JN-01The central terminal area is a different world from Terminal 4 and Terminal 5
The central terminal area is a different world from Terminal 4 and Terminal 5
The airport grew outward over several decades and it shows in the geography. What began as a cluster of buildings in the middle of a runway layout has acquired satellites to the south and the west, each with its own approach, its own car parks and its own relationship to the road network. From the air it reads as one place. From a car it reads as three separate destinations that happen to share a name, a perimeter road and a set of signs that assume you already know which one you want.
Terminals 2 and 3 sit together in the middle of the airport, reached through the tunnel from the M4 spur. Terminal 4 sits to the south and Terminal 5 to the west, each with its own approach road. That geography matters because moving between them by car is not quick, and moving between them by train or bus with luggage is slower still.
The practical rule is that a car sent to the wrong terminal at Heathrow costs you twenty minutes at best. It is why the flight number, not the airline name, is the thing that should be on a booking.
