Heathrow Airport is reintroducing fast-track security screening for all passengers ahead of a summer expected to see record travel demand.

The West London hub expects over 30 million passengers between June and September and has already raised its forecast for the full year to 82.4 million.

This comes after a boom year for aviation in 2023, which saw travel demand rebound dramatically from Covid-era lows as holidaymakers flocked abroad to catch up on years of lockdowns.

The Fast Track service at Heathrow costs £12.50 per person and allows passengers to select a one-hour time slot for security screening. The service is available in all Heathrow terminals between 6am and 10pm every day.

Ross Baker, Chief Customer Officer at Heathrow Airport, said: “Fast Track provides a first-class security experience, reduces waiting times, ensures a smooth start to a journey and gives passengers additional peace of mind before their journey.

“Fast Track can give passengers extra reassurance before their flight. However, they can be confident of a smooth journey at Heathrow this summer, with almost 99 percent of passengers waiting less than 10 minutes to go through security in the first quarter of the year.”

Those responsible for the aviation industry are preparing intensively for the summer season and it is currently expected that it will pass without any unexpected incidents.

But the last two years have been severely affected by a number of problems.

More than a third of flights in the UK were delayed in 2022 as airports struggled to find new staff following thousands of layoffs during lockdown.

Cancellations were concentrated during peak travel periods, including weekends, school holidays and the hottest days of the summer.

Last year, the UK’s National Air Traffic Service (NATS) suffered an unprecedented IT breakdown, causing chaos on one of the busiest days in August.