London Heathrow airport is making headlines in the UK for its interminable queues, train service Heathrow Express now offers a major 'plus' for its users. Since 1 July, 1st class passengers on the 15-minute service between Paddington Station and the UK hub's five terminals have had access to the "Fast Track" security service in all terminals..
They need to pass through the Fast Track security corridors, show boarding card and Heathrow Express Business First ticket. Only passengers travelling in this class are permitted. All other accompanying persons must hold their own ticket. Business First's Fast Track security service is reserved for passengers departing from Heathrow only.. It is therefore not valid on fast track services on arrival.
Expensive but useful in times of congestion
While first class on the Heathrow Express is particularly expensive - £32 or €36 - the advantage of using Fast Track corridors is a real bonus. Especially as this service, which is also sold as an online supplement, is currently suspended due to recurrent congestion at the airport.
Heathrow Express nevertheless warns passengers. They are subject to the same security procedures and regulations as other passengers. The Fast Track service reduces waiting times to a minimum. However, there is no guarantee of how long passengers will have to wait.
According to figures provided by Heathrow airport, 90% of passengers experienced a waiting time at security checks of less than 10 minutes. A figure based on May alone. And yet it shows a relative deterioration. In fact, in the first quarter of 2022, this figure was 95.1% for a waiting time of less than 5 minutes.
On 4 July, queues just to get into certain terminals stretched for several hundred metres. With waiting times of an hour or more. The Heathrow Express Business First/Fast Track combination is proving to be a necessity.
