The requirement for passengers to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) when changing planes at Heathrow airport should be dropped, a Lords committee has written in a letter to the Government.
The requirement puts the UK at an immediate disadvantage to other countries, with the ETA already driving away transit travellers, the Justice and Home Affairs Committee argued in a letter to legal migration and border minister Tom Pursglove on Monday.
At present, 18 million passengers per year at Heathrow are connecting passengers.
The ETA scheme was announced in November 2023 and intended broadly for visitors who do not need a visa for short stays in the UK, and is open to nationals from Gulf countries including Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.
Also on the list is Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Heathrow airport revealed that when the scheme initiated, the number of Qatari passengers fell by 14,000 over a three month period.
Applications for ETAs, which cost £10 and are mostly decided within hours, are to be extended to most nationalities by Autumn 2024, and to the EU, the European Economic Area and Swiss nationals citizens by early 2025.
The Lords committee chair, Lord Foster of Bath, wrote: “We received strong representations from witnesses that this requirement will place the UK at an immediate competitive disadvantage compared to its European neighbours.
“We believe the Government should drop the requirement for transit passengers to have an ETA unless there are strong security reasons to the contrary, and these reasons should be examined as appropriate by a Parliamentary Committee or by the Independent Chief Inspector.”
Mr Foster also urged for increased awareness around ETA rules.
On behalf of the Committee he has endorsed the recommendation of the Airport Operators’ Association, that official information relating to the ETA be made available - and in a wider number of languages, such as French, Spanish and German.
Heathrow has expressed concern that “if passengers have a choice about whether they use a paid-for product or whether a product in another area is cheaper or better in any way, they will probably choose to take the easier option”.
