A report in the Courier Mail this morning says that Federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey is pushing for a scheme to be established at Australian airports where registered international frequent flyers can skip the queues and be processed more speedily.
With lengthy queues at Customs and Immigration in arrival centres cited as a potential barrier to inbound tourist, the move is under consideration by the Government and Ms Bailey has advocated the plans with Customs Minister Chris Ellison.
The frequent flyer bypass lane is based on a similar set-up put in place at Melbourne’s international airport during the Commonwealth Games.
Singapore Airlines has backed the plan and said it could boost visitor numbers into Australia, with Ms Bailey saying, “Instead of queuing for long periods, tourists were transited quickly through Customs and Immigration”. “Australia is a long-haul destination, so after a long flight we want to eliminate lengthy queues in order to give a warm welcome.”
The fast-track plan would only be open to business class passengers who are frequent flyers into Australia, based on a similar set-up which already works at London’s Heathrow airport, along with Amsterdam and Dubai. Ms Bailey added, “We can learn from this experience overseas and take the best from what they already do well.”
The fast-track plan is seen as a move by Ms Bailey to increase the number of tourists coming to Australia as she faces increasing pressure to keep her Tourism portfolio, following a fall in the number of overseas visitors.
Report by The Mole
