BA ARRIVAL fast track vouchers
 

At Heathrow T5, is it still required to present an arrival fast track voucher in order to use the fast track? Last time at T3 I tried using CE boarding pass but was refused.

I believe so, I was also under the impression it is only for Non-EU on LH, but having never needed one will defer to those who do.

CE pax yes but not if on an EU passport

LHR T5 arrivals


Same rules for T3 as well

Is showing boarding pass is enough?

NO! Not at T3. You must have the invitation voucher. See the dedicated thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...t3-issues.html

You will a Fast Track voucher for T5.

What about Iberia customers? I am trying to deduce whether showing boarding pass is enough for T5 arrival fast track because Iberia might not handed out vouchers to their passengers like Finnair. I tried to ask in Iberia forum and there is no clear reply so I have to ask in here because I know that there are more people participating in this forum than in Iberia.

Does anyone have experience about this on BA flight operated by Iberia?

You will need a voucher regardless, as everyone has mentioned.

You may or may not be offered one on the flight, more likely not if it's shorthaul. Make sure you ask for one.

It is very definitely not necessary to have a voucher at T5. It is at T3. Furthermore, there isn't really a control on EU passport holders not using the lines. Border control doesn't care. Just don't have your passport out when you go through the checkpoint. That said, it's rarely going to be faster.

On Iberia? I'm travelling on BA7058 (IB plane), I'm not sure if they have loaded on the a/c.

OP it would be helpful if you could say

What cabin are you flying in?

What nationality passport do you have?

Do you have One World status - Emerald or Sapphire - ?

Iberia Business Class/Thai Passport/BA Blue

Sorry for not pointing that out.

Can Emeralds flying in WT/+ as for a FT voucher (into T3...)

Why is it that EU passport holders or BA Gold can't take a fast track?

T5 Fast Track is for non European citizens only, not sure about T3.

Who can use Fast Track

Non EU passport holders. Theoretically as EU holder you will normally be quicker staying in the EU lines than using Fast Track. That said our experience in the early morning rush hour at T3 and sometimes at T5 - my Filipino wife gets through significantly quicker than me as U.K. Passport holder!

Who qualifies

Unless things have changed Silver and above in any cabin.

Theoretically a status EU passport holder can pass a voucher to another passenger on the same PNR. In practice my experience with BA and CX is if you ask politely and have been good you will get a voucher even if not on the same PNR even if travelling in Y.

Are they worthwhile for non EU passport holders

IME massively

Are there workarounds.

Interline through Heathrow to another U.K. Airport. The queues IME have been tiny through flight transfer to clear U.K. Immigration at those entry points in the early morning peak.

Note there is no inbound Fast Track at MAN - not sure of other regionals. At MAN if the early morning flights from Emirates and CX come in adjacently non EU nationals need to run fast. LOL

Do you mean connect through LHR to another UK airport? You would still do immigration at LHR even if connecting onwards on a domestic flight.

I concur - the line for non-fast track often looks quicker - on the occasions I have used fast-track, there has only been one kiosk open with the line line moving slowly. I did notice a DYKWIA moment when someone asked the person montiroing fast-track to ask for more Border Control staff as they had an important meeting in London! Of course, nothing happened!

Precisely
 

But must be a through ticket to start with unless you can persuade them to join your booking. That is a separate subject - but whispering .. we have been 100% successful asking at check in using CX ex Asian airports with the final U.K. Flight originating ex HKG.

That said it is usually a J Avios redemption in to HKG then a Y revenue ticket to MAN via LHR.

I don't understand what you are going on about with connecting tickets? Are you now talking about checking luggage through?

Let me make this clear - whether you do or do not have checked bags, and whether the domestic flight was on the same ticket or a separate ticket - you would still do immigration at LHR if you arrive on an international flight and then depart on a domestic flight - there is no scenario when doing INT-DOM which would involve you not doing immigration at LHR and instead doing it at the DOM airport.

On arrival at the domestic airport you just walk out as a domestic arrival.

I realise you are mentioning regional airports in relation to direct international flights that land there (e.g. CX to MAN, EK to MAN/NCL etc.) however I don't see the relevance to this topic which relates to arriving at LHR.

Just about every time I've used fast track at T5 I look for someone with a distinctive piece of clothing who enters the regular line at the same time as me. 90% of the time they will get through faster than me, so I've started just going through the regular line.

My friend who was travelling from T5 on Saturday has kindly asked five different BA ground agents, they said the same thing which is if you have a valid boarding pass (F, J, GCH, SCH including Iberia) then you can use the immigration fast track (as long as they do not have EU/ECC/UK pass) AT T5 ONLY. At T3 as it is served by many airlines therefore it is not possible to show a boarding pass (so voucher is required at T3). I think this case is closed.

Iberia's twitter team have told me today, having gone away to ask the question internally, that their customers are not provided with a fast track voucher and they don't pay BAA for their non-EU passengers to use fast track immigration.

Are you sure? BA ground agents told him that if a customer present a valid boarding pass (F, J, GCH, SCH including Iberia J) then the fast track access is granted.

It could well be that Iberia do not provide a voucher, not pay BAA (or even HAL), but it could be that, just to save the hassle of putting a process in place, then anyone presenting a valid boarding pas as you described gets access.

In a similar vain, I know that the fast track machine that checks your boarding pass at many airport terminals with multiple carriers will accept ANY valid boarding pass as it would cost too much to code the machine for all the variety of acceptable boarding passes. The security staff assume that as the machine let you through you are ok. So lots of it is done on "trust".

So despite the rules, when cost is prohibitive, you can sometimes get the access. I can see its easier at T5 just to let everyone with J F and GCH SCH through. in percentage terms the number of people who should not get access but do will be very small.

My last T3 arrival 21st May was 07:30 AA Business Class 777 MIA-LHR (continuation was BA T5 LHR-CAI 10hrs later)... luggage through checked MIA-LHR-CAI

No fasttrak cards given out , and with lengthy 10hours layover, I exited T3 via immigration fasttak showing my J Bpass , so I could to use AA T3 arrivals lounge

And before someone says something in rrply, yes fastrak immigration may be treated differently to fastrak transfer .....

However did late April J-class BA CAI-LHR (T5) / T3 BA(LHR-MIA), no fastrak cards given out on leg CAI-LHR, but after taking airside transfer bus T5-T3, in T3 i used fastrak transfer channel by showing my arrival BA J BPass & departing J-class BPass

In summary used both T3 transfer/immigration fastrak's during Apr17/May17 with Business Bpasses, despite expectation a fastrak-card from arriving airline is needed and I might be refused

This is exactly what I told you in the IB forum a few weeks ago... as you say though, case closed.

BA pay for it. I got threatened with arrest once for having an argument about this

Please see wiki for summary.