Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the extension during the budget on Monday (October 29), designed to combat border queues.
Passengers arriving from the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan will by next summer be able to use Britain’s e-passport gates.
Hammond said the move would “significantly improve the flow of passengers at busy airports such as Heathrow”.
Earlier this year, it was reported some passengers were facing 2.5-hour passport queues at Heathrow. Hundreds of HMRC staff were also reportedly drafted in to cut wait times.
The announcement has been welcomed by Airlines UK, the trade body for UK registered airlines.
