There are alternatives but it is only a matter of time before other European airports adopt similar measures already in place at Heathrow, according to experts.
London also remains the most convenient stopover for most connecting flights to the United States. In addition British Airways offers attractive fares for business travellers, according to Peter Krawczack from the German Travel Association (DRV) in Berlin.
But Georg Jegminat, an aviation expert from Hamburg, says 'it is certainly possible to avoid London.' Both Paris and Frankfurt - the second and third most important European airports - offer numerous long distance flights.
Choosing Paris, Frankfurt or Madrid for flights to the United States will only find slightly less nonstop flights. In such cases good connections are available in terms of the Codesharing agreement.
Passengers flying to China or India can avoid London without much of a problem. 'China is the number one market of the future for all carriers with India following closely behind,' says Krawczack. Many direct flights are available from Frankfurt or Munich.
For connections to Australia, London has traditionally offered a bigger choice. British Airways and the Australian carrier Quantas offer six flights per day to Sydney and Melbourne. In Frankfurt Qantas offers only one flight per day to Sydney.
Flights to Australia are also offered from Frankfurt by Asian and Arab airlines with stopovers in Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong or Dubai.
Madrid and Lisbon play an important role for flights to Central and South America. Paris and Brussels traditionally have many connections to Africa.
The question however remains whether tourists have to pay more for their tickets by avoiding London. Experts like Krawczak recommend early bookings. 'Tourists generally are more flexible than business travellers,' he says.
British Airways meanwhile refuses to reveal how many passengers are changing to other airlines to avoid the security logjam in London.
In the medium term there is little reason to choose alternatives to London. 'I expect similarly strict security checks at all the European airports by the summer of 2007 which will remove London's current disadvantage,' says expert Goerg Jegminat.
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