When planning a flight from Heathrow, here are some things to keep in mind to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Double Check Essential Items
When flying overseas always do a double check of your essential travel items. Forgetting your passport, visa, travel tickets or credit card is never a good idea. Double check you have them before leaving home.
Sort Out Your Cash
Don’t forget your spending money. You should always think about this well in advance of your trip. However, if you haven’t had the opportunity to change any money, there are plenty of places to do this at Heathrow Airport.
Save Money On Your Trip
Saving money is always a concern when you travel overseas. A few ideas for doing this include:
Find out if you can purchase a tourist pass if you are visiting a city.
Seek out Wi-Fi Hotspots by using a free Wi-Fi App on your phone. It will save you money on your data roaming costs.
See if you can get a tax refund on any items you have bought while on holiday.
Research any discounts in your destination for students, children and the elderly. Also look for discount vouchers for food, accommodation and attractions in your destination.
Stick to set menus when eating out as they are often cheaper.
Know What NOT To Pack
When packing your bags, it’s a good idea to be aware of what you should not pack in your hand luggage to help make things easier when you go through airport security.
Make sure any liquids are in containers of 100mls or less. Any containers you do have need to be clear and put inside a small plastic bag.
Ensure security staff are aware of any medications you are taking. Check in advance to see if you need a doctor’smedical note to cover you for any medication you do take.
There is also a list of items that are considered to be dangerous and should not be in your hand luggage, such as explosives or sharp items. A full list of these dangerous items can be found on the Civil Aviation Authority website.
Things To Do Nearby
If you get the chance to explore the area for a day or two, either before you depart or after arriving at Heathrow, your best bet is to head to London. There are many things to see and do in London, so book a hotel nearby, such as the Park Grand London Heathrow Gateway, which provides easy access to the city via public transport links.
There are often London Heathrow hotel deals to be found for those who wish to stay near the airport a bit longer to experience what the capital has to offer. You can even purchase a London tourist ticket – The London Pass – that enables you to have sightseeing and tourism for less.
New Rail-Link
Getting to Heathrow Airport, in the not too distant future, is going to become a lot easier for those travelling in the South of the United Kingdom.
Western Rail Access to Heathrow (WRAtH) is a direct rail link that has been proposed by Network Rail between the West of England and London Heathrow airport.
The new rail link will pass through Reading via Slough. It will improve access to the airport from the south coast, south west, south Wales and the West Midlands. The travel time between Reading and Heathrow will be reduced via this rail link. It will also reduce congestion at London’s Paddington Station for those that travel by rail to the airport. At the moment anyone traveling by rail has to use Paddington Station as the hub for catching the Heathrow Express, a direct train from Paddington to Heathrow Airport.
Construction of the WRAtH is anticipated to begin in 2017 and is scheduled for completion and to be operational by 2021.
So what will be the benefits of having a new rail-link to Heathrow Airport?
The new link will include a 3.3 mile long double track line that will be laid inside a tunnel. This tunnel will be between the Great Western mainline at Langley, Berkshire and Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport. Only 250m of the line will be above ground before it heads into the tunnel.
Congestion on other routes to Heathrow such as the M3, M4 and M25 motorways will be eased with the introduction of the new rail-link. It will also reduce CO2 emissions by the equivalent of one million road passenger trips.
The project will create employment opportunities for approximately 42,000 people and will result in more than £800 million of economic activity, including benefits for business in the region.
The first phase of consultation on the proposed link was completed in April 2015, with the second consultation completed in the second quarter of 2015. In early 2016, network Rail submitted the application for approval of the design of the new rail-link.
A full environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be carried out by Network Rail before finalisation of the project.
The EIA will evaluate surface water and flood risk, hydrogeology, contaminated land, waste and spoil disposal, traffic and transport, noise and vibration and socio-economic effects.
The new rail-link project will also include the construction of a 3 ½ mile long rail tunnel linking the main line at a new junction created between Langley and Iver Stations with London Heathrow Terminal 5.
The tunnel will allow passengers to travel to the airport from Reading via Slough. It will allow 4 trains an hour to run between Reading and Heathrow. The tunnel will be built between 10m and 30m below-ground and will be between 6m and 7m in diameter.
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