by Heathrow Airport said it had seen a 90,000 drop in passenger numbers on routes affected by a new government subsidy scheme of £10 per person.
The bosses described the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system introduced by the Conservative government in November 2023 as “devastating for the competitiveness of our hubs”.
The digital permits are required for nationals of seven Middle East Countries that do not have a visa or legal residency but wish to enter or transit through the UK.
The £10 fee applies to each affected traveller, including children and babies.
The program is scheduled to expand to travelers from most other parts of the world this fall.
But Heathrow Airport has now called on the new Labour government to reform the system for the benefit of the “whole British economy”.
In a statement, it said: “The latest data following the introduction of the ETA shows that Heathrow has lost 90,000 transfer passengers on routes to and from the seven countries included in the scheme since its launch in 2023.”
“This is devastating for the competitiveness of our hub. We call on the government to review the inclusion of transit passengers on the airport side.”
“Every bit of competitiveness the government can create for aviation will help to deliver vital growth for the entire British economy.”
ETAs are currently valid for affected nationals of Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan without visa requirements.
They will be introduced this fall for travellers from most other countries and from early next year for European nationals.
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Heathrow had previously reported that the airport was used by a total of almost eight million passengers in July, making it the busiest airport in Europe in the first half of the year.
Bosses also said the west London airport had “performed well without any significant impact on air traffic” from issues such as the global IT outage or Protests against “Just Stop Oil”.
The airport said last month it had posted an underlying profit of £178 million despite a 2.9% fall in half-year revenue, compared with a loss of £139 million a year earlier.
A Ministry of the Interior A spokesman said: “We are introducing ETAs to improve border security and modernise the experience for travellers.
“The government continues to review the ETA requirement for transit travellers.”
