A Department Store With an Airport

I have always dreaded having to transfer through London's Heathrow, the world's busiest airport. My biggest complaint is having to take a bus from one terminal to another through something called the "Flight Connections Center." There you typically stand in a long line to go through security (after having gone through it before at the place of origin) and then you have to wait for the bus to take you to your connecting terminal.

Today, the security line was short, but the bus was overloaded with sweaty, coughing, smelly people. I'd much rather walk through the wide hallways of a San Francisco or Amsterdam airport.

After arriving at Terminal 3 I had to walk through small hallways with a crowd of people. The halls didn't have any windows, there were signs everywhere warning for uneven flooring and the floors were uncarpeted, that's because they are working on making this an "airport London can be proud of," according to signs posted everywhere as well.

Then I ended up in a department store, complete with the fragrance and make-up section. It is like Macy's in the U.S. I have been locked up in the department store for several hours now. You're not told a gate number until about an hour prior to departure. If you venture out to any gates seeking the peace and quiet of a waiting area not surrounced by shops, the scent of the latest aftershave or tons of restaurants, you're stopped and told go to back to store area to wait until a gate is posted.

So, while the shops may please a lot of travelers, I once again prefer SFO or AMS where you can choose to be in an area with shops, or in a quieter zone without that circus all around you. A good reason to avoid traveling through Heathrow in the future.