London Heathrow Connection Update: British Airways Adjusts Minimum Transfer Time

The minimal length of time needed to connect two British Airways planes at London’s Heathrow Airport will increase. The increase will go into effect in January and is intended to address issues brought on by security and immigration delays as well as scheduling hiccups.

The United Kingdom is easily accessible from everywhere in the world thanks to British Airways, which has its headquarters at Heathrow Airport in London. However, it also makes it easier for many connecting flights, as travellers fly into Heathrow before continuing on to other locations. In order to guarantee that passengers have adequate time to go from their first flight to their second, the airline specifies a minimum connection time.

This time will increase from 60 minutes to 75 minutes starting on 9th January, 2024, for anyone transferring from a long-haul aircraft or from a local flight inside the United Kingdom to an international flight at Heathrow. Flights that don’t meet this transfer time will be rebooked at no additional cost. In order to prevent non-compliance with the minimal requirement for future reservations, British Airways’ software will be built with this protection. Additionally, Heathrow Airport has 115 gates total, distributed among its four terminal buildings. Although the majority of British Airways operations have been relocated to Heathrow’s Terminal 5, due to capacity restrictions, certain flights are now operated out of Terminal 3.

By keeping its passengers at Heathrow for longer, British Airways does not benefit from sales at the airport’s eateries or shops. British Airways also no longer employs the Heathrow security personnel who recently collectively bargained for a pay increase following informative picketing and strikes. To reiterate, this is about the dependability of the schedule.

Head For Points received the official email from British Airways to the impacted customers; “From 9th January 2024 we are changing our connection times at London Heathrow. Due to this change, your upcoming British Airways connection at London Heathrow will no longer be possible. We are in the process of reviewing your booking to ensure you can make your connection and if required we will look to rebook your connection/s free of charge on your behalf.”

The best advise is to download and become familiar with the layout of the connecting airport if you have a tight connection to manage. Apps are readily available in many airports, making maps readily available. Flight monitoring is also included in the airport applications, although just for that particular airport. Check which gate the initial flight will land at and the last flight will take off on the day of the flight. Either the airport website or the airport app can be used for this.