Heathrow travelers celebrate: UK drops ETA rule for transit passengers after pushback
The United States has ESTA – the Electronic System for Travel Authorization – the visa that foreigners eligible for the visa waiver must still obtain to come here. The European Union keeps postponing its version, ETIAS or the European Travel Information and Authorization System.
Britain, however, launched its Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) this month. Americans and other visa-exempt citizens wishing to travel to the United Kingdom must apply and pay in advance now. And this new requirement was even applied to transfer passengers.
- This is a huge problem for British Airways, as it means it will lose a lot of business to Air France, Lufthansa and other carriers – connections at Heathrow will become heavier than they already are .
- And that’s a big pain for passengers, because it means that if you haven’t planned ahead, Heathrow and British Airways are even last-minute booking options.
I hadn’t yet obtained a UK ETA, although I talked about how long I needed (a UK ETA is valid for the first of the next two years or on expiry of approved passport) – although I don’t intend to be in London until late summer. It’s because I fly with American Airlines. I may not intend to visit London, but if I have flight delays or cancellations elsewhere in Europe, there’s a good chance my rebooking option will take me through London and connects to BA.
Fortunately, this concern has been put on hold as passengers connecting at Heathrow will ultimately not need to obtain a UK ETA, as long as they remain in transit and do not enter the country.
(T)he Home Office has now given in to pressure from Heathrow and the airlines. In a statement it said: “Following feedback from the aviation industry, the Government has agreed a temporary exemption for passengers who transit airside and therefore do not pass through UK border control. »
While the Home Office insists that “the exemption will be kept under review”, few in the aviation industry believe that applying for a permit online for connecting travelers will be one day recovered.
This means having to follow the purple “Flight Connections” signs at Heathrow, rather than using the electronic gates to get through immigration and taking the tube between terminals, which can be quicker.
You will still need an ETA if you are connecting on separate tickets with an airline that will not check baggage (like British Airways), as collecting the baggage and re-checking it will require going through immigration. But for the most part, it’s a big improvement.
