The U.S. has ESTA – the Electronic System for Travel Authorization – the visa that foreigners eligible for a visa waiver still have to get to come here. The European Union keeps putting off its version of this, ETIAS or the European Travel Information and Authorisation System.
Britain, though, launched its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) this month. Americans, and other visa-exempt citizens, wishing to travel to the U.K. must apply and pay in advance now. And this new requirement was even being applied to transfer passengers.
- That’s a huge pain for British Airways, because it means they’ll lose a lot of business to Air France, Lufthansa, and other carriers – connections at Heathrow become more cumbersome than they already are.
- And it’s a huge pain for passengers because it means that if you haven’t planned ahead, Heathrow and British Airways are out as options last minute rebookings, even.
I hadn’t gotten a U.K. ETA yet, though I’ve been talking about how much I need to (a UK ETA is valid for the earlier of two years or when the approved passport expires) – even without plans to be in London until late summer. That’s because I fly American Airlines. I may have no intention of visiting London, but if I have flight delays or cancellations going anywhere else in Europe there’s a good chance my rebooking option is going to take me through London and connect onto BA.
Fortunately that worry has been suspended because Heathrow connecting passengers will not have to get a UK ETA after all, as long as they remain in transit do not enter the country.
[T]he Home Office has now caved to pressure from Heathrow and airlines. In a statement, it said: “Following feedback from the aviation industry, the government has agreed a temporary exemption for passengers who transit airside, and therefore do not pass through UK border control.”
While the Home Office insists “the exemption will be kept under review,” few in the aviation industry believe that the demand for an online permit for connecting travellers will ever be brought back.
That means having to follow purple “Flight Connections” signs at Heathrow, rather than using the e-gates to clear immigration and taking the tube between terminals which can be faster.
You’re still going to need an ETA if you’re connecting on separate tickets with an airline that won’t through-check bags (like British Airways), because collecting bags and re-checking them will require passing through immigration. But for most, this is a big improvement.
I’m sure it’s not the case for everyone, but when I applied earlier this week I got a pending review notification within a minute and an approval within another minute. Took longer to fill in the form.
Soon after the UK ETA became supposedly mandatory, I transited LHR on a trip between one part of the EU Schengen area to another part of the EU Schengen Europe without an ETA. The airline agent asked if I had an ETA for the presented US passport that I used and I said I am good. No validating that I had an ETA for the passport shown and no problems transiting LHR. I am going to do the same thing again soon and then just decide to try to go landside at LHR and have lunch in town while using a US passport without an ETA. I expect I will be having lunch over in Mayfair.
UK ETA approvals for most US passport users is pretty much near instant — like a few minutes. It can even be applied for and approved while at LHR itself.
Several years ago UK made a visa necessary for transit passengers. I was traveling from NY to Thailand and skipped using British Airways and used Emirates which didn’t have a stop over in Heathrow.
I used to clear customs all of the time whenever I was connecting via AA/BA through Heathrow.
The customs officer would ask “how long will you be in the UK?” and my response was “about three hours.”
A good start, now if the US got rid of transit visas we’d have some genuine progress. But why couldn’t the British coordinate having a 3 year electronic form since the European one is that length? Did they even think about this?
I applied on the 6th and I was approved about 3 minutes after I completed the in-app form. My facial recognition didn’t even work and when I flew to the UK on the 9th nobody even asked for my ETA at check-in. Way more has been written about this ETA than is necessary. It is just really not a big deal.
Jerry, you can’t present your ETA at immigration because it’s electronically linked to your passport. There’s no physical paperwork.
GUWonder – if you go landside you’ll need an ETA when trying to get airside to your connecting flight. You can get it on the UK government website, there’s nothing to print.
It’s £10 and good for 2 years. While I certainly prefer saving the $12+ and not having filling out more forms, it’s not that much trouble, especially if you transit through the UK regularly. So, it’s not like we cured cancer here or anything. Still, ‘woohoo’ for connecting travelers who remain in-transit on the same ticket.
Side note: A friendly hello to the lady of Indian descent working security at the LHR T3 transfer security station who inevitably takes at least one unopened toiletry from me (and others) every freakin’ time. Doesn’t matter that the item is under 100ml or that fits in the larger zip-lock. Nope, it’s not about security, she’s just hoarding stuff from travelers, presumably to use herself. Someone should look into that.
The Brits are probably already planning to hike up the fee.
And the ETA is a nuisance with its 2 year validity period given a lot of standard duration passports out there are only valid for 3-5 years and the ETA is only valid until the passport expires.
The Brits are great at own-goals nowadays. Brexit, for example, but also this ETA thing. Rescinding the ETA “requirement” for transit (for now) is an improvement but it’s still worse than the pre-2025 situation to transit or visit the UK on say a US passport. And just wait until it’s mandatory for Schengen country citizens, as that will perhaps make check-in cutoff times worse.
This is hilarious with the British government clown show: “Electronic Travel Authorisation ( ETA ) fee rising to £16.”
I will still be getting the visa even though I only have plans to transit. Never know when something might happen and all of a sudden you are spending the night at an airport hotel. If it were $100 I’d probably not but at this price, it’s a no-brainer.
The other issue with ETA for US/UK dual nationals on AA is that there is not an option to have two passports in an AAdvantage account. As a dual-citizen, I refuse to pay for ETA since I pay for my UK passport and the principle that I do not need authorization to travel to a country of which I am a citizen.
It cost me more than £10 in lost time to read this article….it really is a drop in the ocean for the convenience as LHR (or other UK POE) as a euro backup option. You’ll be paying more for the EU version soon