An economist claims the “formerly-developed” UK is “failing” because of the transit issues he had at London Heathrow. While LHR is not a passenger-friendly airport and the signage is tricky, ultimately, this was a very avoidable issue had he just read the signs a bit more closely.
Economist Says UK Is Failing After Difficult Connection In London Heathrow Airport
You can start by reading Noah Smith’s own words in their full context:
Today, I made the mistake of flying from Dublin to Paris via London’s Heathrow Airport. This was a remarkably stupid move on my part, given that London, and by extension Heathrow, is located in the failing formerly-developed country known as “the UK”.
I almost paid dearly for this oversight.
My layover was 1 hour and 30 minutes. As soon as my flight from Dublin arrived at Terminal 2, I began looking around for my connecting flight to Paris, which was located in Terminal 5. A helpful immigration officer pointed me in the direction of a free train that I could take to Terminal 5. After walking for about 15 minutes through a labyrinthine maze of tunnels, I arrived at this train.
The train required me to get a ticket for the free trip to Terminal 5. After standing in line at a machine, I pressed a button that dispensed this ticket. I then used the ticket to go through a turnstyle. Once on the platform (which was poorly labeled), I discovered — by asking some locals -+ that the trains for Terminal 4 do not actually go to Terminal 5. (This had not been apparent from any signs or other information in the train station.) I would thus have to wait 17 minutes for the dedicated train to Terminal 5.
And so wait I did. About 20 minutes later I arrived at Terminal 5, and discovered that I was in the Departures area. Despite the fact that I was transferring, I would have to go through airport security again. So I waited in line for security, watching other people struggle with the automated boarding pass scanners. Finally I reached the scanners, and when I scanned my boarding pass, it registered an error, and told me to see a British Airways employee. (Sadly, my Aer Lingus flight was operated by British Airways.)
So I went to the British Airways departures counter, and after a while I found the line I was supposed to stand in. I waited 10 minutes in the line, and was finally allowed to see a British Airways employee.
The British Airways employee informed me that I had already missed my flight, since boarding was at 12:15 and it was now 12:17. I argued that boarding would probably last more than two minutes, and that I might still have time to make the flight, whose departure was scheduled for 12:55. She seemed skeptical of this argument, but I finally persuaded her to help me give it a try.
Returning me to the security line, the British Airways woman told me to wait in the line (which would have taken 15 minutes). I begged her to let me jump the queue, and she did, explaining my plight to a South Asian security employee who let me through the rope barrier to the front of the line.
This South Asian man is actually the hero of our story.
When I cut to the front of the security line, a security employee barked at me to get back. The lovely South Asian man then barked at her to let me through, and his confident air of command carried the day. I was let through, and the South Asian man even showed me how to use the security machine so that it would definitely not stop me from entering. He told me to tell his colleagues at the baggage scanner that I was allowed to jump to the front of the queue.
I raced to the baggage scanning line, which looked like it would have taken an additional 20 minutes, and simply ducked under the barriers and cut to the front of the line. I apologized to the employee there and told him my flight was already boarding. He told me that in that case, I had already missed my flight, and it wasn’t even worth continuing. But I told him that his colleague (the aforementioned South Asian man) had instructed me to go through security anyway, and he accepted this and let me through. I had to do an extra scan of my shoes, but made it through OK.
I then ran to my gate, ducking and weaving around various travelers. When I made it to the gate, I found that the flight was still boarding, and they let me through. I then spent 20 minutes standing in line on the jetway.
Naturally, my bag didn’t arrive in Paris.
Normally, when you arrive in T2, the signs make it very clear. You get off the plane and follow the purple signs for flight connections. If you arrive in the B gates, you have a very long walk…
Ultimately, you go upstairs and have three choices: head right for T2 flight connections, left for the UK Border, or straight ahead and then back downstairs to catch a bus to Terminals 3, 4, or 5.
Seems so easy…but this case was a little different. Smith was arriving from Dublin on Aer Lingus. Although Ireland is another country (since 1949…), Ireland and UK are part of a Common Travel Area (CTA) and so arriving from Dublin is akin to arriving on a domestic flight.
Passengers arrive differently than the pictures above, bypassing the UK Border, but they are still faced with two doors: one for flight connections, one for arrivals.
Smith took the wrong door. Instead, he chose arrivals and wound up outside baggage claim, where he had to take a train to T5 instead of an airside bus. That’s on him…or perhaps the immigration officer he mentions.
He winds up barely making his flight and his baggage does not make it. Yes, a 90-minute connection in Heathrow is tough even on the best of days.
> Read More: 1-Hour Connection In London Heathrow…What Could Go Wrong?
> Read More: UPDATE – My 60-Minute London Heathrow Connection Went Sideways…
But is this all proof the UK is failing? Smith certainly thinks so:
Starting to realize that the reason things don’t work in the UK is cultural. British people respond to reports of dysfunction by spinning fantasies, making excuses, and – most of all – by screeching insults and leveling accusations. No one actually *tries* to make anything work.
Personally, I think LHR is woefully designed and not at all passenger-friendly. I also think the UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) is extortion and that the security checks for transit in LHR are ridiculous.
But it’s my choice to travel through LHR and I don’t make broad cultural sweeping pronouncements based on the airport. It’s also on me if I don’t follow signs.
So ultimately, yeah, Noah, follow the purple signs next time.
Hat Tip: One Mile At A Time
The real question is how many shekels did the economist save by going DUB-LHR-CDG instead of one of the plentiful direct DUB-CDG flights? And was it worth it to him?
