FritzG Posted August 2, 2014 #1 Share Posted August 2, 2014 We're arriving at Heathrow at 9:55 PM on a Tuesday. Approximately how long should it take to get our luggage and go through customs at that late hour? We'll be booking a car to take us to our hotel, and we don't know what time to have it arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquilegia Posted August 2, 2014 #2 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Customs is just a walk through (unless you have anything to declare or the officials watching you from behind one way glass think you look suspicious). It is immigration that takes the time and that is likely to depend on how many international flights have landed recently. You should allow at least an hour from touchdown to walking out of the airport and if you want to be sure, make it a bit more. You can always have a cup of coffee while waiting. Incidentally, if your flight is delayed, don't worry. The car services have access to up-to-date flight information and will know if you are going to land later than scheduled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted August 2, 2014 #3 Share Posted August 2, 2014 (edited) Car services usually require your flight details rather than pick-up time, they monitor arrival times and they know the time-scale involved for formalities. But as Aquilegia's post, any hold-up is likely to be at immigration and non-UK/EU passengers can usually expect to be in the arrival hall toward 90 mins after touch-down, though of course there are always exceptions. JB :) Edited August 2, 2014 by John Bull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amerryscot Posted August 4, 2014 #4 Share Posted August 4, 2014 It's 45 minutes minimum. Can be a lot longer for non-EU passports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DragonOfTheSeas Posted August 4, 2014 #5 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Would these times estimate be the same for flight arriving at 10am? [on BA on a Thursday] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amerryscot Posted August 4, 2014 #6 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Would these times estimate be the same for flight arriving at 10am? [on BA on a Thursday] The arrival time is irrelevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DragonOfTheSeas Posted August 4, 2014 #7 Share Posted August 4, 2014 The arrival time is irrelevant. Thank you. the reason I gave my morning arrival time was that at my departure airport mornings are much busier than at night. [OP had a 10 pm flight] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amerryscot Posted August 4, 2014 #8 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Thank you. the reason I gave my morning arrival time was that at my departure airport mornings are much busier than at night. [OP had a 10 pm flight] Heathrow is full on from 6am till about 10pm. There aren't any quiet times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted August 5, 2014 #9 Share Posted August 5, 2014 It is immigration that takes the time and that is likely to depend on how many international flights have landed recently. You should allow at least an hour from touchdown to walking out of the airport and if you want to be sure, make it a bit more. It's 45 minutes minimum. Can be a lot longer for non-EU passports.45-60 minutes is a good overall benchmark. But this isn't just because of immigration, which is very variable and pretty random: baggage delivery is also a variable that's difficult to predict in advance. However, I'm finding that it rarely takes me longer than 45 minutes to get out. Yesterday morning (from Hong Kong) was 30 minutes, with two checked bags - and nearly 10 minutes of that was just waiting for the jetway to be connected to the aircraft. A couple of weeks back (from Johannesburg) was about 5 minutes more than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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