As the COVID pandemic continues to impact the aviation and travel sector, two airlines are joining forces to restart travel confidence

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic will trial fast-track lanes at London’s Heathrow airport for fully-vaccinated inbound travellers to support the Government in lifting some of the most onerous restrictions for travellers arriving from ‘amber list’ countries.

Under the trial, fully vaccinated travellers of all nationalities will be able to present their COVID-19 credentials in digital or paper format before boarding.

If successful, long lines in arrivals halls when returning to the United Kingdom could be a thing of the past.

For passengers who are not checking baggage, this would mean they could check-in online, proceed directly to security and board their flight.

How it will work:

Upon arrival in the U.K., travellers participating in this trial could be able to use a dedicated priority arrivals lane at Heathrow Airport. – This should be a much quicker arrivals experience.

Depending on how many passengers are arriving at the time and Border Force staff are on duty, these passengers may use eGates or proceed to a staffed passport check, just as other passengers do right now.

Flights included in the trial include select British Airways flights from New York and Athens into Heathrow, and Virgin Atlantic flights from Los Angeles and Montego Bay, Jamaica to Heathrow.

Eligible passengers will receive a pre-departure invitation from British Airways or Virgin Atlantic inviting them to participate in this trial.

The current issue is that this upload process has only been available for flights departing Heathrow, not arriving. This means that passengers flying into Heathrow must allow plenty of time for manual document verification and check-in before boarding their flight.

This trial is a step towards making that inbound experience just as seamless as the outbound experience, and will hopefully restart the industry by increasing confidence in the sector.