Australian passport holders will be able to use ePassport gates when arriving in the United Kingdom, which may drastically reduce waiting times for travellers looking to begin their treks around England and the UK more broadly.
As part of the UK’s 2018 Budget, Chancellor to the Exchequer Philip Hammond yesterday revealed that Australian travellers, along with those from United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan, will soon be permitted to use the time-saving border checks.
The move has been praised by Australia’s High Commissioner to the UK.
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
— Australia House (@AusHouseLondon) October 29, 2018
Previously, only visitors from the European Economic Area nations were cleared to use the ePassport gates. Everyone else has been channeled through the old-style border checks, which have been pretty routinely criticised for taking a long bloody time.
In August, Virgin Atlantic chief executive Craig Keeger said the delays faced by American travellers when entering the UK left punters “frustrated before they’ve even started their trip.”
Some travellers have waited for as long as two and a half hours at Heathrow before being cleared by the UK’s Border Force.
In a statement, Keeger went on to say the UK should sort out its act “to show the world it is open for business,” and the move seems like the kind of diplomatic measure needed to strengthen ties with nations outside of the European Union.
You know, considering Brexit. That little thing.
The changes are expected to be implemented within the next two years, which, coincidentally, is the same amount of time PEDESTRIAN.TV staff have collectively spent waiting around at Heathrow.
