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As part of a wider set of terminal moves at London Heathrow and the consolidation of BA’s operations into Terminals 3 and 5, a number of long-haul BA flights are to move from Terminal 5 to 3 from Wednesday 14 October 2015.
These flights are Accra, Cape Town, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, Nairobi, Phoenix and Vancouver.
All of these flights are usually operated (with the exception of Miami A380 flights) by a Boeing 747 aircraft.
Denver is due to be upgraded from a Boeing 777 to a 747 from Sunday 29 March 2015. Miami is due to be upgraded to an Airbus A380 from 25 October 2015.
We suspect that some destinations were selected as first class has been removed from certain Boeing 747 routes, namely Las Vegas, Phoenix, Vancouver and selected Cape Town flights from 26 October 2014.
This move represents a restoration of long haul operations by BA at Terminal 3.
Prior to the opening of Terminal 5 in 2008, BA operated just one route to Miami from the terminal. Following the opening of Terminal 5, flights to Bangkok and Singapore operated from Terminal 3 before being moved to Terminal 5.
Some passengers may be disappointed to see flights move from Terminal 5 to 3, specifically due to fewer BA lounge facilities being available for eligible passengers (specifically the Concorde Room and Arrivals lounge).
However, we can attest from personal experience that Terminal 3 is much less congested than it used to be. Furthermore, BA has indicated at the Capital Markets Day of its parent company International Airlines Group that it will be investing to improve the passenger experience at Terminal 3, specifically for connecting passengers.
We also suspect that the move will provide some welcome relief at Terminal 5 which is showing signs of congestion.
Once this move is complete BA routes from Terminal 3 will be: Accra, Barcelona, Bilbao, Budapest, Cape Town, Denver, Gibraltar, Hanover, Helsinki, Las Vegas, Lisbon, Luxembourg, Lyon, Marseille, Miami, Nairobi, Phoenix, Vancouver, Vienna and Warsaw.
I only just found out about the move of the Cape Town flights to T3. Having arrived from Marseille at T3 this past Wednesday, all I can say is I’m totally disgusted. T3 is still the revolting terminal it always used to be and I’ll certainly be reconsidering whether I’d be better off moving to Virgin. I mean, if I have to suffer that awful terminal, I might as well do it with a more comfortable airline?!