Free planning tool · Not a taxi
When to leave to collect someone from Heathrow
Live arrival time + live traffic from your postcode. We don't send a car.
Example searches
Live flight status
Drive time from you
Your leave time
Collecting at Heathrow
Four terminals
Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5. Terminal 1 closed in 2015. They are far enough apart that the right one matters — check the flight before you set off.
Not the arrivals door
Heathrow allows drop-offs at the terminal forecourt but not pick-ups, and vehicles left unattended there are removed by police.
Waiting costs money
Collections are from the car parks, and each has its own charge and free period. Heathrow’s own passenger pick-up page is the only place those are current.
This is
A calculator for the person doing the collecting. Free, no account, no booking.
This isn’t
An airport taxi, Uber or meet-and-greet. We never take payment for a journey.
Heathrow questions
What time should I leave to collect someone from Heathrow?
It depends on the flight and on your traffic, which is what the planner above works out. As a rule, allow for the passenger to get off the aircraft, clear the border and collect bags before they reach the kerb — around 20 minutes for a domestic or Irish arrival, and longer after a long-haul flight — then add your own drive time on top.
Where do you pick someone up at Heathrow?
Not at the terminal forecourt. Heathrow allows drop-offs there but not pick-ups, and vehicles left unattended are removed. Collections happen from the car parks, and Heathrow's own passenger pick-up page sets out which ones serve each terminal and what they cost.
Which terminal will their flight land at?
Heathrow has four passenger terminals — 2, 3, 4 and 5. We do not hold the terminal for individual flights, so rather than guess we link straight to Heathrow's own page for that flight number on the result, where the terminal is published.
Does FlightPickup arrange the car?
No. It is a free planning tool and nothing more. We do not operate vehicles, employ drivers or take payment for journeys — we tell you what time to set off, and you drive.