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A family member is flying into Heathrow (T3) arriving around midnight.

How likely is it they’ll be able to get a black cab from the taxi rank?

I should add that I’m aware of alternatives (night buses, Uber, night tube on certain days), I’m specifically curious about regular taxis.

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    While I’m not sure I have ever done this combo, I would be extremely surprised if you didn’t find a black cab at the taxi rank in T3 at any time there are flights arriving.
    – jcaron
    Commented Aug 7 at 17:58
  • @jcaron agreed, my answer to them was “yeah it’ll probably be fine”, but I’d like to confirm that
    – Joe Malt
    Commented Aug 7 at 18:52
  • The black cabs at Heathrow have probably taken an outgoing passenger and are waiting for a return journey. Given that outgoing flights typically stop before midnight, it's unlikely they will drive out to Heathrow empty, when people are leaving city venues, because they want journeys from point to point, not out and back. For a similar reason, they may be unwilling to take people out of inner London at night, because they won't get a job back. But if they get a job in that direction, they may head to Heathrow for an incoming flight.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Aug 7 at 22:03
  • @WeatherVane taxi economics in general can be a lot more complex than that. While this depends a lot on the exact fare structure in each city, taxis often prefer to wait even a very long time in airports to get an expensive ride rather than a collection of shorter rides in the city.
    – jcaron
    Commented Aug 7 at 22:29
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    Are you sure they arrive “around midnight”? There are usually no flights arriving past 11pm. Or did you factor in the time from plane to taxi rank?
    – jcaron
    Commented Aug 7 at 22:34

2 Answers 2

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Heathrow is a major, major airport, with flights arriving 24 hours a day. (Officially they're not scheduled that late, but delays happen.) Taxis at Heathrow are electronically tracked, and automatically dispatched to different terminals as needed to satisfy demand.

Short of a strike, terrorist attack, or other unforeseeable event, it is a given that you'll be able to get a taxi quickly at any Heathrow terminal at any time.

With that said, as a commenter mentioned, if you're at all worried then you should order a private-hire car, which will be more convenient (as the driver will meet you), dependable, and likely cheaper as well.

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  • Just curious: a private hire car, with the driver waiting for you with a sign in their hands, will be cheaper than a regular taxi?
    – Johnnyjanko
    Commented Nov 6 at 10:15
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    @Johnnyjanko It can be, yeah. It sounds surprising, but black cabs are expensive. Private hire is a different licensing regime. (Private hire fares are not standardized, so you do have to shop around.)
    – Sneftel
    Commented Nov 6 at 10:21
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Heathrow operates a feeder park system. Black cabs park up in rows at the feeder park, and can then leave their vehicles for food/rest/facilities. They are then called forward when there are spaces at a terminal, and told which terminal to go to. Video from a cabbie showing the process. In general cabs can't refuse a fare unless it's a long distance.

There is a Twitter/X account for feeder park status (requires X account). Alternative link for viewing without an account.. It reports when the feeder park is full, or low, and a 'code blue' is the feeder park being empty. You can go back and see how often those happened.

Given the daytime wait time in the feeder park can be 2-5 hours before being called forward for a fare, I think it highly likely there will be some cabs in the feeder park even in the middle of the night, and they'll be dispatched off to whichever terminal has passengers. ie it's not just a case of luck, the airport will aim to distribute cabs across the terminals according to demand.

As mentioned, this is for London black cabs specifically. The other kind of taxi, 'private hire' (or 'minicabs') cannot pick up from the street - they must be prebooked. There are apps for prebooking both black cabs and minicabs - be aware that LHR charges pickup fees for any kind of taxi, which will be added to your bill.

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