Heathrow arrivals: live flights and what happens after you land

Find the flight by airline and origin, read across to the terminal, and use the scheduled landing time to plan when to set off or when to be at the meeting point. The rest of this page is everything that does not change with today's flight specifics: how the four arrivals halls are arranged, the standard sequence from the gate to the arrivals concourse, where to wait if you are meeting someone, and how to reach London once you are through. For one flight in particular, many of the busiest numbers have their own page in the flight directory, with the terminal, where to meet it, and a live-status link.

Heathrow has four operating terminals. The terminal your flight lands at depends on the airline, not the destination: Terminal 2 is the Star Alliance hub, Terminal 3 hosts most of the oneworld carriers plus Virgin Atlantic, Terminal 4 is the SkyTeam hub with Qatar Airways and Etihad alongside, and Terminal 5 is the home of British Airways and Iberia. Codeshares can land at the operating carrier's terminal rather than the marketing carrier's, so the airline booking confirmation is the source of truth for the specific terminal. The carrier-by-carrier lookup, including the edge cases, is on airlines at Heathrow by terminal.

Arrivals at Heathrow Terminal 2

Terminal 2, known as the Queen's Terminal, is Heathrow's Star Alliance hub. Lufthansa, United Airlines, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, ANA, EVA Air, Turkish Airlines, and the other Star Alliance carriers all land here, alongside non-aligned carriers including Aer Lingus, Icelandair, El Al, and MEA. The arrivals hall sits on the ground floor with the immigration hall on the upper level; bags arrive on belts numbered up to 10 and the meeting area is at the back of the concourse. For a kerbside collection by car, the closest option is the Terminal 2 short-stay car park (postcode TW6 1EW).

Arrivals at Heathrow Terminal 3

Terminal 3 handles the bulk of the oneworld alliance at Heathrow plus Virgin Atlantic. American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, and SriLankan all arrive here, along with Virgin Atlantic, Delta Air Lines on selected routes, Air Mauritius, and Kenya Airways. T3 is the oldest of the four operating terminals and has the busiest morning long-haul arrival window, when many wide-bodies land within a single 90-minute band; baggage uses belts numbered up to 10. The closest kerbside pick-up is the Terminal 3 short-stay car park (TW6 1QG).

Arrivals at Heathrow Terminal 4

Terminal 4 is the SkyTeam hub at Heathrow alongside several Middle East and Asia carriers outside the three big alliances. Air France, KLM, Korean Air, and the rest of SkyTeam arrive here, plus Qatar Airways (its main UK hub), Etihad Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Brunei, and Royal Air Maroc. T4 sits on the southern side of the airport with its own access road off the Southern Perimeter Road and is the most awkward of the four to reach from the central area if you have arrived by train; the free inter-terminal coach is the workaround. With the T4 multi-storey closed for redevelopment since 23 June 2026, pick-up is from Zone A of the T4 Park & Ride (TW6 3XL), free for up to 2 hours.

Arrivals at Heathrow Terminal 5

Terminal 5 is the largest of the four and the home of British Airways and Iberia. BA runs virtually all of its 180-plus Heathrow routes from T5, both long-haul and short-haul; Iberia's Madrid services and onward connections leave from the same terminal. Flights arriving at the T5B and T5C airside satellite buildings still clear immigration and baggage in the main T5 building, reached by the underground T5 transit train every 3 to 4 minutes. The closest kerbside pick-up is the Terminal 5 short-stay car park (TW6 2GA).

Around 90% of arrivals at Heathrow are international and clear UK Border Force passport control before reaching baggage. The remaining 10% are domestic flights from elsewhere in the UK or the Republic of Ireland; those passengers skip passport control entirely and walk straight to baggage reclaim. The full sequence for an international arrival is passport control, baggage reclaim, customs, then out into the landside arrivals hall.

Passport control and eGates

International arrivals follow signs to UK Border Force and choose between the eGates and the staffed desks. The eGates are open to passport holders from the UK, the Republic of Ireland, all 27 EU member states, the EEA non-EU states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway), Switzerland, plus Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States. The minimum age is 10, lowered from 12 in summer 2024; children aged 10 to 17 must travel with an accompanying adult also using the eGate.

Typical clearance times are under 10 minutes at off-peak via eGate, rising to 20 to 40 minutes at peak through the staffed desks for non-eligible nationalities; the longest queues form in the 05:00 to 07:00 long-haul arrival bank. The passport control page has the full eligibility list and the edge cases (damaged passports, eGate scan failures, accompanied minors).

Baggage reclaim

From the immigration hall you follow signs to baggage reclaim and look up your belt number on the screens above the carousels. Bags typically start arriving 15 to 20 minutes after the aircraft is on stand and the last bags can take 40 minutes or more, particularly after a full long-haul wide-body or when the aircraft parks at a remote stand requiring a bus to the terminal. Trolleys are free at every terminal.

If a bag does not arrive, report it to the airline handling agent desk inside the baggage hall before passing through customs; once you exit the claim is harder to start. Bag handling is run by the airline's ground agent, not the airport, so the speed varies by carrier and time of day. The baggage reclaim page covers belt assignments by terminal and the standard timing windows; the luggage page covers hand luggage and through-checked rules.

UK customs

After baggage you pass through UK customs. There are two channels: the Green channel for arrivals with nothing to declare (within personal allowances and no restricted items), and the Red channel for arrivals with goods to declare or items requiring permission. The Blue channel used before 2021 for arrivals from EU member states was abolished after the UK left the EU, and all international arrivals now use the same Green or Red channel. Random spot-checks are common at the Green channel; officers can stop anyone walking through for a routine inspection. The current allowances and the full list of restricted categories sit on the UK customs page.

