Airport Airport

LHR Heathrow Airport Passport Control Wait Times

( Terminal T5 )
IATA Code:

LHR

Timezone:

UTC/GMT +1:00 hours

Airport local time:

Tuesday, 1:44pm


Wait times are steady
Updated today, Tuesday 23 June 2026
1:39 PM (UTC/GMT +1:00 hours)
Add Your Time
  • Data

    Qsensor makes use of data from Heathrow Airport Passport Control.

  • Disclaimer

    Waiting times may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

  • Airport Last Updated

    1:39 PM (UTC/GMT +1:00 hours)

Live Terminal Data

    Wait Times by Day of Week

    Average wait times based on the last 3 weeks of data.

    7m
    Mon
    8m
    Tue
    8m
    Wed
    7m
    Thu
    7m
    Fri
    6m
    Sat
    8m
    Sun

    The wait time at 1 pm for T5 is 6 minutes

    Based on data from the past 3 weeks.
    Current: 5 min (Similar to usual: avg wait time is 6 min)

    Wait Times by Hour of Day

    Other Wait Times at
    Heathrow Airport Passport Control

    LHR
    Security

    Heathrow Airport

    A Guide to Passport Control at Heathrow Airport

    London Heathrow is the United Kingdom’s primary aviation gateway and one of the busiest international hubs in the world. Located approximately 15 miles (24km) west of Central London, the airport acts as a city within a city, handling over 80 million passengers annually across its four active terminals (Terminals 2, 3, 4, and 5). As you arrive, having your passport and necessary documents ready will facilitate a smooth entry. Here’s what you need to know to navigate through passport control efficiently.

    Heathrow Airport Passport Control FAQ

    The European Union’s Entry/Exit System does not directly affect airport operations at London Heathrow (LHR).

    The EES is a digital border management system that applies only to the external borders of the Schengen Area. Since the UK is not part of the Schengen Area, there are no EES checks at Heathrow or any other UK airport.

    Ensure your passport is out of its cover and opened to the photo page before you reach the officer. Remove any hats, headphones, or sunglasses and put away your mobile devices. If you’re traveling with family, it’s advisable to stay together as you move through the control area to avoid any confusion or separation.

    You can use the automated eGates if you possess a biometric passport and are a citizen of the UK, an EU country, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, or the USA. Members of the Registered Traveller Service are also eligible.

    Additionally, as of July 2026, the minimum age limit has been lowered: children aged 8 and 9 can now use the eGates alongside their parents, provided they are at least 120cm (3ft 11in) tall. Unaccompanied minors or families with children under 8 must still use the manual desks.

    This depends on how your tickets were booked. If you are travelling on a single “through-ticket” for an international-to-international connection, your bags will transfer automatically. You can follow the purple “Flight Connections” signs and stay “airside” without passing through UK passport control. However, if you booked two separate tickets (self-connecting), you must pass through UK immigration, collect your baggage, and check in again.

    Furthermore, if you are arriving on an international flight and connecting to a UK domestic or Republic of Ireland flight, you are entering the Common Travel Area and must pass through border control and a facial biometric check.

    If your itinerary qualifies for “airside” transit—meaning you are on a single ticket, your bags are checked through, and you do not pass through UK border control—you are temporarily exempt from needing an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). If you are transiting “landside” (e.g., you booked separate tickets, need to re-check baggage, or are leaving the terminal), you are legally entering the country and must hold a valid ETA.

    ETA is a new requirement for visitors to the UK who do not need a visa is the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). This authorisation is necessary for various nationals, including those from Qatar and several other Middle Eastern countries, with specific start dates for each group. An ETA is valid for two years and allows multiple entries for tourism, business, study, or family visits. You can apply for an ETA through the UK government’s website.

    Generally, EU citizens can no longer use standard National Identity Cards to enter the UK and must travel with a valid biometric passport. The only exception is for EU citizens who hold pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme; they may continue using their ID cards until December 31, 2025. However, ID cards cannot be read by the eGates, meaning these passengers must queue for manual processing by a Border Force officer.

