Heathrow Airport T5A - T5B - T5C transit train.

[Mag_seven]

Geneva trusts the security of certain countries and thus arrivals are sometimes straight into the terminal - the UK is one such country.

On my last trip to Zurich (from LHR), I was most surprised to have to walk through the departures lounge to exit. It just doesn't seem right to be able to mingle with departing passengers!

 

[Royston Vasey]

I work in Terminal 5. You can also walk from T5A to T5B and T5C via the adjacent tunnel. It's earily quiet and spooky as well as surprisingly wide. Very few people know it exists never mind use it. All you'll ever see are the buggies taking wheelchair passengers to and from flights and the very occasional member of staff.

I do use it for the peace and quiet and exercise and it's also a good way to avoid angry passengers during periods of disruption who like to bite our heads off if eye contact is made. You can hear the 'trains' whilst walking the the tunnel.

I've used it before as a passenger just for a change, as I was only going to 5B

 

[paddington]

On my last trip to Zurich (from LHR), I was most surprised to have to walk through the departures lounge to exit. It just doesn't seem right to be able to mingle with departing passengers!

It wasn't the "departures lounge", just the airside area, since it contained arriving passengers!

Only certain countries have a problem with this.

In the entirety of the USA departing and (domestic/precleared) arriving passengers mix, but obviously international arriving passengers need to go through customs first and have a security check. However, once you have been through TSA you can stay airside indefinitely as long as the airport doesn't close, or you have a flight... I know a few people who have not left the airside area for a week, flying back and forth several times to collect thousands of airline miles on cheap fares (there are overnight flights from west coast to east coast).

This is why TSA at tiny rural American airports can be so anal, because they are scared that they are going to allow a terrorist to get to JFK without any further screening.


The same is true for most of Europe, which trusts EU and USA airports, so it gets quite complicated. From LHR-ZRH, no further security is needed but you do need to enter the Schengen area, but if you are coming from Germany, no security or passport control is needed. If you are coming from Asia, then security is needed if you are transferring, but not if you are exiting into Zurich. However, passport control is needed if you are exiting or transferring to a Schengen flight, but not if you are transferring to the UK.

The UK, however, only trusts security at other UK airports. You can experience departing and arriving passengers mingling when you come off domestic flights to e.g. EDI or GLA. This was also the case at LHR T1's domestic area until the 1990s.

 

[rebmcr]

The UK, however, only trusts security at other UK airports.

Which is absurd, given the relative upgrade for many major continental terminals compared to (for example) Belfast Intl.

 

[AlterEgo]

A lot of small regional airports in the USA don't have a TSA presence. They have private contractors instead.

Hell, even San Francisco ditched the TSA and have their own guys!

 

[Bletchleyite]

On my last trip to Zurich (from LHR), I was most surprised to have to walk through the departures lounge to exit. It just doesn't seem right to be able to mingle with departing passengers!

It does feel a bit odd. You also get it on UK domestics e.g. Edinburgh (except for one gate right at the end). Not all of them, though, it depends on whether the airport is set up for connections or not. (For example Luton has no exit from the departure lounge, you have to be escorted back through security if you need to get back out e.g. because of a cancellation).