Heathrow handles more passengers than any other UK airport, and for a group the first question is never the time. It's the terminal. Heathrow is really four separate airports sharing runways, and a driver at Terminal 5 is a fair drive from a group standing outside Terminal 4. So our Heathrow minibus transfers start with your airline and your terminal, then work back to a pickup time from wherever you are in London.
Heathrow minibus transfers by terminal
Terminals 2 and 3 sit in the middle of the airport, reached through the tunnel under the northern runway. Terminal 4 is on the southern edge, reached from the Southern Perimeter Road. Terminal 5 is at the western end, close to the M25. Each has its own approach roads and its own drop-off area.
Your airline decides which one you need, and airlines do move terminals from time to time. Check your booking rather than going on last year's trip. If your group is split across two flights from different terminals, tell us and we'll plan the drops in the right order.
For connections, Heathrow runs free rail transfers between the terminals, so you don't usually need a minibus to get from one to another unless your luggage or the group makes the train awkward.
Getting there from different parts of London
From central and south-west London, the usual route is the A4 and the M4. From north-west London, the A40 and then the M25 or the A312 come into play. From Wembley and the rest of Brent, the North Circular and the A40 usually get you there in about forty to fifty minutes off-peak. From east and south-east London, it's a long way across the city whichever way you go, and the choice between the M25 and a route through the middle depends on the hour.
Rough times outside the rush hour:
- Ealing, Hounslow or Hillingdon, about 15 to 30 minutes
- Kensington, Fulham or Wandsworth, about 35 to 50 minutes
- SE1 and the City, about an hour
- Croydon or Bromley, about an hour, mostly on the M25
- Stratford, Romford or Woolwich, about an hour and a quarter or more
At peak times, add a lot. The M4 into London on a weekday morning and the M25 around junctions 12 to 15 on a Friday afternoon can each add half an hour on their own. Our pickup times use the slow version of the road, not the quick one.
Picking up after a flight lands
For collections, we take your flight number and the driver checks the landing time before leaving. Heathrow arrivals take a while. Passport control varies a lot by time of day, and baggage reclaim for a group of twelve can take a good half hour on its own. The driver allows for both.
Minibuses aren't normally allowed to wait on the terminal forecourt, so pickups use the short-stay car park or another official pickup point at your terminal. Once everyone has their bags, ring or text the driver and they'll tell you exactly where to walk.
If fog or a storm diverts your flight to another airport, call us as soon as you know where you've landed. We'll do what we can to collect you there.
For late-night arrivals, the roads back into London are usually clear. For early-morning long-haul arrivals around 6am, they aren't. The inbound M4 builds up quickly from about seven on weekdays.
The hotels on the Bath Road
Many Heathrow hotels sit along the Bath Road on the northern edge of the airport, with more at Terminals 4 and 5. Plenty of groups stay a night before an early flight or after a late arrival. We can collect from any of them, or drop a group there after a flight and pick them up for central London the next morning.
The hotels at Terminals 4 and 5 are linked to their terminals on foot, which makes them handy for the earliest departures. Bath Road hotels usually rely on a short drive or the local bus.
Hotel forecourts vary. Some take a minibus easily. Others have low canopies or tight turns, and the driver will pull in on the service road instead. Give us the hotel name and we'll check.
Charges and rules at the kerb
Heathrow charges for every vehicle dropping off on a terminal forecourt. Picking up through the short-stay car parks also costs, by the length of stay. These charges change from time to time, so we check them when we quote.
ULEZ covers the roads around Heathrow, as it does the rest of London.
Big groups and early starts
Heathrow is where luggage counts matter most. Long-haul travellers carry big cases, and a group of ten with two cases each won't fit a 12-seater. Tell us the number of large cases, plus any car seats, pushchairs or golf bags, and we'll suggest the size. Families with young children should mention car seats and pushchairs, because both take more room than people expect. Sometimes two smaller vehicles are better than one large one, especially if half the group are on different flights.
The busiest morning departures leave from about 6am. For a 7am flight from Terminal 5, a pickup from Wimbledon at around 4am is realistic. It feels early. It's the time that gets you through bag drop and security without running.
If the group is split across flights at different times, two vehicles usually beat one long wait at the kerb.
For Heathrow transfers from anywhere in London, call 020 7183 0567.