The Airport Hack to Avoid ‘Crazy Long Security Lines’ Praised

Hate spending hours at the airport waiting to go through security? A passenger got through security at one of the world’s busiest airports in less than five minutes using a free service.

A voice in a viral tiktok video shared by Raimee (@raimeetravels) says: “If you want to leave London Heathrow early, you need to know to avoid the long queues.”

The footage shows scenes of passengers outside and inside Heathrow, the main international airport serving London.

“This is the coolest thing I’ve seen any airport do. They have a new thing called Timeslot that lets you schedule when you go through security,” the voice continues.

Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in the world and served 61.6 million passengers in 2022, according to Statista.

The airport is conducting a trial of its Timeslot program, which allows fliers departing on select flights from Terminal 3 to “pre-book” a time slot to “access a designated entry point in the security search,” explains the airport.

Timeslot is a free service offered by Clear, Heathrow’s partner provider, which is an expedited security program available at several US airports.

Clear’s Reserve program offers the same free service as Timeslot at 14 airports in North America, including eight major US hubs, including Los Angeles International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The service is also available at a handful of other airports in Europe, including Berlin, Amsterdam and Rome, according to Clear’s website.

The new airport hack will come in handy for many passengers as demand for air travel shows no signs of slowing down in the post-pandemic era.

Last May, global air traffic was at 96.1% of May 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Get through security in “less than five minutes”

You can book your safety slot for Heathrow through their website and you will then receive a QR code by email.

Once you’ve checked in your bags, passengers can follow the signs to the Timeslot area at Heathrow, where a member of staff will scan your QR code and direct you to the security lane. “You can arrive 15 minutes before or after your scheduled time,” the airport says.

The time slots, which can be booked up to three days before travel, are only available for Terminal 3 flights operated by American AirlinesDelta Air Lines, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic, according to Heathrow’s website.

The voice at Tik Tok clip says: “I went through security as quickly as I would in the States with my TSA Pre-Check [an expedited traveler screening program] and Clear.

“I’m not kidding when I say I got through Heathrow security in less than five minutes. And that’s never happened to me at an international airport,” says the voice.

Several TikTok users praised the airport security hack. Tim Holmes said: “A very useful hack for once. Thanks!”

LaurenceBoston wrote: “Great tip thanks. My daughter studies in London and could use this next time she’s out of London.”

K said, “That’s great.”

Asta Darling wrote: “Oh sweet! I just made a date for our flight!!”

Some said that waiting times at Heathrow are not bad enough to require the use of Timeslot.

TheSchafferAdam wrote: “Never had a problem at Heathrow. Longest I’ve ever waited in line was 15 minutes.”

Robert Koehler135 wrote: “Security at Heathrow is less than 10 minutes no matter what. Maybe always less than 5.” The original poster replied: “Not in my past experience, but I still like having that option.”

Newsweek The original poster has been contacted for comment. This video has not been independently verified.

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