please empty your brain below
I first read about the Heathrow free travel zone a few years ago on this blog, then made use of it a couple of times when staying at airport hotels. The hotels did their best to persuade customers that the only option was the £5-a-trip Hoppa so presumably they will be happy if the free travel zone is gone for good.

Alan | 12.06.21 - 8:03 a.m. | #

Odd timing in a way. With so few people travelling at the moment, it's hard to see it costing them much to fund the free travel.

Andrew S | 12.06.21 - 10:26 a.m. | #

I'm pretty certain the airport's funding cannot have been paid on a per passenger basis.

Arlu | 12.06.21 - 11:24 a.m. | #

I would have thought BAA paid a fixed sum to TfL for the service so it has been costing them a lot for little return.

Michael Roberts | 12.06.21 - 11:42 a.m. | #

Heathrow (the new(ish) name for BAA) says: 'We are hoping these changes will be short-lived and once Heathrow’s financial health has been restored, we plan to introduce an improved programme of subsidised and sustainable travel for our colleagues, communities and passengers.'

Peter | 12.06.21 - 11:53 a.m. | #

Hopefully Heathrow will be able to negotiate a new agreement based on passenger numbers so that this service can return.

I've used it many times and it was very convenient.

ADS | Homepage | 12.06.21 - 12:12 p.m. | #

We were fortunate enough to take advantage of it last Monday, and most lucky that there was no need to rearrange our flights from Portugal.

However, it was a bit of a busman's holiday as we were connecting to the X26 anyway at Hatton Cross. It would have been useful, of course, in the other direction.

In the future it will sadly be back to the bowels for the track connections.

Ken | 12.06.21 - 3:15 p.m. | #

Does this mean that walking to the airport (as Will Self did), is no longer possible if your flight departs from T2/3?

Only vehicles are allowed in the access tunnel and if you're paying to use the bus for that section, you might as well take it the whole way. And I wonder how the cycle access works...

James | 12.06.21 - 7:37 p.m. | #

I think walking and cycling and have been banned in the tunnel for a while now ("due to construction works" but probably permanently). I think there's some sort of transfer from Heathrow Academy, where the main cycle parking now is.

Al__S | 12.06.21 - 7:43 p.m. | #

There seems to be a footpath along the relevant part of the A30 so you could extend your walk to Terminal 4 and take the free train from there, I suppose. But it's much further to go if you're starting from Central London, or even somewhere half-feasible like Twickenham or Isleworth.

James | 12.06.21 - 7:49 p.m. | #











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