90,000 drop in passenger numbers at Heathrow blamed on ‘devastating’ new £10 travel allowance | Business News

Heathrow Airport has claimed it has suffered a 90,000 decline in passenger numbers on routes affected by a new government £10 per person scheme.

Bosses described the electronic travel authorization (ETA) system, which was introduced by the Conservative government in November 2023, as “devastating to the competitiveness of our center”.

Digital licenses are required for citizens of seven Middle East countries that do not have a visa or legal residence, but wish to enter or transit through the United Kingdom.

The £10 fee applies to all affected travellers, including children and infants.

The program is scheduled to be extended to travelers from most of the world this fall.

But Heathrow has now urged the new Labor administration to reform the scheme for the good of “the whole UK economy”.

It said in a statement: “The latest data following the introduction of 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.

“This is devastating for the competitiveness of our hub. We urge the government to review the inclusion of passengers in air transit.

“Every bit of extra competitiveness the government can bring to aviation will help deliver vital growth for the whole world. UK Economy.”

Currently, ETAs apply to affected visa-free citizens of Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

They will be introduced for travelers from most other countries this autumn and for European citizens from early next year.

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The announcement came as Heathrow reported it was used by a total of almost eight million passengers in July, making it Europe’s busiest airport in the first half of the year.

Bosses also said west London airport had “performed well, with no material impacts on flights” due to issues including global IT disruption or Just stop the oil protests.

The airport announced last month that despite a fall in half-year revenues of 2.9%, it made an underlying profit of £178m, up from a loss of £139m a year earlier.

ONE Home office The spokesperson said: “We are introducing ETAs to improve border security and modernize the traveler experience.

“The government continues to keep under review the requirement that transit passengers obtain an ETA.”