ETA charge for Middle East travellers 'devastating for Heathrow competitiveness'

Europe's busiest airport claims the £10 per person government scheme has led to passenger numbers falling by 90,000

For three weeks last month, passenger numbers at Heathrow topped 1.8 million per week for the first time.. Photo: Heathrow

Passenger numbers have plunged on routes affected by the British government's £10 per person electronic travel authorisation system, Heathrow Airport claimed on Monday.

The ETA scheme, launched in November last year, is aimed at people entering or transiting through Britain without legal residence or a visa.

Currently, the ETA scheme applies to passport holders from the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, but it is scheduled to be rolled out to the rest of the world in the autumn. It will apply to travellers from the EU, the European Economic Area and Swiss citizens from next year.

Heathrow said potential transit passengers are choosing alternative routes and bypassing the UK altogether, describing the ETA system as “devastating for our hub competitiveness”.

Passengers drop their bags off as they check-in for their flights in Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. PA

“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 introduction in 2023,” the London airport said.

“We urge the government to review the inclusion of airside transit passengers.

“Every little bit of extra competitiveness that the government can deliver for aviation will help deliver vital growth for the whole of the UK economy.”

'Smashing' records

Passenger numbers for July show about eight million people passed through Heathrow in the month, outperforming other European airports, including Amsterdam's Schiphol and Charles de Gaulle in Paris.

For three weeks last month, passenger numbers at Heathrow topped 1.8 million per week for the first time.

“In July we were smashing a passenger record almost every single day and we're chasing down our never-before-seen goal of serving eight million passengers in a single month,” said Thomas Woldbye, chief executive at Heathrow.

Heathrow also saw an 8 per cent rise in cargo tonnage in July, compared to the same month last year.