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I have a flight from Dublin (DUB) to Houston (IAH) via Heathrow (LHR) Terminal 2. First flight is on Aer Lingus and the second is on United Airlines; both were booked on the United Airlines site at the same time.

Arriving at LHR at Terminal 2 at 12:40 PM, leaving LHR from Terminal 2 at 1:40 PM.

The Heathrow web (flight connection) site says it should take 1 hour minimum to make the connection, all in the same terminal, which includes having to go through security again. I have no checked bags.

Thank you!

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  • Are you an EU citizen? Do you have an ePassport? Both tend to make security quicker
    – JeffUK
    Commented May 31, 2018 at 8:54

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Assuming that "booked at the same time" means both flights are on the same ticket, you will be fine. The ticket is your contract with the airline, who promises to get you to Houston and believes that this connection is realistic. If you miss the connection for some reason (e.g. delayed first flight, not a fault of your own), United will still get you to Houston somehow.

Also, at the times you have specified, there shouldn't be a lot of crowds at LHR, so you should make the connection just fine unless the first flight is delayed by more than say half an hour.

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    Why do you say that the middle of the day should be a quiet time at Heathrow?
    – David Richerby
    Commented Nov 14, 2018 at 18:04
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Checked bags won't make a bit of difference when you step off that plane and have to re-enter security. In my experiences, it takes ATLEAST one hour, usually more, to clear security at Heathrow.

You are very lucky your connecting flight is within the same terminal. That will save you the hassle of taking the train and having to run literally one mile past the shops and sea of travelers. I have made this mistake before and missed a British Airways flight home direct to Austin Texas.

My advice is to not take any liquids with you through security during re-entry. My mistake was that British Airways hands you bottled water while you wait to step off the first plane. I jammed that water into my bag for later, and didn't even think about it until I was already stopped by Heathrow security for a bag search.

This bag search took over an hour itself (almost two hours!), beyond the normal hour of typical Heathrow security. Even with begging and pleading with senior staff at Heathrow, they still could not expedite anything and I missed my plane by mere seconds, as I watched it leave terminal as I ran up to the gate. Had my flight been within the same terminal, I might have made it. They even performed a "shift change" and new employees came to take over security lines, and that took 20 minutes, with nobody in sight! I almost grabbed my bag and ran...

Please allow for a minimum of one hour, in perfect circumstances, to clear London Heathrow airport. If you have any liquids on you from your previous flight, expect a 3 hour wait and to miss any connecting flights. I have had it happen twice now and I simply refuse to fly through Heathrow anymore because of it.

I am very curious of your experience because I have emailed Heathrow authorities several times about connection times and their massive wait times.

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    One hour for a bag search? I must live on a different planet...
    – jcaron
    Commented Nov 15, 2018 at 10:23
  • @jcaron more like one hour and a half. You must have had better timing. I literally stared at my bag for one hour while it sat on the security table next to the 100 other bags, even while begging and pleading to go catch my next flight. That one man working there, is the slowest working person I have ever witnessed on Earth!! They even performed a "shift change" while I stood there, that took over 20 minutes!! I have lodged formal complaints about it and will never return to that awful overcrowded unhelpful airport.
    – AussieJoe
    Commented Nov 15, 2018 at 16:26
  • We must definitely not be talking about the same thing. There’s no place I know of in Heathrow or any other airport in London where you could have any chance of having “100 bags” waiting to be inspected, and never in my life have I waited anything even remotely close to an hour for a bag to be checked after going through the scanner.
    – jcaron
    Commented Nov 15, 2018 at 17:02
  • @jcaron that must be nice, I envy you. They have a giant Twitter button to rate their service right there upon exit. That's how silly it was. Glad you've never been there. I must have had ten different other passengers from all over the world speak to me about how outrageous the wait was. People from all over the globe. I was the only one speaking up about it. I have never seen such a long wait for a bag in my life. I prefer to just fly past England these days.
    – AussieJoe
    Commented Nov 15, 2018 at 17:09

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