‘Summer of chaos’ warning as Heathrow Airport passport queues hit three and a half hours
As Britain prepared for today’s big summer getaway, airlines demanded showdown talks with ministers over a Border Force 'staffing crisis'
HOLIDAYMAKERS were last night facing a “summer of chaos” at Heathrow with passport queues getting so bad passengers are being forced to wait on the TARMAC after landing.
As Britain prepared for today’s big summer getaway, airlines demanded showdown talks with Ministers over a Border Force “staffing crisis”.
Industry sources told The Sun that minimum time targets for passport queues had been breached an incredible 1,300 times so far this month.
Passengers from non-EU countries such as America and South Africa are experiencing wait time of up to three-and-a-half hours at the airport’s Terminal 4.
And two weeks ago planes were forced to park by the terminal after landing at Britain’s biggest airport because it was too busy for passengers to disembark.
On one day this week an insider claimed there were 17 fewer customs officials than required at Terminal 5.
Sources told The Sun that British Airways, Virgin and furious bosses at Heathrow met with Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes two weeks ago to demand answers.
They are now seeking further talks given fears that the situation is going to get worse as schools break-up and Britain heads off on its holidays.
So far the chaos has largely hit passengers from outside the EU. Travellers from these countries are supposed to pass through border control within 45 minutes – compared with 25 minutes for passengers from the UK or EU.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Heathrow is Britain’s front door and it should be welcoming as well as secure.
“It takes far too long for low-risk passengers who have a right to be here, to get through the border which is unacceptable.
“We are calling on the Home Secretary to allow low-risk passengers from non-EU countries such as the US and Canada, to use e-gates in the same way as our EU friends can.
“It is this approach that will demonstrate Britain is truly open for business in a post Brexit world, helping to end the current situation.”
British Airways chief Alex Cruz last night added: “Unless Heathrow gets more immigration officers and e-gates opened to other countries to reduce the current chaos, Britain will not appear open for business to our leisure and business visitors.”
The Home Office earlier this year announced plans to recruit an extra 1,000 Border Force staff.
Yesterday a spokesman said it was “categorically untrue” to claim the recruitment had been ‘paused’.
But the Home Office was unable to say when the first of the 1,000 officers would be in place.
Some 200 retired Border Force officers and HMRC officials are being drafted in as a ‘seasonal’ workforce.
Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union said: “Chronic under-funding and chronic under-resourcing has caused this.
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“Border Force has presided over a slow-motion catastrophe.”
The Home Office insisted that so far in 2018, over 95 per cent of all passengers at Heathrow and seeking entry to the UK have been dealt with within time targets.
A spokesman said passenger waiting times were also affected by late flights and arrival hall capacity.
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