British Airways Galleries South lounge, London Heathrow T5: Very good experience

It’s vacation time! And what better way to spend your vacations than in sunny Iceland?

I’m joking, but the English authorities haven’t left us much choice for the summer of 2021. So it’ll be Reykjavik in terms of air travel, and an Icelandic auto-tour in terms of tourism.

Here is the itinerary followed:

#	Type	Review
1	Diary	Iceland, here we come!
2	Lounge	British Airways Galleries South, London Heathrow T5
3	Flight	British Airways Business, London Heathrow – Reykjavic Keflavic, Airbus A320 NEO
4	Diary	Day 1, Reykjavik
5	Hotel	Hilton Reykjavik Nordica
6	Diary	Day 2, Golden Circle
7	Hotel	Hotel Vík í Myrdal
8	Diary	Day 3, Southern Iceland
9	Hotel	Hali Country Hotel
10	Diary	Day 4, The Eastern Route
11	Hotel	Icelandair Hotel Mytavn
12	Diary	Day 5, Diamond Circle
13	Hotel	Hofsstadir Guesthouse
14	Diary	Day 6, The Western Route
15	Hotel	ION Adventure Hotel, a Design Hotel member
16	Flight	British Airways Business, Reykjavik Keflavik – London Heathrow, Airbus A320 NEO

Today’s itinerary

Booking

I booked this plane ticket almost 5 months before the trip, as a wedding anniversary present for my wife, who dreamed of going to Iceland. The plane ticket cost me £350 in Business Class, a very good price for such a long flight, but also with the uncertainty of the tiresome rules of the UK Border Force, which has introduced Europe’s most restrictive system.

But two months before departure, Iceland, like Portugal, was put on the Green List, which means no quarantine on return, just a test on D2.

And unlike Portugal, the country has not been removed from the Green List!

Check-In and ground experience

We set off from our London home just over 2 hours before our flight, thanks to a perfect Wheely service.

The excellent Wheely that will take us to the airport today

We are dropped off 1h45 before our flight at the drop-off point in Terminal 5, from where BA operates at Heathrow.

Nice welcome with this *Union Jack* decoration at the entrance to Terminal 5

On entering the terminal, we head for the Business counters in zone H. The area is very busy, and we have to wait about ten minutes before we can check-in our luggage and collect our boarding pass.

Online check-in was not available for our flight, and we had two large pieces of luggage. Note that the check-in agent wasn’t particularly friendly and didn’t check any documents at all; he just asked us if we’d filled in the Icelandic form and if we had our proof of vaccination.

If people stand on the side of protective Plexiglas screens, what’s the point?

We then headed for security. Here, the Fast Track is open, although I don’t get the impression that the wait will be any shorter than at classic security.

Location

The current traffic restrictions at Heathrow mean that some lounges are closed.

In fact, only the Galleries South lounges are open.

Despite the display, the *Concorde Room* remains closed at this stage.

Getting around is a little tricky, due to the direction of traffic set up by BA: an escalator to the first level (where the First lounge is located), then an elevator to Galleries South.

The welcome is rather plain.

Lounge design

The lounge is very large. To the right of the entrance is a rather dark, cosy area, and to the left, a brighter, but also much busier space.

Who wants a lamp like this in their home?

Spaces are plentiful and crowds moderate.

This space, which benefits from direct sunlight, is more crowded.

Few crowds in these dining areas with indirect daylight.

Plexiglas screens were installed everywhere during the pandemic.

Even if the order is placed from an *app*, it’s still a bartender who prepares the drinks.

I really like the hushed atmosphere here.

The self-service press has disappeared, replaced by the digital version

Catering

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the buffet offer is no longer available in BA lounges. Instead, a QR code-scanning table service is available for both food and beverages.