We don’t have to queue for hours at Heathrow anymore

UK authorities have just made a surprise announcement, paving the way for a life-changing change for Aussie travellers.

ANY Australian who has suffered the agonisingly long queue at border control at Heathrow Airport should be really excited about a small detail in the UK’s budget.

In a surprise announcement, the UK Government says Australians arriving in the UK will now be able to fast-track through immigration from next year.

Chancellor to the Exchequer Philip Hammond said in the House of Commons Australian travellers with electronically enabled passports will be able to use the e-passport gates at airports, such as London’s Heathrow.

Australians will be able to fast-track through British airports using e-passport gates instead of queuing to meet with border officials.

“We’ll open the use of e-passport gates at Heathrow and other airports, currently only available to EEA (European Economic Area) nationals, to include visitors from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan,” Mr Hammond said.

He said the budget would “send a message loud and clear to the rest of the world that Britain is open for business”.

It’s especially good timing as new data from travel search engine KAYAK.com.au shows an increase of more than 20 per cent in flight searches from Sydney to London in 2019.

KAYAK.com.au recommends booking flights to London three months in advance for the best prices.

Australian High Commissioner to the UK George Brandis said Australia has been working on that change for some time and welcomed it as “great” news.

Our 🇦🇺 High Commissioner George Brandis warmly welcomes the #Budget2018 announcement by @hmtreasury @PhilipHammondUK that Aussie passport holders will soon be able to use UK ePassport gates - we've been working towards this for some time so it is great to see it announced. ✈️ pic.twitter.com/o6Ivj5dfct

— Aus. High Commission (@AusHouseLondon) October 29, 2018

Currently, only passport holders from the UK, European Union, European Economic Area or Swiss citizens with biometric passports are able to use the much more preferable e-passport lanes.

Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe, with more than 78 million passengers passing through last year.

Australians haven’t had many perks when flying to the UK — until now.

The new system means Australians no longer have to queue up for face-to-face contact with a border official, and allows them to move through the automated e-passport gates, similar to what we do in Australia.

While the development will dramatically cut the amount of time Aussies spend waiting at British airports, it also signals how the UK is looking to strengthen ties with its other Five Eyes intelligence partners — Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada — as it withdraws from the European Union from March 29.