Heathrow

Wear a mask!

Those were built as cycle paths when the airport opened in 1948.

"No cyclists or pedestrians"

There's me thinking that airports want to show green credentials!

Temporary, I'm sure. There's been a lot of work going on around that location.

it's hard to see what other use can be intended for the tunnels in the medium to long term.

It doesn't say that. It says "No cycling or pedestrians." That means you can push your bike through as long as you're wearing roller skates.

Bill

Looking at the picture the entry to the tunnel is blocked by construction signs on temporary fencing and if you look a little before the block in between the dashed white lines there is a cyclist image. If you then look at the bottom of the image there is a sign telling pedestrians to wait here for a bus. Looks to me like they are converting the tunnels back for use by cyclists.

They seem to imply cycling will be allowed again from 2023, but perhaps for employees only?

I don't think I've ever seen bicycles parked in any of the passenger car parks or areas at Heathrow (or any airport) not even Schiphol

According to their web site, Heathrow has bicycle parking at Terminals

One of my sons is soon flying back to the UK and bringing his bicycle. It will be in a specially designed cardboard box which is used to transport bikes. He'll be travelling onward by rail.

In the UK you need to book ahead if you want to bring a bike onto a train but you don't need to book ahead if you want to bring a box. Now here's the question: to the train operating companies, is a bike in a box a bike or a box?

Nick

I must look out for someone with a 23kg suitcase strapped to a bicycle on their way to a fortnight in Florida

A relative of mine used to work for BA at Heathrow, and rode his bicycle to work most days.

Well yes, I can imagine a few would do that, but how many passengers do the same, it would most likely only be people going for a day drip, or overnight stay, and that's mostly business folk, who tend to use 4 wheeled transport

There is nothing of mine quoted above.

Does the box protect other train users from injury / damage by sharp bits of the bike, oil, etc?

I used to fly from Gatwick for a week or two away with only hand luggage and even that wasn't essential. It only contained things, like chocolate digestive biscuits, that I couldn't buy near my house in France. Admittedly I didn't cycle there, but Gatwick has a good train service.

I imagine that, if it has been apporved by the airlines, it would do all that. I guess it will be something like this:

...only made in Canada.

Nick

I cycled to Gatwick once. The route directed me along a path by the side of the A23 sliproad, but there was no cycle parking. So I locked my bike to a tree by a lake and entered the terminal through a small staircase next to a road underpass, which took me up several flights of stairs to emerge at a small door between two checkin desks. I got the impression cycling to Gatwick was not a thing (this was 1998).

(I was staying locally and Gatwick had the nearest branch of Waterstones, which I wanted to visit. Unfortunately they had failed to mention that the branch was airside hence inaccessible without a flight)

Theo