LHR Test #3: From Gateside to Curbside

My latest Gateside to Curbside test took place at London Heathrow Terminal 3 on Sunday, October 25, 2026, following Virgin Atlantic flight VS156 from Las Vegas. Unlike my previous two Heathrow tests, this arrival took place at Terminal 3 rather than Terminal 2.

The flight touched down at 2:52 pm. Seventeen minutes later, I stepped off the aircraft and started the clock. We had two checked bags to collect and would be entering the UK through automated passport control.

At 3:32 pm, we emerged into public arrivals, 23 minutes after leaving the aircraft. Another 18 minutes later, we were aboard an Elizabeth line train, bringing the extended measurement to 41 minutes.

As with the other Gateside to Curbside tests, the clock starts when I step off the aircraft and stops when I reach public arrivals, after immigration, baggage reclaim and customs.

I walk at a normal pace, without overtaking passengers specifically to improve the result. I slow down to take photographs along the way, which also provide the timestamps, and any delays are included rather than adjusted away.

Touchdown time is recorded separately because landing and leaving the aircraft are different events. This test included two checked bags. For this arrival, I also continued recording the journey beyond public arrivals, stopping the extended measurement once we were aboard the Elizabeth line.

Elapsed times are measured from stepping off the aircraft at 3:09 pm.

Gateside to Curbside: 23 minutes.
Gateside to Elizabeth line: 41 minutes.
Touchdown to Elizabeth line: 58 minutes.

Virgin Atlantic flight VS156 from Las Vegas touched down at Heathrow at 2:52 pm.

It took another 17 minutes before I stepped off the aircraft at 3:09 pm. That interval is recorded separately from the formal Gateside to Curbside measurement.

We disembarked through a jet bridge rather than onto the apron. The passage was busy, with passengers moving steadily toward the terminal.

The first substantial component of the journey was the walk from the aircraft to passport control.

The route passed through a series of enclosed corridors, directional signs and moving walkways. A large Welcome to Terminal 3 sign appeared early in the journey, followed by Heathrow’s familiar yellow arrivals signs.

The corridors were busy enough to keep passengers moving in a fairly continuous stream, but there was no meaningful queue along the route. By 3:14 pm, five minutes after leaving the aircraft, I was on a moving walkway. The walk continued for another four minutes before reaching the passport-control entrance at 3:18 pm.

In total, nine minutes elapsed between stepping off the aircraft and reaching passport control. Most of that time was spent covering distance rather than waiting.

Arriving from Las Vegas meant clearing UK passport control. Heathrow’s signage separated passengers eligible for automated passport gates from those using the staffed all-passports desks. We were eligible to use the eGates and followed that route. The immigration hall was active, but the queue barriers leading toward the eGates were largely empty.

By 3:20 pm, I was approaching eGates 19 and 20. The gates were operating, and passengers were moving through without a substantial wait.

I cleared passport control at 3:21 pm, 12 minutes after leaving the aircraft, and entered the baggage-reclaim hall one minute later. The passport-control stage took three minutes, measured from reaching the immigration entrance at 3:18 pm to exiting the automated gates at 3:21 pm. The walk into baggage reclaim took another minute.

Baggage reclaim was the first stage where we spent a measurable amount of time waiting. We reached the hall at 3:22 pm and located the appropriate carousel. Luggage was arriving, but neither of our checked bags was immediately available.

At 3:27 pm, I photographed our first bag circulating on the carousel. The second was photographed a minute later, and by 3:30 pm we had collected both.

The complete baggage-reclaim stage took eight minutes, from entering the hall to having both bags in hand. That was the longest identifiable waiting period of the airport journey. It was not particularly onerous, but it accounted for more than one-third of the formal 23-minute measurement.

With both bags collected, we headed toward customs. We used the green Nothing to Declare channel and encountered no meaningful delay. By 3:31 pm, we were passing through the customs exit route.

At 3:32 pm, we had passed the exit doors, walked through the duty-free area and entered the public arrivals concourse beside the Marks & Spencer Food store. That stopped the formal Gateside to Curbside clock.

Gateside to Curbside: 23 minutes.

From touchdown at 2:52 pm to public arrivals at 3:32 pm, the complete interval was 40 minutes.

Seventeen of those minutes were spent aboard the aircraft after landing. The remaining 23 minutes covered the walk through Terminal 3, passport control, baggage reclaim and customs.

We continued recording the journey beyond public arrivals.

From the Terminal 3 arrivals concourse, we followed signs toward the trains serving Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3. The route involved another walk through the terminal complex, followed by lifts down toward the railway station. By 3:36 pm, we had reached the lifts to the trains. At 3:38 pm, we were at the station platform. The walk from public arrivals to the platform therefore took about six minutes.

We then waited for the next suitable Elizabeth line service. The train arrived at 3:49 pm, and by 3:50 pm we were aboard an eastbound service for Abbey Wood via Canary Wharf.

That completed the extended measurement.

Gateside to Elizabeth line: 41 minutes.

The journey from public arrivals to boarding the train took 18 minutes, including the walk to the station and the wait on the platform. We ended the measurement here rather than continuing to Paddington. Underground closures meant we would be leaving the Elizabeth line earlier and taking a different route home.

Breaking the airport journey into its component stages shows where the 23 minutes were spent.

The walk from the aircraft to passport control was the largest individual component of the airport journey, taking nine minutes. Baggage reclaim followed closely at eight minutes.

Passport control itself did not introduce a significant delay. The automated gates were operating, and the queue was short enough that the entire interval from the passport-control entrance to baggage reclaim took only four minutes. The onward journey was different. Reaching the railway platform took six minutes, but the wait for the train added another 12.

The airport and railway measurements therefore tell different parts of the story. The formal arrival process was completed in 23 minutes, while the complete journey from aircraft door to boarding a train took 41 minutes.

This Sunday afternoon arrival at Heathrow Terminal 3 took 23 minutes from aircraft door to public arrivals, including automated passport control and collection of two checked bags. The nine-minute walk to immigration and eight minutes in baggage reclaim accounted for most of that time.

Reaching the Elizabeth line platform took another six minutes, followed by a 12-minute wait for the train. We were aboard 41 minutes after leaving the aircraft. As always, these are measurements from one documented arrival rather than estimates of typical processing times.

·       LHR Test #1: From Gateside to Curbside

·       LHR Test #2: From Gateside to Curbside

Other Airports

·       SIN: From Gateside to Curbside (Singapore Changi)

·       NAN: From Gateside to Curbside (Fiji)

·       MEL: From Gateside to Curbside (Melbourne)

·       MXP: From Gateside to Curbside (Milan Malpensa)