you will not go through immigration or customs, but you will go through security (despite having gone through security at Boston). So be prepared with your liquids meeting the rules on arrival at Heathrow. The chances are that your flight from Boston will land at one of the “satellites” to Terminal 5, and you take an underground transit to get to the main building. Your flight from Heathrow to Venice will depart from the main building, and will likely start boarding 30 minutes before the advertised departure time. You should be OK - but don’t dawdle, or think you’ve any time for shopping at Heathrow!