testycal

If I transfer T5 T3 by airside bus later in the evening will I be permitted to remain airside T3 for an earlier morning flight? Or will I be asked to go landside?

KeaneJohn

You will be asked to go landslide that’s if you aren’t directed to the arrivals flow when reaching T3.

KARFA

You won’t be allowed through flight connections in T3 with a bp for the next day - it needs to be a same day bp. You will therefore have to exit landside at T3 at that point, or just exit landside on arrival at T5.

T3 (like all other LHR terminals) is not open airside overnight. The exception is that some emergency provision is made for those small numbers who cannot go through immigration but have a next day connection, there is a small area set aside on T3 for that. But that’s not your situation.

testycal

Just curious..I arrive T5...what happens if I choose to sit down after leaving aircraft in the seating area on the way towards flight connections..I assume they sweep the areas and move people along while passport control is open?

cauchy

Ultimately, if you’re extremely difficult about it, I imagine they’ll probably send you to the dedicated overnight waiting gate at T3. You might think you’ve “won” if this happens - but in reality it’ll be very unpleasant.

Going through immigration is, technically, you applying for leave to enter the UK. Now I suppose there might be a way for an immigration officer to grant you leave to enter without you applying for it (or cooperating) but I can’t see them too excited about this.

LCSinTexas

Please do let us know if you try this, and what the result is.

LcS

our_kid

Interesting one this - I once arrived T4 very late from DOH and had an early morning departure from T3. Rather than hotel I took flight connections and into the T3 overnight pen. There were no issues going through transfers so late and night and in fact they put me in a little minibus to get across the airport - nobody else was going through transfers!

T3 overnight wasn’t great but the lounges opened early so shower and breakfast and I was back on my way.

NWIFlyer

This. If your intention is to save on a hotel because there's only a few hours between arrival and departure, then you'll be far more comfortable (relatively speaking) landside in a terminal where there are at least some facilities open 24 hours - usually one of the coffee shop chains. There are no nice places to wait overnight, but at least there's some provision made if doing so once you're through customs.

It's hardly much of an inconvenience to spend five minutes at T5 immigration and then walking through customs in return. You don't save a security check staying airside because that'll happen at some point before your next flight anyway.

In the unlikely event you're doing this because you're not eligible to enter the UK, then there's a reasonably high risk your airline will refuse to carry you in the first place. The airside area that's set aside in T3 is to cater for passengers who miss their connection due to a flight delay and aren't eligible to enter (and even then UK Border Force usually uses discretion and temporarily admits them if they're not viewed as at risk of absconding) or those who have been refused entry for whatever reason and are being returned on the next day's flight. As such, it's a controlled, confined space that you can't leave. You don't get the run of the terminal to stretch your legs or get something to eat or drink.

Door5L

Yes, I understand that security do regular sweeps of airside areas and escort people to immigration if they are sat around or even ‘hiding’. Heathrow airport is not a 24hr passenger operation and therefore airside areas are essentially closed overnight.

sunshinebob

I just had a pleasant night at the Premier Inn at T4 for £42 , I can't imagine why you would not want to book a hotel room, get your head down and a warm shower if you could pay something similar rather than staying airside even for a few hours.

corporate-wage-slave

The overnight provision at T3 and T5 is the landside arrival areas, which are kept open for people wanting to stay there overnight and who are bona fide travellers. Police and HAL Security do regular patrols. It's deliberately uncomfortable, to discourage homeless people using the area. So they don't put any of the new easy chairs there for example.and there aren't many power points. But M&S and Costa stay open through the night.

For the airside provison at Terminal 3, that is at gate 7, so along from the Cathay lounge. Anyone found airside after 23:00 hrs is directed there, so that the rest of T3 airside is closed to passengers, on the basis that they are unable to clear the UK Border. It is quiet, there are toilets and vending machines that use credit cards, but nothing else in T3 is open. They take down the name and phone numbers of people in this area just in case there is an emergency. This stays in place until 04:00 hrs, at which point passengers are free to go to anywhere else in LHR. At various stages HAL have crackdowns on the use of gate 7 (in terms of staff advising people to go there) and try actively to direct people landside, and sometimes they liaise with Border Force for temporary admission. The specific problem there are that some people do not want to try asking Border Force for an overnight stay since they don't want to get some sort of black mark - that isn't a real risk, Border Force can be flexible. The last crackdown was around September 2023, but these things tend to ease up so generally speaking you will be allowed to use gate 7 without much interrogation. On a typical night there may be about 12 people using this facility, sometimes a few extended families.

But hopefully the message is to use one of the dozens of hotels near Heathrow, which have some of cheapest rooms available in the London area.

LCSinTexas

What exactly is available in the "overnight pen"? Just some chairs and loos? Any chance of a stroll?

LcS

testycal

Interested because same situation arose in Zurich. Late arrival 630 am departure next day. Passport control announced as closing at midnight. In this case I collected bag, exited landside and returned airside late with no questions. Spent a pleasant evening with a few others doing work that I needed to catch up on and a few winks and off I went. No facilities other than vending machines, bathrooms and water fountains. Same thing recently as well but stayed airside Zurich...again stayed up and worked. Non issue taking room but sometimes it does not make sense, And yes T4 premier inn is my go to place when I decide otherwise. No security patrolled and the only others were the floor cleaners who did a few sweeps with their machines. Very thoughtful that lights were dimmed as well for around 3 or 4 hours. Thanks for input of all replies.

For completeness sake...there are rooms and beds without rooms airside for purchase or you can exit and choose the new pod hotel which prices at around $100 CAD for the night and even has a hot tub if you do not mind sleeping in what are essentially closed off bunk beds and listening to persons coming and going at all hours with doors closing etc. I likely slept better in the terminal for the hours I managed.

stifle

As mentioned in the post immediately prior to yours, it's got seating, toilets, and a few vending machines. You don't have the run of the airport.

Yes, HAL staff will move you along at some point, if not via you being spotted on CCTV and someone being sent to inquire after your welfare, then via sweeps at the end of the day once the last flight has landed.

testycal

delete...I am wrong