Terminal 5 is not one building. It is three: T5A, where you check in, and two satellites, T5B and T5C, reached only by a driverless underground train. If your gate is in a satellite, you need fifteen to twenty minutes more than you think, and Heathrow asks you to be at the airport three hours before an international flight.
T5 is British Airways' main Heathrow hub and, according to Heathrow, the largest free-standing building in the United Kingdom. It has its own station underneath, called Heathrow Terminal 5, served by the Piccadilly line, the Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express. Our guide to Heathrow's terminals compares all four; this page is only about T5.
Two facts decide most T5 journeys. The Tube takes six or seven minutes longer to T5 than to Terminals 2 and 3. And on the Elizabeth line only two trains an hour come this far, against six to Terminals 2 and 3.
Heathrow Terminal 5 at a glance
- Airlines
- British Airways' main Heathrow hub. Check your own airline's terminal before travelling
- Buildings
- T5A (check-in and main gates), T5B and T5C (satellites, reached by the track transit system)
- Station
- Heathrow Terminal 5, under the terminal. Fare Zone 6
- Piccadilly line
- 54 minutes from Piccadilly Circus, 62 from King's Cross St Pancras, direct. £5.90 pay as you go at any hour
- Elizabeth line
- Two trains an hour, every 30 minutes. £15.50 from Zone 1, inside the daily cap
- Heathrow Express
- 15 minutes Paddington to Terminals 2 and 3, about 6 minutes more to T5. £26 single. Outside the caps
- Arrive
- Heathrow recommends 3 hours before an international flight, 2 hours domestic
T5A, T5B and T5C: which building your gate is in
Everything passenger-facing starts in T5A: check-in, bag drop, security and the main departure lounge. From there, some gates are a walk within the same building and some are in T5B or T5C, two separate satellite buildings out on the apron with no walking route to them. Heathrow's own description is straightforward: the three buildings are linked by a driverless track transit system.
You do not usually know which satellite you are going to until the gate is announced, and at T5 gates are often announced late. That is the single fact this page exists to deliver: after security, the distance between the seat you are sitting in and your aircraft door can be either four minutes or twenty, and you will not be told which until the board changes.
Do not settle down more than one screen away from the departure boards at T5. If your gate turns out to be in T5B or T5C you have to walk to the transit platform, wait for a train, ride it and then walk the length of a satellite pier. Treat a gate call at T5 as a twenty-minute instruction, not a five-minute one.
The transit train, and the rebuild that has been going on all year
The track transit system is an automated shuttle in a tunnel under the taxiways. During 2026 Heathrow has been replacing the entire fleet: twenty new vehicles, ten of them replacing cars that had reached the end of their working life and ten expanding the fleet. Heathrow says the project was expected to run until mid-2026 and is intended to cut waiting times and ease congestion as passenger numbers grow.
The other change is to the layout: the system is moving from a linear shuttle to a figure-of-eight loop, which the airport says allows more efficient operation and more resilience. In practice that should mean shorter waits at the platform than T5 has had for the last few years. Each new car was lowered into the tunnel overnight through a sliding roof in the grass between the buildings, with half a metre of clearance.
None of that changes what you should do. Allow for the ride, and if the transit is running slowly, which it occasionally does, tell a member of staff rather than joining the back of the queue and hoping.
Getting to T5 from central London: three trains, one platform level
| Route to T5 | Time | Adult fare | Counts towards the daily cap? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piccadilly line from Piccadilly Circus | 54 minutes | £5.90 pay as you go, any hour | Yes |
| Piccadilly line from King's Cross St Pancras | 62 minutes | £5.90 pay as you go, any hour | Yes |
| Elizabeth line from Paddington | About 34 minutes, twice an hour | £15.50 from Zone 1 | Yes |
| Heathrow Express from Paddington | About 21 minutes | £26 single; advance from £10 | No |
Journey times on the Piccadilly line are from TfL's own Journey Planner, sampled for a weekday late morning. The Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express figures add the terminal extension to the published Paddington-to-Terminals-2-and-3 times of 28 and 15 minutes.
The Piccadilly line is the cheap option and, from the West End, only about twenty minutes slower than the Elizabeth line once you count the walk to Paddington. Our comparison of Heathrow Express and the Elizabeth line does the arithmetic for couples and families, and Heathrow to central London covers every option including coaches and taxis. The line itself, and what the trains are like, is in our Piccadilly line guide.
The Elizabeth line trap at Terminal 5
All six Elizabeth line trains an hour call at Terminals 2 and 3. Only two continue to Terminal 5, which means a worst case of a thirty-minute wait on a platform with a flight to catch. Four an hour go to Terminal 4.
If you have just missed one, the fix is to take any Elizabeth line train to Terminals 2 and 3 and then ride the free inter-terminal service on to T5. Both legs are free between terminals if you tap the same contactless card or Oyster in and out, or take a free inter-terminal ticket from a machine. Our Elizabeth line guide explains the service pattern.
Arriving in the middle of the night
T5 is the one Heathrow terminal with a Tube service through the night at weekends. On Friday and Saturday nights the Piccadilly line's night service runs Cockfosters to Heathrow Terminal 5 and calls at 38 of the line's 53 stations. There is no night service to Terminal 4 and none on the Uxbridge branch, so if you land at T4 at three in the morning the Tube is not an option.