    Yes, Heathrow offers a “Fast Track Arrivals” service giving passengers access to a dedicated passport control lane to bypass the main queues. The service costs £25 per person during off-peak times and £35 per person during peak windows. It must be pre-booked online up to an hour before arrival; you cannot pay on-site. Be sure to check with your airline first, as this service is often provided complimentary to passengers flying in premium cabins or holding elite frequent flyer status.

    No, the UK does not operate routine physical immigration booths for departing passengers. The UK utilises a digital exit check system where your airline securely submits your passport data (Advance Passenger Information) to the Home Office prior to departure. You will only need to present your boarding pass and passport to airline staff and security; there is no government immigration queue to clear on your way out.

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    Live data: For the majority of the airports we track we use live data from the airport. For the remaining airports we provide a modelled projection, combined with crowdsourced data.

    Search: By airport name, IATA code, city, county, country or region. To save you time, we keep your last visited airports on the front page. If you can’t find an airport, contact us using the contact form and we will look to add it. 

    Current average wait time: The airport’s latest average security, passport control or customs queue wait time. If the airport has multiple queues, we display the average of them. If you want a more granular view that includes wait times for individual queues, take a look at the terminal level wait times. We regularly update each airport’s data,  but make sure you click the “i” icon to check when the last update was made.

    Terminal level wait times: The latest security or customs queue wait time for individual terminals. Click on the terminal to access more information at the terminal level. Please note that this data is not available for all airports. We are working to expand this functionality to as many airports as possible.

    Historical wait times: The typical wait time on different days and times over the past 2 weeks. Click the filter at the top right of the graph to cycle through the days of the week.

    Add a security or customs queue wait time: How was your airport security experience? Contribute to the community by inputting your wait time. This feature is only available for airports where Qsensor does not automatically track data. To add a wait time, simply click the “Add Your Time” button on the airports page and follow the instructions.

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    Please note that this data is monitored and may be modified or deleted if found to be invalid.

    Click the “i” icon to view and take note of more contextual information on each airport. “Airport Last Updated” denotes the last time the data was refreshed.

    Our sources for wait time data vary and may include air travel data aggregators, federal agencies such as the TSA, CATSA CBP, or information from the airport and its affiliated service providers. For some airports, Qsensor utilises its proprietary queue modelling technology to project wait times. Additionally, we crowdsource data from passengers who have input their wait time using the “Add Your Time” button.

    Qsensor is not affiliated with any airport, airline, or associated service provider.

    We regularly check queue times and flight delays for accuracy, however all times are estimates and waiting times and delays may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

    There are a wide array of ways that queue data is measured. Including but not limited to looking at how long a passenger takes to get from scanning their boarding pass to exiting the security or customs area. Auditing passengers on how long it took them to pass through security or customs as well as Qsensors’ proprietary system for user added wait times. 

    For airport wait times, we currently support over 140 airports worldwide. Whether it be London Heathrow, Istanbul, or Miami – we have got you covered. More are added all the time. Is Qsensor missing an airport that you want to be supported? We are more than happy to accommodate your request, get in touch via the contact form. 

    For flight delays and cancellations, we currently support 12 airports, with the goal of expanding coverage going forwards.

    Qsensor automatically tracks wait times for a variety of airports including London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Amsterdam Schiphol, Kempegowda Bangalore, Madrid Barajas, Hong Kong, Istanbul, and many more!

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    The flight delay tracker gives you a comprehensive view of flight status delays, both for the current day and historically on a per flight basis. Tap on a weekday to see all flights that have historically taken off on that day and their typical delay over the past two weeks. You can also search for your flight using your flight number and view the airport’s average delay.

    Get insights into flight on-time performance and make better travel decisions. Please note, this feature is not available for all airports, but we’re adding more all the time!

    To keep wait times relevant, the message “There is currently no data for this airport.” is shown when no traveller has recently inputted a wait time.

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    For airports Qsensor automatically tracks, this message may also be shown if we haven’t recently gotten data from the airport. This typically rectifies itself within 12 hours.

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