Direct budget flights from DUB to BVA are always highly recommended…
London certainly has a lot of history and interesting thing to see but it’s definitely becoming a 3rd world sh#thole in many areas due to all the Muslims they let in. They have their horrible, smelly food shops and grocery stores everywhere, not what a tourist from America wants to see.
And yea, this is from first hand experience.
You really can’t help yourself, can you…it’s like a reflex.
Just explaining my experience, it was shocking to me. Certainly not what I expected to see when walking around town.
Many areas looked like one sees in every adventure movie where the hero has to go find the terrorists in some 3rd world city while chasing them through open air markets.
Got off the tube at the Maryland station to go to a historical bar and thought I was in what I imagine Istanbul to look like. Guaranteed a lot of “plans” are being made in those storefronts.
Sure, Jan.
I am assuming you meant Marylebone.
London and Singapore are my favourite cities in the world.
Your characterization of the UK is not quite right – more than Radical Islamism now, the biggest threat now are OCG’s, which the Met police are finally getting around to tackling.
And before you say it, I am a conservative who voted for President Trump and appreciate how much he has gotten done. At the same time, there are several aspects of some of his policies I don’t agree with.
Nope Maryland on the Elizabeth Line.
This whole episode sounds made up. The first clue is:
“A helpful immigration officer pointed me in the direction of a free train that I could take to Terminal 5.”
He would not even come across an immigration officer, helpful or not, as he’s arriving domestic. There is no immigration and no opportunity to come across an immigration officer.
And another: “The train required me to get a ticket for the free trip”
Not true, a contactless card gets you on the platform and onto the train.
And yet another: “and discovered that I was in the Departures area.” Where else would he discover he would be when he’s ignored all the huge signs for Flight Connections, exited the airport and got on public transport?
Either this man is a complete idiot or he’s acting like a drama Queen in order to make up a story.
And, yes, London has its issues as does every other non-totalitarian state major city, but this litany of nonsense is simply ridiculous
Douchebag Dave Edwards & Sch*tt Hsuan & Moron Micheal Mainello, proving with your every (too frequent) comments that your nicknames are absolutely accurate and completely deserved and that you have nothing better to do with your pathetic waste-of-oxygen lives than to post abhorrent and revolting comments here over and over again every single day. Thank you for confirming again that you and other MAGAs are stupid hateful racist cretins. Trolling or not, the extent and frequency of your comments are indicative of severe psychiatric and/or addiction problems. Your insults, undoubtedly projection, speak much more to your lack of character than to anyone you attack. You should crawl back under whatever rock you crawled out from you SHPOSs.
At least 10 nonstop flights from Dublin to Paris every day, and this guy chooses to do a plane change in LHR, and the failure is blamed on British culture?
The UK isn’t the best run country on the planet, and it does seem to be declining in certain ways, but this guy needs to get out more.
Lord knows LHR has it’s issue, but it seems lile in this case the guy screwed up. You’d think being a journalist he would have checked and researched how to transder in LHR, how long is needed, etc. But nope.
Agree, LHR is poorly designed and confusing (and I also think the excessive airport tax is bad design by the UK as well), but not following the signs and rushing through without looking around you is not a good way to get through any unfamiliar airport, and that is on you. One can debate whether the UK is in worsening shape, but the airport is not the evidence. With the internet, a quick search to see how to make connections in a major airport is a good idea if you have not been there before. Lots of videos online, interactive airport maps and the rest. And that said, taking a connecting flight on a trip from Dublin to Paris is a poor idea. Why would you do that? To save a few pounds? And an hour and a half connection through one of the largest airports in the world is pretty short, if you want your checked luggage to accompany you. Is it too bad that flying is so complicated everywhere in the world, and hard for infrequent flyers who don’t know the tricks? Yes, but that is not unique to the UK.
Modern day Mr. Magoo Screws up the marked directions and just keeps bumbling along until some nice person gets him there at the last minute. Mr. Magoo would never have cast blame.
Rep for the Mr Magoo reference, doubt many around here have a clue what you are talking about.
Next we need a Commander McBragg reference.
Magoo Flew was posted by Matthew last year! 75 years after winning an Oscar it’s still funny.
Maryland, Dave, anyone, have you seen “the dog that hasn’t barked”?
The T2 arrival indicates EI and the T5 departure indicates BA. He probably redeemed AA miles because I looked and paying cash for that connection is prohibitively expensive. Wasting 12.5K AA miles on an economy redemption in a market where nonstops are plentiful and cheap is yet another sign that this economist isn’t exactly a savvy traveler.
This is why I connect via CPH,WAW,ZRH,VIE,HEL.Of all the madhouse airports,IMO only Madrid seems fine.
The guy comes across as an entitled jerk. That said, Heathrow is a great example of why privatizing large airports is a terrible idea.
Okay, I’ll say it:
He jumped the queue? IN LONDON?
Just no.
Nothing says disrespect in the UK like ignoring the unwritten rule of the land: “mind the queue.”
Frankly, complex or not, LHR has very simple instructions online for transfers, and an educated economist should have cracked open the webpage to read them.
I am not a bigot or dumb. However is Heathrow is dreadful and a nightmare for almost all connection. From experience t20-three hours is appropriate. There vis a hugh amount of walking, transit security takes on average thirty minutes and the staff, uniquely for the UK, are not helpful. All major European airport can be difficult but Heathrow is a nightmare and should be avoided , especially on BA which is a lousy airline.
Obviously Noah Smith has himself to blame for not following the signs. But the trend of Heathrow is closely resembling Great Britain these days, and not in a good way. Overpriced, with a poor quality in return.
As they say in the UK…
What a plonker!
My wife always manages to navigate from T3 to T5 and reverse using the Flight Connections route without any problems and she’s a bit directionally challenged.