London Heathrow arrivals today

The live board below shows today’s Heathrow arrivals: scheduled time, estimated time, airline, origin, terminal and current status for every flight landing at London Heathrow today, updated continuously until the aircraft is on the stand. Heathrow handles around 650 arrivals a day in summer across Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5, so search the board by flight number or origin rather than scrolling. This page is built for the person doing the collecting: it tells you not just when the flight lands, but how long the walk to the arrivals hall takes and where to wait.

From touchdown to the arrivals hall, terminal by terminal

Landed is not the same as ready to collect. At Heathrow the gap between touchdown and a passenger walking through the arrivals doors is typically 30 to 60 minutes, and the terminal decides which end of that range applies. Terminal 5 is the slowest to clear when a British Airways long-haul flight parks at the B or C satellite: passengers ride the underground transit train back to the main building before they even reach passport control, and a full 777 or A380 can take the best part of an hour. Terminal 3, the long-haul terminal for Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Delta and American, has long walks from the far piers and the busiest passport queues of the morning, when the transatlantic flights land together between 05:00 and 08:00. Terminal 2 and Terminal 4 usually clear faster, especially for European arrivals with hand luggage only, where 25 minutes is realistic.

Every terminal has one public arrivals hall, and the exit doors are the meeting point; there is no way to reach a passenger before them. Check the terminal on this board before you set off, because the four terminals are separate buildings with separate car parks, and Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 are each a train ride from the others.

Reading the board, and following the aircraft in

The column to trust is the estimated time, not the scheduled one. The estimate follows the actual aircraft and is recalculated all the way in, so a flight that left Dubai 40 minutes late can still land close to its slot with a tailwind. The status column tells the rest: Expected means the aircraft is airborne and on its way, Landed means it is on the runway, and Diverted, rare at Heathrow but not unknown in fog, means it has gone elsewhere and the airline will tell passengers what happens next.

Two Heathrow habits explain most of the surprises on this board. The first is the holding stacks: on a busy morning inbound aircraft circle at four points around London before they are fed onto the approach, so a flight can be over the capital 15 minutes before it lands. The second is runway alternation: Heathrow lands on one of its two runways in the morning and switches at 15:00, which is why the same flight taxis for 5 minutes one day and 15 the next. To see where an aircraft actually is, take its flight number from the board and put it into the live flight radar on our homepage, or open the Heathrow flight radar and watch it turn onto final approach over west London.

Picking someone up: Elizabeth line, Terminal Parking and the forecourt rules

If you can, meet by train. The Elizabeth line runs to Terminals 2 and 3, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 direct from Paddington and across central London, and the Piccadilly line serves every terminal for the price of a Tube fare. Both drop you inside the airport with no charge to wait, and a train back with the passenger is often quicker than the drive out of the car parks.

By car, the terminal forecourts are for dropping off only: stopping there costs the £7 forecourt charge, read by number-plate cameras and payable by midnight the next day, and waiting is not permitted. The official pick-up point is Terminal Parking, formerly called Short Stay, beside each terminal, from £7 for up to 10 minutes and charged by the time you stay. Free pick-ups are possible from Zone A of the Park and Ride car park, with up to 29 minutes free and a free bus to the terminal. The sensible routine is to watch this board from home, drive in only once the flight shows Landed, and add the walk-through time above so you do not pay for an hour of circling.

Frequently asked questions

How long after landing do passengers come out at Heathrow?

Usually 30 to 60 minutes. European flights with hand luggage at Terminal 2 or 4 are quickest; a full long-haul aircraft at a Terminal 5 satellite or a Terminal 3 pier at the morning peak takes longest.

Which terminal will my flight arrive at?

The board shows the terminal for every flight. As a rule: British Airways at Terminal 5, Star Alliance airlines at Terminal 2, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Delta and American at Terminal 3, and KLM, Air France, Qatar Airways and Etihad at Terminal 4. Check on the day, because airlines do make exceptions.

Why has the estimated time moved later after the flight took off?

Headwinds over the Atlantic, a holding stack over London or a runway queue can all add minutes late in the flight. The estimate settles in the last half hour; the radar shows whether the aircraft is circling or already lined up for the runway.

Where are Heathrow departures?

On the Heathrow departures page, with terminal-by-terminal advice on how early to arrive and the drop-off charge.