Review: This terminal at Heathrow feels spacious, even in peak season
By Lee Tulloch
The airport
The sculpture Slipstream at Terminal 2.Credit: Steve Parsons/Getty Images
Heathrow Terminal 2 opened in 2014 at a cost of £2.3 billion and is known as The Queen’s Terminal because it occupies the site of the old Queen’s Building as well as the decrepit old Terminal 2. The building is split into terminals A and 2B and is home to Star Alliance and other airlines such as China Air. Lufthansa and Plaza Premium have lounges in the main terminal, while Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Aer Lingus and United Airlines’ lounges are in the satellite buildings.
The flight
I arrive at Heathrow Terminal 5 on BA 16 from Sydney via Singapore, then transfer by bus to terminal 2 to connect with SAS flight 526 to Stockholm.
The arrival
Light and spacious… The Queen’s Terminal.Credit: Anthony Weller/Getty Images
Thanks to the early hour of my arrival (5am) and a speedy and easy bus transfer from Terminal 5, I arrive at an almost empty terminal before 6am. As I’m in transit, I don’t need to go through the UK border, but I note there is absolutely no-one waiting on the line at immigration – a rare sight indeed.
The look
Designed partly by Foster + Partners, and Luis Vidal + Architects, the light, airy building with an abundance of glass was designed to produce 40 per cent less carbon emissions than the terminal it replaced, mostly by using extensive natural light and LED lighting. Like Terminal 5, it’s built in a “toast-rack” style, with the building and its satellites lying perpendicular to the runway. It still feels shiny and new, with shops and cafes on two levels around a central atrium.
Security
There are two people in the line in front of me, so it’s blissfully easy. It’s well-organised, with channels that are easy to follow and plenty of large trays for hand luggage. A security officer takes out a tube of sunblock from my plastic bag and places it in what looks like a microwave to test it. I’ve never seen this before.
Check-in
Creature comforts … Plaza Premium Lounge.
As I’m in transit, but don’t have a boarding pass, I’m directed to an easy-to-find SAS self-check-in kiosk immediately after the security line. It takes me less than a minute to get my pass. There are also airline representatives at counters around the corner if I need extra help, although SAS isn’t manned at that hour.
Food + drink
For a small terminal, there are plenty of good choices for places to have breakfast. I start off at Wondertree on the upper level, ordering a blueberry smoothie for £6 ($11.62.) This cafe has a menu that ranges from the big English breakfast (£14.50) to avocado smash and a Moroccan breakfast. I eventually sit at a high stool at The Perfectionists’ Cafe (couldn’t resist) under the atrium with several others who also have their laptops out. I befriend an Australian woman at the table and we mind each other’s laptops when we each go to the loo. It’s a very convivial space.
Pull up a stool at The Perfectionists’ Cafe.Credit: Alamy
Retail therapy
There’s limited shopping compared to some terminals, but there is a Ted Baker, Hamleys Toys, Harrods and several other ubiquitous stores such as Sunglass Hut. There is also a collection service if you wish to shop online first.
Passing time
I have a little less than five hours between flights, but it goes quickly, especially as I can set up my laptop, easily connect to good, free Wi-Fi, and work or surf the internet. For exercise, I walk around the two levels and look at the shops, but it’s not a big terminal.
The verdict
Perhaps the terminal works less well when it’s crowded, but I’m travelling in peak holiday season and even when it fills up it seems to run smoothly and does not feel overcrowded. The openness of the building with lots of sky really helps reset my circadian clock after the long flight from Australia.
The score out of 5
★★★½
The writer travelled as a guest of Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
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