There is nothing quite as reliable as a long airport security queue to seriously dampen the holiday spirit. To get through airport security as quickly as possible, you can try your best to avoid peak travel time, pack efficiently, pre-bag your liquids and make sure your electronic devices are easily accessible til the cows come home. But at the end of the day, the power is out of your hands. While some airports offer security fast-track passes to skip longer queues, it’s not the ideal option if you’re looking to save your pennies to spend at your destination.
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Finally, one airport is testing out a way to remove the potential of facing endless queues at security – for free. So much of the airport experience involves hidden fees or convoluted processes designed to catch travellers out, so this is a nice exception to a rather frustrating rule. Heathrow has launched a six-month trial where travellers can pre-book a security slot, meaning that you may be able to avoid facing any queues whatsoever at security and effortlessly zoom straight through to Duty-Free.
The process seems fairly easy to use. First, check whether your flight is eligible for the service – the trial is only operating out of Heathrow’s Terminal 3 for passengers flying with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic, so if you are flying with a different airline you won’t be able to book a slot (just yet, but there are plans to incorporate other airlines at a later date during the trial).
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