London Heathrow, "unnecessary" travel between terminals banned

Yesterday I was departing from T5 at London Heathrow. and, as usual, I decided not to go to BA's lounges, but to try something new, namely Qatar's brand new VIP lounge. After the fantastic experience in the one in Singapore, I was really curious to see if even in London. the best company in the world pampers its passengers (and all the lucky ones who fly OneWorld) the same way: 10 times better than what other carriers do.

I admit that the reason for doing this is also another, namely, the opportunity to walk around the airport on a generally uncrowded bus and thus be able to take pictures of the planes from an unusual angle. Because, if you haven't noticed, all the photos (excluding the official ones) on this site are of our own making. In fact, you follow us on instagram?

The transfer

Arriving at the terminal, I didn't even head for the security checkpoints and went straight down to the ground floor where the buses that move passengers between facilities depart.

Each Terminal has its own stop, and I sat waiting in front of the one used for passengers heading to T4. The bus arrives and I board. After an endless ride, T4 is the one most isolated from all the others: it takes about 15 minutes by bus to reach it from T5.

I get off the bus and head for the security checkpoint. It is 8 a.m. and everything is still deserted.

About-face

I get to the first check-point and here the attendant stops me and says, "Sorry from yesterday no more lounge travel, if you don't start from this terminal you can't get in."

I tried to ask for clarification about the new directive and was told "Orders from above."

Demoralized, I picked up arms and bags and returned to T5. I could have done the 9 test and tried to go toward T3, the home of so many lounges such as Centurion and VIrgin's Clubhouse, but I preferred to go to BA's First Galleries, the one reserved for passengers who have at least Gold level with British.

In conclusion

It is likely that the reason is to avoid unnecessary movement of passengers between terminals at a time when travelers are increasing and LHR still faces a staffing shortage that is now chronic. After the terrible summer of 2022, it seems that London and Amsterdam, Europe's two worst airports, are still searching for the solution after the post covid restart, workers chose not to return to work at the airport, and this creates problems throughout the supply chain. It's only February, let's hope for the best.