- Heathrow Airport blames a Conservative government policy for a 90,000-passenger decline on routes affected by the £10 ETA system
- The ETA policy impacts nationals from several Middle Eastern countries, requiring pre-arrival authorization for UK entry or transit
- Despite the drop, Heathrow remains Europe’s busiest airport, setting passenger records in July
Heathrow Airport has blamed a policy implemented by the previous Conservative government for a ‘devastating’ decrease in passenger numbers.
Britain’s biggest airport estimated a 90,000-passenger decline on routes covered by a £10 per person electronic travel authorization (ETA) system implemented in 2023.
Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan nationals who enter or transit the UK without a lawful residence or visa must get an ETA.
The ETA is a visa waiver program that must be applied for before arrival in the UK if you do not require a visa, including those who do not cross the border.
The program provides for six months of travel over two years.
It is analogous to the ESTA program in the United States and the ETIAS visa waiver program in the European Union, both of which screen visitors before they enter the country.
The system will be implemented worldwide in the autumn, with the exception of passengers from the EU, EEA, and Switzerland, who will be affected early next year.
Heathrow said in a statement: ‘While Heathrow continues to attract new routes and record passenger numbers, the latest data following the introduction of the ETA shows that Heathrow has lost 90,000 transfer passengers on routes operating to and from the seven countries included in the scheme since its implementation in 2023.
‘This is damaging to our hub’s competitiveness. We ask the government to reconsider the inclusion of airside transit users.
‘Every little of more competitiveness that the government can offer for aviation will contribute to essential growth for the entire UK economy.’
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Heathrow also reported on Monday that it had retained its position as Europe’s busiest airport after welcoming nearly 8 million passengers in July, aided by a summer holiday surge.
The airport, which had never reached 1.8 million passengers in a week before, did so three weeks in a row, from July 8 to July 28, in preparation for the Paris Olympics.
On July 22, the airport saw six of its busiest departure days ever during the week schools closed for the summer vacation period, with over 140,000 direct outgoing passengers and about 140,000 luggage leaving the airport daily.
Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye stated: ‘In July, we broke passenger records virtually every day, and we’re on track to serve 8 million people in a single month, which has never been done before.
‘I’m proud that, despite a few potential roadblocks, our team remained focused on the goal of making every travel better and delivered a medal-winning start to the summer break.’
