What’s it like to walk underneath Heathrow airport?

The quiet alternative to the transit train at Heathrow T5

Below the planes at Heathrow T5 is the transit train that moves passengers between Terminals 5A, 5B and 5C. Below that is a little known walkway. Open to the public, you can, with the help of a travelator, zip between the three terminals, avoiding the packed train.

Why would you want to walk between terminals?

The transit trains are efficient, taking less than a minute between the three parts of Terminal 5. When you add on the time you have to wait for the train, it can take a lot longer. Those trains can also be busy, and that makes the process stressful.

Walking between terminals requires some legwork, although the travelators mean you’re actually walking for less than half of the journey, but:

1. Hardly anyone knows about it, or does it. When I’ve taken the walkways it will often be deserted. When I have seen other passengers it’s just a handful on the entire walk.
2. It’s quiet down there. No loud passengers, airport announcements or noises from the transit train.
3. It’s more predictable. You might get to the train platform and jump aboard one that’s just pulled in, or you could be stood there for five minutes.
4. Get your steps in before a flight. I’m not saying this is a great way to keep fit, but if you’re looking to add to your steps then this is better than walking around the crowded terminal building.

How do you walk between the terminals at Heathrow T5?

It’s easy to walk between the terminals, in fact you follow the same route as if you were taking the train. In the middle of T5 there’s a set of lifts and escalators that are signposted for T5B and T5C.

• If you’re taking the lift, press the button for “Floor -4”.
• If you’re taking the escalator, when you get to the bottom turn left instead of walking straight ahead. If you turn 180 degrees you’ll see the bank of lifts that would have taken you from the main terminal. Go to them, press the down button, then when you enter press the “Floor -4” button marked Walkway.

When you get out of the lifts on floor -4, turn left and then right again and you’ll see the tunnel straight ahead of you. That tunnel will take you all the way from T5A to T5C, with a stop off in the middle for T5B.

Step by step

Step 1 – Either take the lift or the escalator from Terminal 5, to find them follow the signposts for T5B/T5C. They’re located in the middle of T5A.

Step 2 – Head to floor minus four. If you’ve taken the lift from T5a then just hit the button for “-4” floor. If you’ve taken the escalator down, then immediately turn left and look 180 degrees back. You’ll see the bank of lifts. Press the call button and then take the lift down to the -4 floor.

Step 3 – When you reach Level -4, head out of the lift and turn right, then left again. The walkway is straight ahead of you.

Step 4 – exit the walkway at the midpoint for T5B, or at the end for T5C

How long does it take to walk between the terminals at Heathrow?

This depends on how fast you walk, typically it will take between 5 and 10 minutes. The video that I shot below took us just over five minutes. Remember that around half of the walkway has a travelator, so you can either stand still and conserve energy or walk at double the speed. I’ve seen some people say they can get from one end to the other (T5A to T5C) in six minutes. That would require a decent pace, but I imagine it’s possible.

If you really want to get the extra steps in, the travelator only covers the left hand side of the tunnel (if you’re going from T5a outwards, the right hand side if you’re doing it in reverse) so you can avoid it (and just walk) on the right hand side.

What’s it like down there?

The tunnel is pretty sparse but it’s not horrible or unsafe. There’s posters on the wall that add a bit of colour, along with on-brand purple lighting. It is a tunnel after all, but if that conjures up images of a sewer, or some sort of of antiquated coal mine, then don’t worry. It’s habitable and completely fine to walk through.

I took a video our our walk from T5A to T5B which you can see below, sped up.

How do you get out of the walkway and into T5B or T5C?

It’s just as easy to get out of the walkway as it is getting in.

If you want to jump out at T5B then there are very clear signposts that lead you to an escalator and a bank of lifts. The escalator takes you up to where the transit train arrives, then you take another escalator up to the departures are of T5B. If you take the lift, you can select the departures area and go there directly.

It’s the same approach at T5C; take a lift or take two escalators up to the gates.

What’s my reasons for walking through it?

It’s become a tradition of ours, maybe more so mine than my wifes, that on our outbound flight we do the walkways.

I do like to get my steps in, but I also like the fact that it’s peaceful and devoid of other human beings. When you’ve been stuck in an airport surrounded by people for an hour it’s nice to have some peace and quiet. Even if that is four floors underground.

We have never taken the reverse route, from T5C or T5B back to the main T5A.

If you’re arriving into T5B or T5C then you’ve probably had a long flight, and when we’re coming in from the US or Asia we just don’t have the energy to walk. It has never even crossed our minds to use the walkway after an overnight flight.