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
10:20 AM (UTC/GMT )2026-03-21
Average historical wait times
Unlock Wait Time Trends
Analyse security wait time patterns over time and plan your perfect arrival. Pay once, access forever.
Trend analysis
Peak time identification
Weekday breakdown
Wait Times by Day of Week
Average wait times based on the last 4 weeks of data.
3m
Mon
3m
Tue
3m
Wed
3m
Thu
3m
Fri
3m
Sat
3m
Sun
How Busy Is the Airport?
Based on live and historical flight patterns. Tap a bar to see details.
As busy as usual(44 flights vs 43 avg)
12
AM
1
AM
2
AM
3
AM
4
AM
5
AM
6
AM
7
AM
8
AM
9
AM
10
AM
11
AM
12
PM
1
PM
2
PM
3
PM
4
PM
5
PM
6
PM
7
PM
8
PM
9
PM
10
PM
11
PM
Not busy
A bit busy
Busy
Very busy
Unlock Smart Arrival Times
Pay once for lifetime AI-powered suggestions for optimal airport arrival times based on current conditions.
Personalised timing
Airport traffic considerations
Security wait factors
--
avg delay (min)
Last Updated: ----
Flight Delays
Current: 14 min(Lower than usual: avg wait time is 24 min)
Loading chart...
Flight Status
On Time (0-15 min)
Delayed (16-45 min)
Severely Delayed (>45 min)
Select a day to view flight status
Heathrow Airport Overview (LHR)
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).
Heathrow Airport FAQ
A £6 charge applies to every vehicle entering the terminal drop-off zones. You cannot pay this at a machine or barrier at the airport. You must pay online or via the automated telephone service (0330 008 5600) by midnight the day after your visit. Failure to pay on time will result in an £80 Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Regular visitors can set up “AutoPay” to automatically deduct the fee and avoid fines.
From the 1st of January 2026, the drop-off charge will increase from £6 to £7. Additionally, a maximum stay of 10 minutes will be introduced to the drop-off areas.
Yes. You can drop passengers off at the Long Stay Car Parks for free (up to 30 minutes). Passengers can then take a free shuttle bus to the terminal doors, which runs every 10–15 minutes.
Rules currently differ by terminal due to the rollout of Next Generation Security Checkpoints.
Terminals 2, 3, and 5: These terminals have largely upgraded to CT scanners, allowing liquids up to 2 litres to remain in your bag, along with laptops and electronics.
Terminal 4: This terminal may still operate older lanes where the strict 100ml limit applies. Liquids must be in containers of 100ml or less and fit in a single transparent, resealable bag.
Yes, Heathrow offers free, unlimited Wi-Fi. Select the network _Heathrow Wi-Fi and follow the on-screen registration instructions. It is accredited as “Friendly Wi-Fi,” meaning it filters inappropriate content.
If you remain “airside” (do not pass border control) and have a connecting flight on the same ticket, you generally do not need a full visitor visa, though you may need a Direct Airside Transit Visa depending on your nationality. However, starting in late 2025/early 2026, the UK is rolling out the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). While passengers transiting airside are currently temporarily exempt, this rule is subject to change, and you should check the official gov.uk site before travelling.
Airside (Connecting Flights): Follow the purple “Flight Connections” signs to take free dedicated buses between terminals. You do not need to collect your bags if they are checked through.
Landside (Separate Tickets): You can use the Heathrow Express and Elizabeth Line trains for free to travel between terminals (e.g., from Heathrow Central T2/3 to Terminal 4 or 5). You must get a free “Inter-terminal transfer” ticket from the machines or use a contactless card (you won’t be charged if you stay within the airport zone).
On the Aircraft: Contact your airline directly; they manage items left on their planes.
In the Terminal/Security: Heathrow’s lost property is managed by Smarte Carte. You must search their online database (LHR Lost & Found) to log a claim. Do not call the general airport switchboard as they cannot access the lost property vault.