Heathrow is a major international hub and a meaningful share of arrivals are passengers connecting onward rather than ending the trip in London. Whether a connecting passenger clears UK immigration on arrival depends on two things: whether the bag is through-checked to the final destination, and whether the onward boarding pass is already in hand.

With a single ticket, a through-checked bag, and the onward boarding pass issued at origin, you stay airside throughout and follow the Flight Connections signs. If the bag is through-checked but the onward boarding pass needs collecting, some airlines hand it out at the gate; otherwise you clear immigration to collect it landside. For a self-transfer where the bag is not through-checked or you are switching airlines on separate tickets, the route is: clear UK immigration, collect the bag, re-check it at the next airline's desk, and re-clear security. Three hours is the realistic minimum for that path, longer at peak.

If the next flight departs from a different terminal, factor in the inter-terminal transfer time on top. The flight connection page covers minimum connection times by airline pair, and the inter-terminal transfer page covers terminal-to-terminal movement by walk, train, and the free airside coach.

Each of the four terminals has its own arrivals hall on the ground floor with seating, flight information screens, cafés, information desks, and clearly-signed exits to short-stay parking and the train station. The named meeting points at each terminal, with the specific landmarks like coffee chains or staffed desks, are on the meeting points page. Agreeing the meeting point name in advance is the simplest way to avoid losing each other in a busy hall.

For a kerbside collection by car, the short-stay car park at each terminal is the closest paid option, with a covered walk to the arrivals hall. The kerbside forecourt is officially for short stops only and is no longer free: the £7 per visit charge has applied to every entry since 1 January 2026, with a 10-minute maximum stay, and the cameras do not distinguish drop-off from pick-up. The pick-up page covers the zone-by-zone layout at each terminal, and the drop-off charges page has the fee detail for both directions.

Sat nav postcodes differ by terminal; the Heathrow postcode page lists all four.

Onward travel from Heathrow arrivals runs deep: three direct rail services, licensed taxi ranks outside every arrivals hall, marshalled rideshare zones in the short-stay car parks, a long-distance coach hub between T2 and T3, local TfL buses, and a consolidated car rental compound reached by free shuttle from each terminal. Not everyone is heading straight into London. If you are staying near the airport, the Heathrow hotels overview compares walkway-connected and Bath Road options; for a long gap before an onward flight, things to do near Heathrow covers Windsor and Kew. The right choice depends on destination, time of day, and budget; the summary by mode follows.

Train and Underground

Three rail services run from Heathrow. Heathrow Express is the fastest non-stop service to London Paddington at 15 minutes from the central terminals and 21 minutes from Terminal 5, every 15 minutes; the on-the-day fare is £25 single, dropping to £10 booked in advance. The Elizabeth Line is the direct route to multiple central London stations (Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Liverpool Street) at £15.50 flat, around 30 minutes from central London for the central terminals; it serves all four operating terminals directly, with around 6 trains an hour at T2/T3, 4 at T4, and 2 at T5. The Piccadilly Line is the cheapest direct rail at £5.90 from any zone 1 station, around 55 minutes from Kings Cross via the Underground, every 4 to 10 minutes; it serves T2 and T3, T4, and T5 directly and runs through the night on Fridays and Saturdays.

The train sub-hub compares the three head to head. Heathrow Express does not stop at Terminal 4: a change at T2/T3 onto an Elizabeth Line train south is the workaround.

Taxis and private hire

Official black cab ranks sit outside arrivals at every terminal, 24 hours a day. Heathrow black cabs are metered (not fixed-fare): a trip to central London is typically £75 to £110 with traffic, plus the £1.60 Heathrow rank surcharge that is added to every metered fare originating at the airport. The full picture is on the Heathrow taxi page.

Pre-booked private hire, including Uber, Bolt, and FreeNow, uses marshalled rideshare zones in the short-stay car park at each terminal; the per-terminal layout is on the pick-up page.

Buses and coaches

Heathrow Central Bus Station between T2 and T3 is the main long-distance coach hub; T4 and T5 have their own bus stops outside arrivals. National Express runs the largest long-distance network from Heathrow to UK cities and to other London airports, including a half-hourly service for the Gatwick to Heathrow route. Local Transport for London buses serve Hounslow, West Drayton, Uxbridge, and the SL7/SL9 Superloop expresses; the longer-distance coach network covers National Express, Megabus, and FlixBus.

Car

For pick-up by friend or family, the kerbside arrangement and the short-stay car park options are on the pick-up page; the £7 forecourt charge applies on every entry (drop-off and pick-up alike). Sat nav postcodes differ by terminal and sit on the Heathrow postcode page (T2 TW6 1EW, T3 TW6 1QG, T4 TW6 3YD, T5 TW6 2GA). For an onward trip by rental car, the customer desks are inside the arrivals hall at most terminals with the actual vehicle pickup at a compound on the Northern Perimeter Road, reached by free shuttle; details on the car hire page.

If this is your first arrival in the UK, three things make the next hour easier. Have your passport and any required visa or eVisa ready before reaching the immigration desk or eGate (the eligibility list is in the passport control section above); the eGates are usually faster than the staffed desks when you qualify. London buses, taxis, and the rail services all accept contactless and mobile contactless payments without buying a separate ticket; you do not need to load an Oyster card or queue at a ticket machine. The first time in the UK guide walks through the wider arrival sequence including SIM cards, the immigration health surcharge, and what to expect on day one; the currency exchange page covers the exchange counter locations at each terminal and an honest read on the airport rates.