Heathrow seems to be a pretty stress-inducing experience these days. From overcrowding and flight delays to long security queues and staff strikes, travellers have no choice but to weather the airport mess before officially going on their holidays. After all, it is the UK's largest airport as well as the busiest airport in Europe. But now, this could change for the better.
Heathrow has launched a new trial service called Timeslot, which allows passengers to pre-book security gate time slots and skip the boring queues going through security. The goal here is to reduce waiting times and allow the airport to plan resources more effectively, according to a statement.
While the service is currently free of charge, it is only rolled out at Terminal 3 at the moment and is open to passengers on selected airlines. This includes those flying on American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic Airways. If this doesn’t apply to your upcoming travels, don’t fret, the airport bosses may expand the service after its trial period ends in six months.
Mark Powell, Heathrow’s operational planning director said: ‘This new trial will give passengers that extra added bit of certainty and reassurance ahead of their journey and we think it will be particularly popular for those with families or nervous travellers who may want a bit more confidence in their journeys. We look forward to seeing the data come in to give us some learnings on how we can roll this out more widely across Heathrow.’
Heathrow and other airports in the UK have been put in the wringer, with the influx of tourists to pre-pandemic levels. Last summer, Heathrow had to limit ticket sales and cap the number of passengers to control airport traffic. While this summer went better, let’s hope this new service will give passengers peace of mind before taking to the skies.
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