Air France and KLM are moving out of Heathrow Terminal 3 and returning to their original home in Terminal 4 at the start of the Northern hemisphere summer timetable on March 26.
This has drawn some criticism from members of the travel community, on more than one count.
A. Inconvenience – Virgin Atlantic is now a SkyTeam member like Air France and KLM, and it has said it will remain in Terminal 3, along with Delta. When passengers have a short connecting time from a Virgin or Delta flight, arriving or departing in Terminal 3, will they have enough time to get to the AF/KL flight in Terminal 4? And will they want to put up with the long trip from one terminal to the other? And what is the point of splitting up the SkyTeam members?
B. Passengers had been able to enjoy the No 1 Lounge in Terminal 3 but the SkyTeam Terminal 4 lounge has been closed since 2021 and, apparently, permanently. Business Traveller says it received confirmation from SkyTeam that its lease has expired.
C. Access to central London via the Heathrow Express was easy as the trains depart from Terminal 3.
D. Air France and KLM have had more moves at Heathrow than make sense since the onset of COVID. The two airlines had to temporarily move out of Terminal 4 and operate from Terminal 2 following the closure of Terminals 3 and 4 from May 2020 to July 2021. Then, July 2021 saw the return of Virgin and Delta to Terminal 3 and, in August 2021, Air France and KLM returned to Terminal 3, joining Delta, their fellow SkyTeam member, and Virgin, which at the time did not belong to an alliance (since then, Virgin has joined SkyTeam). The move to Terminal 4 will be AF/KL’s fourth location change since May 2020.
