By Angela Green: Heathrow calls on government to scrap ETA charges.
Heathrow has called on government to scrap the recently introduced £10 charge for overseas travellers using UK airports to connect with other flights, saying it puts UK airports at a competitive disadvantage compared with European rivals.
The government’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) was introduced in November 23 for Qatari nationals travelling to the UK from Qatar, with a wider rollout for other countries throughout 2024.
The ETA is similar to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta) system in the US, which requires travellers to apply to enter the country before departing and pay a $21 charge.
Heathrow pointed to the negative impact the fees have already had on travellers, saying there had been 19,000 fewer transit passengers coming through the airport from Qatar in the first four months of ETA rules applying. It added that during the same period the airport has seen its lowest proportion of transiting passengers from Qatar for 10 years.