Is 2 hours 50 mins sufficient in Heathrow to connecting flight with different tickets and airlines
I am traveling from India (New Delhi) to Helsinki with a connecting flight at Heathrow, UK holding a resident visa for Finland. Unfortunately without prior knowledge I went and purchased two different tickets from two different airlines.
My first leg is with AirIndia reaches Heathrow terminal 2 at 7:30 AM and my second leg flight with Finnair from same terminal at 10:20 AM, resulting into max available time between flights is 2 hours 50 mins.
Since both tickets are from different and not partner airlines, I might end up cross UK border to claim my baggage followed by recheck-in/immigration/customs check.
Would like to know if ~2h50 is sufficient for entire recheck-in/immigration/customs process? Any possibility where I can save time in the process?
Best Answer
If everything runs well you might make it, if only one thing takes more time than planned you will miss your second plane.
It usually takes between 30 and 90 minutes from the plane seat to outside the luggage collection area. Most airlines ask you to drop your luggage at least an hour before the flight but longer time spans are possible. And if you drop your luggage at the last moment you will have to be very quick through the airport as you will have no spare time.
You see you do not have a lot of time if things are a bit slow, no time at all if your route through the airport to your luggage (or luggage delivery) takes a lot of time.
And that is assuming it is in the same terminal. If you also have to move between terminals, forget it. No way possible at all.
Usually people advice 4 hours or more between flights if on separate tickets. But with a long flight as the first of the set, I would want more time.
It might be needed to buy a second ticket to Helsinki, or at least move your flight by 4 or more hours, 24 is more likely.
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Is 2 hours enough time to transfer in Heathrow?
We recommend that you allow the following minimum connection times: 1 hour for connections within the same Heathrow terminal. 1 hour 30 minutes for connections that require travel between terminals at Heathrow.Is 2 hour layover enough for international flight in London?
International flights require longer connections as you will often have to go through immigration and customs upon arrival. For international layover flights booked on one airline, two hours is often recommended to make your connection.Is 2 hours enough time between connecting flights?
Two hours. Mayers recommends two hours as a standard buffer between flights to be safe. This gives you a cushion in case things go wrong during your journey. You'll definitely want at least a two-hour window if you've booked a \u201chacker fare,\u201d as opposed to flying with the same airline your entire trip.What is the minimum layover time between flights?
As a rule of thumb, on domestic routes, you need a minimum of 45 minutes between flights. That's because you don't have to go through security, customs, and immigration.Flying Alone for the First Time | Connecting Flight Procedure | How to Catch a Connecting Flight
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Answer 2
I made it to Finland through LHR from India on 27th June. Below are few points experienced in my whole journey:
- At start point in India, AirIndia airlines checkin staff was not sure if I can travel to Finland via LHR holding a resident visa of Fin. They literally took more than an hour to understand if its possible, by checking gov.uk website.
- After they convinced that transit is allowed in LHR, I made a request to pass through baggage all the way to Helsinki though the connecting flight was on another ticket and not partner airlines. The officials was ready to do that but I had a excess bike box baggage due to which they denied and suggested me to reclaim the baggage in LHR and proceed with recheckin.
- On my arrival in LHR, AirIndia flight arrived in T3 rather T2 where I have Finnair connecting flight.
- Flight exit priority was given to business class followed by transit passengers, I quickly got out and reached UK border control check point.
- Was in a doubt with next step, went to security staff and explained him I have a connecting flight in T2 but I have to reclaim my baggage. Time now was 7:30 AM 28th June.
- The staff was really helpful, he called up relevant folks to understand if I can transit from T3 to T2. At this point I was quick connecting to LHR wifi, opened gov.uk transiting info pages, did made him understand I am following rules mentioned in website about same day landside transit, TWOV etc.,
- However, staff mentioned that considering the current Covid situation ground rules are different to what's updated in website. I was in little dilemma at the moment. Staff asked me to wait further until he gets approval for me to transit.
- Around 10:30AM, staff person came to me raising a concern that Finnair is not allowing red list passengers and I might end up in quarantine in LHR. I replied him the current Finnish border entry restrictions wasn't applicable for resident's but again he confirmed ground realities are totally different.
- At around 11:15AM, after Finnair gave me approvals to board, staff escorted me to immigration officer at border check, allowed me to explain my itinerary. The officer immediately provided an exemption to reclaim my baggage and reach T2 by providing managed quarantine slip (MQS) for one day as shown below.
10. Reached T2 by 12:15PM, waiting till 3PM where check in begins, and I was the first to do that. Followed by security check, where I was asked to dump all perfume bottles etc., which are beyond 100ml. Finally I am in to gates and boarded flight at 18:10PM and reached Helsinki by 21:30PM.
To conclude, never ever book two different tickets for the journey until no other options available. If yes, keep a good amount of duration between the flights. Also until Covid situation exists everything is unknown.
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Images: Pixabay, Torsten Dettlaff, Shoval Zonnis, Sohel Patel