HOW TO GET ON THE FAST TRACK AT LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT

London Heathrow Airport has a Fast Track Immigration lane for business and first class arrivals, but you must have a special pass to enter. Although you would expect the flight attendants to hand these out on the aircraft, along with the immigration forms, this does not always happen.

A couple of years ago, we watched from an hour long general immigration line as the people who had been sitting around us walked through the Fast Track line in 5 minutes. Why had we not been given the special passes? We concluded that it was just the personnel on that particular carrier who were deficient in providing this special service.

When flying a different airline recently to London, we were given our immigration forms on the plane, but no Fast Track passes. So, we asked about them. Magically, the flight attendant produced two of them for us. However, we did not see them being given to anyone else. It seemed strange that a free customer service meant for business and first class passengers was once again being rationed.

If you find yourself in the same situation, be sure to ask for your Fast Track pass, as it will save you a lot of time going through Immigration.

It is also important to know that when you leave London Heathrow, there is a Fast Track security line in Terminal 1 over to the side of the regular security queues. You will have to look for it, because no one directs you there and advises you about your eligibility for this shorter line.

To take advantage of any travel perks you are entitled to, be aware of special access lines and always ask if there is expedited service to transit through airport security and boarding lines, which you might qualify for. A good place for asking these questions is in the airline’s private passenger lounge, where assistance is always available.

Have you found any other special airline services that not everyone knows about? Please share.