In a candid interview published on 13 February, Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said that cultural habits – Britons keeping left, continental Europeans keeping right – are a surprisingly large factor in Terminal 5’s crowding issues. Observations during peak waves show pedestrian collisions increasing dwell time by up to 12 percent, enough to trigger queue spill-back at security and immigration e-gates.
The airport has commissioned behavioural-design specialists to trial floor arrows and overhead lighting that subtly nudge passengers into a single-file flow. If successful, the system will be rolled out across all terminals before the summer holiday surge, when Heathrow expects to top pre-pandemic traffic for the first time.
![Heathrow chief blames ‘left-right confusion’ for Terminal 5 congestion as passenger volumes rebound]()
While Heathrow works on smoothing physical flows, travelers can streamline the paperwork side of their journey in advance. VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) guides passengers through the forthcoming ETA requirements and any UK visa applications, offering step-by-step support and real-time status updates so they spend less time worrying about documents and more time navigating the terminal.
Woldbye reiterated the case for a third runway but warned that even expansion will not safeguard Heathrow’s hub status if passenger experience lags rival airports in Istanbul and Dubai. The airport is therefore investing £80 million in Sustainable Aviation Fuel subsidies and smart-queue technology to shave minutes off border processing times once the government’s new ETA system is live.
For corporate travel buyers the message is mixed: slot availability may improve with expansion, but short-haul punctuality will remain vulnerable to terminal congestion until flow-management measures are proven. Travellers with tight connections should allow extra buffer time at T5 until at least Easter.
The airport has commissioned behavioural-design specialists to trial floor arrows and overhead lighting that subtly nudge passengers into a single-file flow. If successful, the system will be rolled out across all terminals before the summer holiday surge, when Heathrow expects to top pre-pandemic traffic for the first time.
While Heathrow works on smoothing physical flows, travelers can streamline the paperwork side of their journey in advance. VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) guides passengers through the forthcoming ETA requirements and any UK visa applications, offering step-by-step support and real-time status updates so they spend less time worrying about documents and more time navigating the terminal.
Woldbye reiterated the case for a third runway but warned that even expansion will not safeguard Heathrow’s hub status if passenger experience lags rival airports in Istanbul and Dubai. The airport is therefore investing £80 million in Sustainable Aviation Fuel subsidies and smart-queue technology to shave minutes off border processing times once the government’s new ETA system is live.
For corporate travel buyers the message is mixed: slot availability may improve with expansion, but short-haul punctuality will remain vulnerable to terminal congestion until flow-management measures are proven. Travellers with tight connections should allow extra buffer time at T5 until at least Easter.
