One of the many casualties of the pandemic was Heathrow Airport’s Fast Track immigration clearance for First and Business Class passengers, which was quickly ditched in early 2020.
Since then, the UK Border Force has tried to encourage eligible customers to make use of its automated immigration e-gates, although, there are still quite a few passports that aren’t yet accepted and even those that are accepted are often rejected.
Finally, however, Heathrow Airport has once again introduced Fast Track immigration lanes as part of a three-month trial with Border Force. The trial got underway on January 16 and Terminal 2, 3 and 4 only.
During the trial period, only customers with a special Fast Track voucher issued by the airline will be allowed to access the Fast Track lane. Eligibility for these vouchers is restricted to First and Business Class passengers.
As noted by M Zulqarnain B on X, not all airlines are currently participating in the trial, but initially the following carriers will allow premium passengers access to the Fast Track lane:
| Terminal | Airline |
|---|---|
| Terminal 2 | Eva Air |
| Singapore Airlines | |
| Thai Airways | |
| Turkish Airlines | |
| Terminal 3 | Aeromexico |
| British Airways | |
| Emirates | |
| China Airlines | |
| Royal Jordanian | |
| SriLankan Airlines | |
| Vistara | |
| Virgin Atlantic | |
| Terminal 4 | Air France |
| Etihad Airways | |
| Kuwait Airways | |
| KLM | |
| Malaysian Airlines | |
| Oman Air | |
| Qatar Airways | |
| Saudia Airlines | |
| Uzbekistan Airways | |
| Vietnam Airlines |
The notable exception to this trial is British Airways and Iberia, which use Terminal 5, where no Fast Track immigration lane is going to be installed for the duration of the test. Interestingly, however, British Airways is taking part in the trial for flights that arrive at Terminal 3.
Even if you are eligible to use the Fast Track lane, it could still be a lot faster to use the automated e-gates if you are eligible. Currently, eligible passengers include:
- British citizens
- Nationals of an EU country
- Australia
- Canada
- IcelandJapan
- Liechtenstein
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Switzerland
- USA
- a member of the Registered Traveller Service
Passengers aged 18 years or older can use the e-gates on their own, while passengers aged 10-17 can also use the e-gates if they are accompanied by an adult.
