Flying and airports can be one of the most stressful parts of travel for women over 50 traveling solo.

I am a big fan of knowing ahead of time what my experience will be like when I land at an airport like London Heathrow…

Especially when making a connecting flight.

I recently took a flight from Canada to the UK, landing at Heathrow Airport and had to make a connecting British Airways Flight to Manchester.

I want to walk you through that experience so that you have a good idea of what to expect if you were to do something similar.

First, I googled high and low looking at the Heathrow Airport website, checking out YouTube videos and anything else I could glob on to.

Here's a handy 👉👉👉link to the London Heathrow Airport site with information on connecting flights.

And still I came up short in particular it was NOT clear where and how I would go through customs and immigration.

Secondly, I had two hours to make my connection and wanted to make sure I could literally hit the ground running.

While a two hour connecting time is legal and some think plenty of time my first piece of advice is…

Allow yourself 3 hours to connect.

2 hours is too snug if you run into any delays landing or in security lines.

Here’s the scoop.

Many long haul international flights land and depart from Terminal 2…

Terminal 5 is where all of the British Airways flights depart from.

So, if you are connecting a domestic flight in the UK and on BA then you will have to get from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5.

Whats great is the signage for connecting flights is excellent throughout the airport and all terminals... 

Big purple CONNECTION signs everywhere!

Now be prepared, ladies we’re over 50…

I clocked, 3,300 steps 👣 between landing and departing Heathrow. 

How much time you spend walking in an airport can vary wildly even in the same airport.

So remember not only to have comfortable shoes for flying and keeping your feet warm, like my trusty Allbirds sneakers 👇

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But, you will also need great walking shoes for walking or sometimes even running through an airport.

Ok, first up, I've created this nifty diagram of the steps you will go through to make your connecting fight with an explanation underneath.

Follow the PURPLE CONNECTION signs winding your way through Terminal 2.

Be sure to check your terminal and gate for your connecting flight.

There are departure boards in Terminal 2 as you make your way that will tell you what terminal your flight is but not necessarily the gate…

Gate information is on the departure boards when you get to the departing Terminal… in this case Terminal 5.

Now a little bit of translation, I was searching online for immigration and customs and…

Getting nowhere fast!

Instead the terminology used is “Passport Control”.

You will NOT go through Passport Control in Terminal 2.

Instead… you will clear Passport Control in Terminal 5!

You Will Take A Bus 🚍 From Terminal 2 To get To Terminal 5

So make your way down to a departing bus that will take you from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5.

Note: If you are going to a different Terminal i.e., Terminal 3 the buses also depart from the same area.

The buses run approximately every 10-15 minutes and…

The bus takes between 10-12 minutes to get from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5.

The good news is that again the signage for your door and bus are excellent and…

There are airport staff there to answer your questions and point you in the right direction.

Once you’re off the bus in Terminal 5 continue to follow the purple “Connecting Flights” signs.

At some point through the winding through the terminal there will be a split where people connecting to international flights will go in one direction and…

You will go in another direction connecting to your domestic UK flight.

At last you will reach “Passport Control”... 

There are automated gates where you scan your passport and the gates open to let you though.

Don’t worry, just  like catching the connecting bus there are staff on hand to help and guide you.

Immediately after you pass through the passport control gates you will pass through another set of electronic gates…

This time you will be asked to scan your boarding pass for your domestic flight.

Getting through these gates goes pretty quickly.

After this point you will snake your way through a line that ultimately takes you upstairs to the security lines.

Here you will have your carry on and hand luggage scanned along with you going through the typical security process.

And then you will queue with everyone else to pass through security.

This was the longest wait.

My flight arrived around midday and yes it was the height of summer but I was surprised at how long and congested the security lines were.

Once you are through security you will find a large Departure Board.

Note: Your flight will only show the departing Gate Number one hour before your flight.

🔥🔥🔥HOT TIP🔥🔥🔥

I found that the Gate Number came up earlier on the British Airways Mobile App on my iPhone…

A good reason why I always have the Airline app downloaded on my phone.

If you’ve still got time you can make a pit stop at the bathrooms.

Given all the hustle and bustle it was a little light relief that while I had to queue for the “loo” there was a lovely air freshener that pumped out a refreshing mist every couple of minutes and…

Beautiful calming classical music!

And yay, you've finally made it to your Gate and maybe even have a little time to do some quick shopping.

Sit back, relax and you're ready to board when they call your zone 🙂

Wrapping up…

When making connections at London Heathrow allow 3 hours for a comfortable and stress free connection.

🛬 5-10 minutes to deplane depending on where you are sitting on your flight

🚶‍♀️ 5-10 minutes to get to where the buses leave from Terminal 2

🚏 10-12 minutes waiting for the next bus

🚍 12-14 minutes bus ride over to Terminal 5

🚶‍♀️5-10 minutes to get to the Passport Control gates

🛃 5-10 minutes to get through Passport Control gates to scan your passport

🛃 5-10 minutes to get through the kiosks to scan your boarding pass

👮‍♂️ 20-30 minutes to get through security 

🛫 Check the Departure Board for your Gate Number

🚶‍♀️5-10 minutes to find your gate

🚻 5-10 minutes for a quick loo (toilet/bathroom) stop

🛫 30 minutes to board your flight

And there is this cute video that London Heathrow put out that might also be of help:

Interested in more, check out my YouTube Channel

If you found this blog valuable head on over to my YouTube channel and take a look, here's the 👉👉👉 link

Female Travelers Over 50 By Raewyn Crist: @FemaleTravelers50Plus

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So cheers to wheels up to winging your way to your long dreamed of destination.