BA to begin First Wing ‘refresh’ in Terminal 5 on Monday

Say what you will about British Airways, but you won’t find many people with a bad word to say about the First Wing in Heathrow Terminal 5.

If you are arriving at Terminal 5 in a car and are dropped off in the right spot, you can be kerb to Galleries First lounge in just a couple of minutes if its not busy.

Admittedly, if you arrive by rail, it’s a bit of a trot down the full length of Terminal 5, but if you are a Gold card holder you will be heading that way for Galleries First anyway.

The First Wing hasn’t had a refurbishment since it opened in 2017.

However, starting on Monday, the area will receive a ‘refresh’. The First Wing will remain open with the work being done overnight.

One check-in desk will be temporarily closed from mid September, but with 14 desks to use it is unlikely to make any difference to the experience.

It isn’t clear what will change as part of the work. ‘Refresh’ generally means a lick of paint and a bit of reupholstery, but BA is also using the word ‘redevelopment’ which implies a little more. Let’s see.

As a reminder, the First Wing security channel has the same access rules as the Galleries First lounge, because it leads you directly into it.

This means that you need to be travelling in First Class or have a British Airways Club Gold card or oneworld equivalent. A Gold cardholder is only allowed one guest so a family of four can only go through if both parents are Gold.

Slightly confusingly, the rules for using the First Wing check-in desks are different. You can check in there as long as there is just one Gold cardholder on the booking, irrespective of the number of people. You would need to leave the Wing and take the short walk to South Security instead of using the First Wing channel.