London Heathrow Airport Trials Queue-Busting Security Slot Booking System

Heathrow Airport will trial a new security slot booking platform to help improve the passenger experience. ‘Heathrow Timeslot’ is free of charge and will initially be available to passengers at Terminal 3 flying with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic, with new airlines to join in the next six months.

Heathrow announces security slot service

Passengers at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) can look forward to a more efficient security lane experience with the new booking service. Heathrow has launched Timeslot on a trial basis for the next six months, effective October 3rd – with it, users can book a designated time slot for passing through security.

Photo: Heathrow Airport

This will be the first free-of-charge security booking service at a UK airport – while others have fast-track services, they come at a cost of around £5 per passenger. Heathrow says more airlines will be added during the trial, and it will make a decision on any future roll-out pending the trial’s findings.

How does Heathrow Timeslot work?

Passengers who use Heathrow Timeslot will be able to enter the security area via a designated entry point. Bookings can be made up to three days before schedule departure, with timeslots available up to 90 minutes before long-haul and 60 minutes before short-haul flights.

Group bookings are also possible for up to five people. The free-of-charge service will first be available for passengers out of Terminal 3 with the following airlines:

• American Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Emirates
• Virgin Atlantic

Photo: Matthew Ashmore / Shutterstock

After making your booking through Heathrow’s online booking page, you will receive a QR code that must be presented to staff outside the Heathrow Timeslot area. Slots are subject to availability, and if not available, passengers will simply go through security as normal.

While Heathrow Timeslot is technically not a ‘fast-track’ service, it will ensure a more orderly security process and reduce queue times for passengers. Plenty of airports worldwide have incorporated similar free timeslot services – for example, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) provides such a service free of charge. Other airports across Europe include Berlin Brandenburg (BER), Frankfurt (FRA), and Rome Fiumicino (FCO).

Improving the airport experience

There have been ugly scenes of airport queuing making headlines in the past few years – especially over the summer of 2022 – with Heathrow facing its fair share of criticism. Since then, airports and authorities have implemented new technology to prevent a repeat, particularly during peak travel periods.

Mark Powell, Operational Planning Director at Heathrow, commented,

“Everyone is familiar with airport security, but at Heathrow we’re constantly thinking of innovative ways to boost the safety and streamline the experience for our passengers. 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, airport companies and airlines have also invested heavily in their workforces, adding and training over 25,000 employees in the last two years. The airport says its passengers have consistently cleared security lanes in under five minutes, and satisfaction levels have exceeded pre-pandemic times.

Have you traveled through London Heathrow Airport recently? How did you find the overall experience? Let us know in the comments.