Yes, security fast track is available for £12.50, you can pre-book book online. If you’re a frequent flyer, have purchased a premium ticket with your airline, fast track may be included with your ticket.
20,000+
Trusted by travellers monthly
Award Winner
UK Travel Awards
Similar Airports
Explore wait times for other airports in the region
Real-time security wait times, flight delay tracking, and airport busyness data — all in one place.
Security Wait Times
Live TSA, CATSA, and security checkpoint wait times by terminal and queue, with historical patterns to help you pick the best time to arrive.
Updates every 5–15 minutes from official feeds and crowdsourced reports
Per-terminal and per-queue breakdowns
Historical charts showing quietest times to fly
Flight Delay Tracking
Live status for individual flights with 14-day rolling delay averages, on-time rates, and side-by-side route comparisons.
Real-time departure and arrival status
Email alerts for delays and cancellations
Similar-flight performance comparisons
How It Works
1
Search
Find your airport or flight number
2
Check Live Data
See current wait times, delays, and busyness levels
3
Travel Smarter
Use insights and alerts to plan your journey
Official Sources
Data from TSA, CATSA, and airline systems
Always Current
Continuous updates throughout the day
Flight Alerts
Email notifications for delays and cancellations
Global Coverage
Hundreds of airports worldwide
Qsensor FAQ
Live data: For the majority of the airports we track we use live data from the airport. For the remaining airports we provide an estimate, and we communicate that it’s a best-guess only.
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.
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 that have inputted their wait time using the “Add Wait 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 110 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 thecontact form.
For flight delays and cancellations, we currently support 7 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!
For flight delays and cancellations, we track Gatwick, Heathrow, Barcelona and more.
Qsensor is available in English, German, Italian, Greek, Spanish, French, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese and Arabic.
Make sure you include the name of the airport and its IATA code in your request!
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.
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.
If you have a suggestion for an airport you want to be tracked or a feature added, share it via the contact form.
Simply refresh the page and you should see the premium content.
If you switch browser or device, click “Tap to Unlock” and then login with the account you used to pay for premium and then refresh the page.
Follow us on socials and the blog for updates onQsensors’development, helping travellers with airport wait times and flight delays, and letting everyone know whatQsensoris all about.
This FAQ section is updated periodically, please check back for updates. This FAQ was last updated on the 15th of March, 2026.
Testimonials
Samantha Novae
Euismod ipsum
“In purus at morbi magna in in maecenas. Nunc nulla magna elit, varius phasellus blandit convallis.”
More information
Are you looking for a different airport? Browse over 130+ airports worldwide.
Cookies
To make this site work properly, we sometimes place small data files called cookies on your device. Most big websites do this too.
Accept
Change Settings
Cookie Box Settings
Cookie Box Settings
Privacy settings
Decide which cookies you want to allow. You can change these settings at any time. However, this can result in some functions no longer being available. For information on deleting the cookies, please consult your browser’s help function. Learn more about the cookies we use.
With the slider, you can enable or disable different types of cookies:
This website will:
This website won\'t:
Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting
Essential: Allow session cookies
Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages
Essential: Keep track of what you input in a shopping cart
Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account
Essential: Remember language version you selected
Functionality: Remember social media settings
Functionality: Remember selected region and country
Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken
Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number
Analytics: Keep track of the time spent on each page
Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions
Advertising: Tailor information and advertising to your interests based on e.g. the content you have visited before. (Currently we do not use targeting or targeting cookies.
Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location
Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting
Essential: Allow session cookies
Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages
Essential: Keep track of what you input in a shopping cart
Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account
Essential: Remember language version you selected
Functionality: Remember social media settings
Functionality: Remember selected region and country
Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken
Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number
Analytics: Keep track of the time spent on each page
Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions
Advertising: Tailor information and advertising to your interests based on e.g. the content you have visited before. (Currently we do not use targeting or targeting cookies.
Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location
