Is an hour enough connection time for Heathrow Terminal 5? Does anyone have any experience?

[FuzzySock]

Would love to go to Cairo with DH next year, we’d be flying from Dublin and would need to connect at Heathrow, but I can see it’s a 1hr connection time with British Airways. Both flights would be terminal 5. Would you chance it? The other option is Lufthansa and connect in Germany for about 2 hours but it would mean we’d be arriving two hours later, so don’t really want to miss much of the first night! Does anyone have any experience with connecting at Heathrow and BA in general? Thanks!

I don’t know specifically about T5 but I would only do it on the way back, as I imagine there are more flights from Heathrow to Dublin than Heathrow to Cairo, so if I missed a connection, it wouldn’t be too long to wait for the next flight. So frustrating to miss a connection - I had 90mins in Dubai and that wasn’t enough as we left London late and someone from the airline met me off the plane and ran through the airport with me but the gate closed. So no, I wouldn’t allow just an hour on the outward journey. Isn’t there an earlier flight in from Dublin?

I’d happily do that if there was a later flight to Cairo and you wouldn’t mind missing your original one if something goes wrong.

As a side note, I transit through Frankfurt and Munich regularly on Lufthansa and 2h there is plenty. Very easy airports to connect through.

I wouldn’t risk it. You’ll be stressed as it is and if your initial flight is delayed at all even if you make the connection, your luggage might not.

No 1hr to change flights is really really tight at any airport.

My travel agent assures me it’s 10 mins and an hour is plenty. This assumes you fly in and out of T5

1hr is plenty innT5

Particularly if your flights are with the same airline they will hurry you through

We got through BKK in 50 mins

Thanks all - mixed opinions then! Will have to think about it as not sure if there’s a later flight out that day 😃

If you’re booking it as one journey with the airline, you’ll be fine as it’s their responsibility to ensure you make the full journey. If you book it as 2 separate flights I wouldn’t risk it as if your first flight is delayed, the airline have no responsibility to get you to your final destination.

This ^

What TheFlis12345 wrote.

For flight connections at T5 you follow the purple signs. You will also need to be security screened at LHR before boarding the connecting flight.

I wouldn’t risk it. No idea how it works at Heathrow, but we recently connected at Dubai, and had to go through security again, then take a monorail train to get to the gate. No way would an hour have been enough.

I connect through Heathrow often. An hour is the minimum connecting time T5 to T5 if it’s on the same ticket. I don’t like stress so I always choose a longer connection. If you have checked baggage I wouldn’t even consider it.

If tour flight is booked all through as one journey, you'll be fine as tou wontneed to get your bags and check in for the second flight. If it is two separate bookings, probably not as youd have to do full disembarkation and re check in.

I’ve done a one hour T5 transfer a couple of times, both were for transatlantic flights. I booked seats close to the front of the plane for the domestic flight to ensure I didn’t wait long to get off. Both times I made the flight with no issue.

Yeah both flights would be with BA so hopefully that makes it a little easier!

Although it would be BA's responsibility if you missed your connection that really just means they will put you up overnight and fly you on the next available flight .

you'll be fine as tou wontneed to get your bags and check in for the second flight You may make it but your bags may not, someone else has to get them off the first flight, they then need to be transferred to the second flight and then be loaded by another person. I wouldn’t bank on that in 60 minutes

1hr is plenty innT5 it’s the minimum connecting time permitted and is likely only to be possible with hand baggage. Even a one or two minute delay on the first flight will cause a problem. Doors don’t open immediately on landing, there is hand baggage screening and monorail connections to some gates

Particularly if your flights are with the same airline they will hurry you through They really won’t

We got through BKK in 50 mins Bangkok is not Heathrow, the minimum time allowed between flights is 60 minutes at Heathrow, you can’t buy a ticket with less than 60minutes between flights at LHR.

I’ve done it T5 with BA and achieved it in an well under an hour. I think you’ll be fine.
a lot of people giving advice are talking about other airports and multiple airlines.

Most gates open at T5 around 45 mins before the flight. Some gates are 15 mins from terminal. Even getting off a flight can be delayed if no gate is available. The aircraft can queue. To be at the front of any plane means booking Business. You won’t get a quick exit unless you do. I would not say an hour was enough and it could be very stressful.

one hour is cutting it fine ime.

there is also the risk of the luggage not being tranferred in time.

At T5 with same airline, yes. (There’s a small chance your bags won’t make it so pack some knockers in your hand luggage).

cairo is fabulous by the way, and use Uber to get round.

I'd take a 20 minute connection on a through ticket with the same airline, if they're selling it then it's their responsibility if it doesn't work, not mine.

1hr will be absolutely fine in Heathrow T5, I’ve done it plenty of times. I think Ireland to UK flights are classed as domestic (worth checking) and if they are you won’t have to go through immigration on security, just follow the purple signs and you’ll be straight into the main terminal. I wouldn’t worry about the bags either, we’ve never had a problem and T5 is a pretty well oiled machine in terms of getting things where they need to be.

At the moment nowhere is working as it used to. What used to be the case is not what’s happening now. You might get lucky, you might be waiting 15 minutes for the plane to be allocated a gate. What if you are late taking off? You can then take forever to get from, say, C gates to A gates. It might be seamless but it might not be.

It’s hard to tell I suppose, but surely they wouldn’t sell these hour long connections if there were problems with people making their flight? Perhaps I am a bit naive lol!