The other all-night route is the N9 bus, which runs from Terminal 5 via Heathrow Central Bus Station to Aldwych, through Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross. Bus fares are £1.75 until 1 November 2026, when they rise to £1.85. A black cab to central London costs £70 to £120 and takes 30 to 60 minutes at any hour. Our pages on late-night airport transport and the Night Tube have the rest.
Security at T5: what can stay in your bag
Heathrow has installed new scanners across the airport, and the practical consequences are worth knowing before you pack. Liquids can stay in your cabin bag, in containers of up to two litres each. Laptops, tablets and other large electronics can stay in the bag as well. Metal and insulated bottles must be emptied before security; you can refill them afterwards.
That is Heathrow's rule, not the United Kingdom's. Other London airports differ, and Stansted still enforces a 100ml container limit. Our page on airport security and the liquid rules in Britain sets out what each airport does, which matters most on the way home.
How early you really need to be
Heathrow recommends three hours before an international flight and two hours for a domestic one. For T5 specifically, treat three hours as the number rather than the maximum, for three reasons: bag drop queues at T5A are long at the two morning peaks, everyone goes through one central security hall, and the walk to a satellite gate can take twenty minutes.
If you are travelling hand-luggage only, off-peak, and know your way around, two and a half hours is comfortable. If you are checking bags on a summer Saturday morning, three hours is right and three and a half is not paranoid. Fast Track through security can be pre-booked and costs £12.50 as a standalone product on Heathrow Express; the airport also sells it directly.
Lounges, the hotel next door and the drop-off charge
You do not need a business-class ticket to use a lounge at T5. Heathrow lists Club Aspire and Plaza Premium as independent lounges here, both bookable by anyone, plus a Be Relax spa. Our guide to airport lounges in London compares prices across the London airports and explains when a lounge is worth it.
For an early departure, Heathrow lists the Sofitel, with more than 600 rooms, a short walk from the terminal. Our page on staying near Heathrow covers what the walkway hotels cost against the ones that need a shuttle. If someone is driving you, note the Terminal Drop-Off Charge of £7 per entry, which applies at T5 like everywhere else at Heathrow.
Moving between T5 and the other terminals for nothing
You can travel free between Terminals 2 and 3, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 on the Elizabeth line, and free between Terminals 2 and 3 and Terminal 5 on Heathrow Express. Tap the same card in and out, or pick up a free inter-terminal ticket from a machine. The Underground and the H30 bus are also free between terminals.
Allow for the frequency rather than the ride. The train takes minutes; the wait for a T5 Elizabeth line service can be half an hour. If you are connecting between two separate tickets, or meeting someone landing at a different terminal, read our Heathrow arrivals guide and, for long gaps, Heathrow with a long layover. Anyone who needs assistance should book ahead through special assistance at London airports.
Windsor is fifteen minutes from Heathrow by bus. If you land at T5 in the morning and cannot check in until mid-afternoon, Windsor is closer to this terminal than central London is. Our guide to Heathrow to Windsor and Legoland has the bus and the fares.
Frequently asked questions
How many buildings does Heathrow Terminal 5 have?
Three: T5A, which holds check-in, security and the main departure lounge, and two satellite buildings, T5B and T5C, out on the apron. The satellites can only be reached by an automated underground train, the track transit system, which Heathrow has been re-equipping through 2026.
How long does it take to get from Terminal 5 to the gate?
If your gate is in T5A, a few minutes' walk. If it is in T5B or T5C, allow fifteen to twenty minutes: walk to the transit platform, wait for a train, ride it, then walk the length of the satellite pier. Gates at T5 are often announced late, so do not sit far from a departure board.
Which airlines use Heathrow Terminal 5?
Heathrow describes Terminal 5 as British Airways' main Heathrow hub. A full airline-by-terminal list is not something we can verify reliably, so check your airline's terminal on Heathrow's own "which terminal" page before you travel. Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 are all operating; Terminal 1 is closed.
How do I get to Terminal 5 from central London?
The Piccadilly line runs direct: 54 minutes from Piccadilly Circus, 62 from King's Cross St Pancras, at £5.90 with contactless or Oyster at any hour. The Elizabeth line from Paddington is faster but only twice an hour to T5, at £15.50 from Zone 1. Heathrow Express is the quickest and the most expensive at £26 single, and it does not count towards the daily cap.
How early should I get to Heathrow Terminal 5?
Heathrow recommends three hours before an international flight and two hours for a domestic one. At T5 we would take the three hours literally if you are checking bags at a morning peak, because bag drop, one central security hall and a possible satellite gate all sit between you and the aircraft.
Sources
- Heathrow - Terminal 5 guide (checked September 2026)
- Heathrow - Track transit trains arrive at Heathrow (17 April 2026) (checked September 2026)
- Heathrow - Checking in: when to arrive (checked September 2026)
- Heathrow - Security and baggage: liquids and electronics (checked September 2026)
- Transport for London - Journey Planner, Piccadilly Circus to Heathrow Terminal 5 (sampled for 1 October 2026) (checked September 2026)
- Transport for London - Night Tube (checked September 2026)
- Transport for London - Getting to and from Heathrow on the Elizabeth line (checked September 2026)