On this page (6 sections)
Where luggage storage is at Heathrow
The Excess Baggage Company runs a staffed counter in the arrivals concourse landside at each Heathrow terminal. All four counters open 05:00 to 23:00 daily. There are no self-service lockers anywhere at the airport; this is the only luggage storage option inside Heathrow itself.
| Terminal | Location | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| T2 | Arrivals main concourse | 05:00 to 23:00 |
| T3 | Arrivals main concourse, near the car hire desks | 05:00 to 23:00 |
| T4 | Arrivals main concourse | 05:00 to 23:00 |
| T5 | Arrivals | 05:00 to 23:00 |
All four counters are landside, which means a connecting passenger needs to clear immigration and walk out of the secure area to use them, then go through security again on the way back to the gate. For a mid-transfer storage on a long layover that is usually fine; for a tight connection it is rarely worth it. Getting between Heathrow terminals and connecting flights at Heathrow cover the wider transfer flow.
Prices
The price ladder is per bag, regardless of size, with a 32kg weight ceiling per bag (the same ceiling that applies at airline check-in for hold baggage). Larger or heavier items are accepted at the counter's discretion with a surcharge.
| Duration | Price per bag |
|---|---|
| 0 to 3 hours | £10 |
| 3 to 24 hours | £15 |
| 24 to 48 hours | £27.50 |
| 48 to 72 hours | £40 |
| Each additional day | scales daily |
| Maximum stay | 90 days |
The ladder pays back for short stays. A six-hour layover at £15 is comfortably cheaper than a hotel day-room or hanging around the terminal with the bag. A three-day London visit at £40 plus the rest of the daily rate starts to look expensive against the off-airport alternatives covered below.
How to use the service
Walk-up is available at every counter; pre-booking through the Excess Baggage Company website saves time at peak hours and locks in the price. The standard sequence:
- Take the bag to the counter in the arrivals concourse.
- The staff member runs the bag through a security X-ray scanner at the counter.
- You receive a numbered receipt; you cannot collect the bag without it.
- Pay on collection unless the booking is pre-paid online.
- Photo ID may be requested for collection of high-value items.
The peak windows for the storage counters track the wider airport peaks: 05:00 to 09:00 (the morning arrivals wave) and 16:00 to 19:00 (the late-afternoon arrivals peak). Outside those windows the counters are usually quiet and walk-up is a few minutes at most.
What you cannot leave
The Excess Baggage Company will not accept items that fail the security X-ray or fall on its published exclusion list. The headline categories:
- Hazardous items: flammables, fireworks, compressed gases (except small medical oxygen), corrosives, the standard dangerous-goods set.
- Perishable food: fresh meat, fish, dairy and other items that will spoil within the storage period.
- Live items: pets, plants, anything alive.
- High-value items above the operator's published cap: cash above a stated limit, jewellery, fine art, and some electronics. The cap and the insurance position are published on the operator's site.
For the underlying rules on what can travel in cabin or hold baggage in the first place, see airline baggage allowances and hand luggage rules and the 2 litre liquid allowance at Heathrow.
Other services at the Excess Baggage Company counters
The same counters offer three other services worth knowing about, particularly for a long layover or an early arrival:
- Bag wrapping: tamper-proof shrink wrap, available landside in arrivals and departures. Useful for soft-shell cases on a long connection or to protect a fragile case from belt damage.
- Baggage shipping: worldwide forwarding through the operator's freight network. The bag travels separately from the passenger; useful when an oversized item exceeds the airline's outsize ceiling.
- City Luggage Transfer: same-day delivery between Heathrow and London hotels (and the reverse), so a London-bound passenger can spend the day in town without the bag. Drop the bag at the Heathrow counter, collect at the hotel later; or drop at the hotel before checkout, collect at the Heathrow counter ahead of the evening flight.
Advance bookings for any of these services run through the Excess Baggage Company on +44 (0)20 8759 3344. The same desk handles the walk-up storage; the phone line is for pre-booking and the more complex services.
Cheaper alternatives near Heathrow
For multi-day storage, third-party network providers partner with shops and hotels near the airport at lower per-day rates. The largest are Stasher, LuggageHero and Radical Storage; all three operate in the Heathrow area and across central London. Typical rate is around £5 to £8 per bag per day, with insurance cover included up to a per-bag cap (varies by provider).
The trade-off is location. The Heathrow-area network points are at hotels and convenience stores around the airport perimeter, a bus or taxi ride from the terminal. For a three-day stop the per-day saving outweighs the travel time; for a six-hour layover the in-terminal counter wins on convenience and the difference in cost is small.
A second alternative for a London-day reader is the central London left-luggage operators at the major rail terminals: Paddington, Kings Cross, Victoria, Liverpool Street and Waterloo all have staffed Excess Baggage Company or Stasher counters. The London-terminal storage rates broadly match Heathrow's, but you reach them on the way into town rather than as a round trip from the airport.