United Airlines customers departing London Heathrow can now use the carrier’s Bag Drop Shortcut.
The service works in conjunction with the United app to allow customers to check in their bag “in a minute or less on average”.
It was initially trialled at Newark on 2021, and has since been rolled out at airports across the US, with Heathrow being the first international location to offer the service.
Customers complete check-in on the United app or website, and select the number of bags they are checking in.
They then locate the bag drop shortcut location within zone D at Heathrow R2, place their bags on the scale, and tap their phone using the United app.
Staff will check the customer’s ID, and apply the bag tag, with United stating that the service takes “a minute or less on average”.
The carrier said that more than seven million bags have been tagged using the facility since it was launched, including 8,000 at Heathrow since the service was extended.
Commenting on the news Aaron Smythe, director airport operations London Heathrow, United Airlines, said:
“We’re very excited to be United’s first international station to offer the bag drop shortcut service. Travelling can be a stressful experience, and bag drop shortcut helps remove that stress by providing our customers with a quick and efficient process to drop their bag and be on their way in just a few minutes.
“Our customers are already telling us how much this new facility has improved their airport experience and in response to customer demand, we have already expanded the number of bag drop shortcut desks at Heathrow.”
