Secrets of Terminal 2 – navigating your way to the superior Star Alliance lounges
For most travellers departing from Heathrow Terminal 2, or more accurately the Star Alliance terminal, you will most likely end up in the Lufthansa Lounge. This is a perfectly serviceable space (review coming soon), but it’s a bit dreary and in peak times gets way too busy. This is due to it being located in the A gates area of Terminal 2 – where the majority of narrow body, short haul flights depart for places in Europe like Frankfurt, Stockholm and Lisbon. But did you know that even if your flight departs from the A Gates, you are still able to use the superior lounges in the B Gates? Even Heathrow’s Twitter Support team don’t know this….
Unfortunately, it’s not particularly well advertised anywhere on the internet that you can easily get to/from the A and B gates at Heathrow Terminal 2. If you’re at Heathrow Terminal 5 and want similar advise I recommend looking at this excellent thread on FlyerTalk for shortcuts on accessing the quieter British Airways lounges in Terminal 5 B Gates. Prior to visiting the terminal, my biggest concern was going to T2B and then not being able to get back – I shouldn’t have worried.
Once through security and border checks, you’ll arrive at the centre point of Terminal 2A. Here you’ll find all the key shops for the airport including high end luxury shops. Follow the sign towards the left side of the terminal, noting the sign says “Lounges B1-B3”.
Then you’ll end up at a World Duty Free. Keep walking forward until the space opens up and you can turn left.
Then you’ll end up at a World Duty Free. Keep walking forward until the space opens up and you can turn left.
Turn left at the lower level atrium.
Turn left past gate A16 and A15. You’ll then come up to a passageway just past a children’s play area at the end of the corridor, turn right here (apologies for the super blurry photo).
Either take the escalator or lift down to the lower level.
Then follow signs towards the B gates. This will take you down a long passage with moving travelator, in one direction, or you can choose to walk. It says it takes 15 minutes to get there however if you are young or fit, I say this takes more like 5-10 minutes at a gentle pace.
Follow the passageway through to the end and then head towards the escalators, stairs or lift up to the upper level.
There’s two sets of escalators you’ll have to follow and it’s very clearly labelled where you have to go.
Once at the top of the escalator, you’ll see a Caffe Nero on the right hand side – turn left for the Singapore Airlines or Air Canada lounge. United’s Club lounge is also located in this part of the terminal.
After about one minute, you’ll find the lift entrances to the Singapore Airlines or Air Canada lounges.
You’ll then be able to enjoy the much superior lounges over here in Terminal 2B. If you then have a departing flight from Terminal 2 A, note that the route to return is the same. The only differences will be:
Escalators only go in the direction of T2A -> T2B.
When this is the case, you will either need to take the lift between floors to go back to the passageway
Travelators too also only go in the direction of T2A -> T2B – here you will need to walk on the free area in order to return to the A Gates
When does it make sense to come to these lounges?
Definitely, if you have a flight departing from B gates you should be visiting these if you have access. The food offering is far superior over Lufthansa in the A gate and it is close to where your plane will take off from.
If you’re flying Lufthansa or any airline departing from the A gates, then only visit these lounges if you have more than 60-90 minutes before your flight begins boarding. This is due to the relatively long walk, for an airport, to the gate. The food and drinks are generally better, particularly once the Air Canada or United lounges reopen, but please just ensure you leave enough time to get back to your A gate. The screens at T2B do not display flights departing from the A gates so I advise checking your airline’s app or tracking your flight on the Heathrow Airport app.
