Heathrow today issued a stark warning to passengers telling them ‘you should be prepared for unacceptable queues’ as border chaos continued at the airport with no sign of any government plan to resolve the issue.
MPs and travel industry leaders have called on Priti Patel, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Border Force chief Paul Lincoln to take urgent action to bring a halt to the chaotic scenes, but the Home Office has continued to insist that passengers must be prepared to wait.
Snaking lines of frustrated travellers were seen for a tenth day yesterday, with people complaining of queueing for more than five hours, social distancing apparently impossible at Terminal 3 and just six out of 40 passport booths allegedly unmanned.
Heathrow insists it is unable to do anything to fix the problem because only Border Force staff can man immigration gates.
It tweeted today in response to a customer enquiry: ‘Passengers are being advised to expect unacceptable queueing times at the Border. Resourcing in immigration halls is the responsibility of Border Force and it is disappointing that they have failed to ensure appropriate numbers of officials are on duty.’
Images shared on Twitter yesterday showed frustrated travellers sitting on the floor all bunched together and risking further spreading Covid as they apparently queue to pass immigration on yet another day of huge waits at Britain’s busiest airport.
‘It took over FIVE HOURS to get through border control today,’ one person tweeted. ‘Absolutely ridiculous to have only ~6 out of 40 booths manned by immigration officers, and keep people standing in a queue for this long. Especially when social distancing is impossible.’
The scenes are likely to pile further pressure on Ms Patel, whose management of the ‘carnage’ at immigration has come under scrutiny among furious Conservatives including former Tory Party leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith.
Travel industry figures have warned the scenes are blighting the UK’s global reputation while running the risk of a spike in Covid cases – further jeopardising the already crisis-hit tourism sector and stifling business with post-Brexit Britain.
It comes amid fresh calls for the government to allow double-vaccinated people to travel without having to undergo tests. Former transport secretary Lord McLoughlin told the Telegraph: ‘I’d like to know why they don’t think it is a runner when there is going to be a vaccine passport system in the UK later on this year.’
Snaking lines of frustrated travellers were seen for a tenth day yesterday, with people complaining of queueing for more than five hours, social distancing apparently impossible at Terminal 3 and just six out of 40 passport booths allegedly unmanned
Heathrow insists it is unable to do anything to fix the problem because only Border Force staff can man immigration gates
Yesterday, passengers complained of queueing for more than five hours, social distancing apparently impossible at Terminal 3 and just six out of 40 passport booths allegedly unmanned
Pictures shared with MailOnline showed long snaking lines of hundreds of people packed together tightly waiting at border control, as elderly and more vulnerable passengers wilted
The scenes are likely to pile further pressure on Home Secretary Priti Patel, whose management of the ‘carnage’ at immigration has come under scrutiny among furious Conservatives including ex-Tory Party leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith
Traffic light system could be scrapped: Government ‘is set to end green and amber lists and focus instead on whether holidaymakers are double-jabbed’
The government could scrap the traffic light system and replace it with a simplified approach that focuses on whether travellers are double jabbed in a bid to encourage more people to get vaccinated.
Ranking countries green or amber could end, although the red category is expected to stay for high-risk destinations for which 11 days of hotel quarantine is required.
Rules for fully vaccinated holidaymakers, who do not have to self-isolate after returning from green or amber countries, would likely remain the same.
Currently, they have to take two tests – one within 72 hours of travelling back to the UK and a second within two days of arriving home. The latter must be a PCR.
Non-vaccinated people currently enjoy the same rules as the double-jabbed when returning from green countries, but have to self-isolate at home for up to 10 days after coming back from amber destinations.
The quarantine or testing requirements non-vaccinated people will have to undergo under the new system are still unclear, but they are likely to be stricter than what they currently faced.
It is understood the proposals are still at the planning stage and no decision has yet been made.
However, ministers have come under increasing pressure to simplify the system from travel industry figures including British airways CEO Sean Doyle.
Meanwhile, Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate wants testing requirements to be scrapped altogether for double-jabbed travellers to boost the beleaguered sector.
Travel industry figures have added their voices to calls to simplify testing and quarantine rules – as they were given a boost by reports the traffic light system could be scrapped.
British Airways Chief executive Sean Doyle said Government policy is ‘the biggest single enabler’ of airlines recovering from the virus crisis.
He went on: ‘We had the traffic light system over the summer. There was some progress made. But I think it’s not fit for purpose. It needs to be simplified. It needs to be adapted in the same way that we see in Europe and in the US.’
Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate called for testing to be removed altogether for travellers who have been double jabbed. ‘Other countries have done this and their aviation sectors are recovering much faster with bookings in Europe recovering twice as fast as in the UK,’ he said.
The requirements vary depending on whether someone is arriving from a green, amber or red location, and whether or not they are fully vaccinated.
Currently, arrivals in England from low-risk ‘green’ countries and medium-risk ‘amber’ locations must take two Covid tests, even if they are fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, all travellers coming from red-list destinations must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days and take three tests.
The lists are updated every three weeks, with the next changes due next week. A wider overhaul of the rules is scheduled to take place by October 1.
Paul Lincoln, Border Force’s director general, has not commented publicly on the issue in recent weeks.
Mr Lincoln, a career civil servant who has also served in the Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office, had his salary bumped up from £130,000-£135,000 to between £135,000 and £140,000 in the last financial year, accounts show.
He has overseen a summer of Heathrow border chaos dating back to at least May, when some passengers reported three-hour waits at passport gates.
In July, it was announced he will soon leave his current role, a month after being made an OBE for services to border security.
‘He needs to explain what’s going on’: Border Force chief on £140,000-a-year was made an OBE amid Heathrow chaos
Paul Lincoln: Director General, Border Force
Paul Lincoln
Mr Lincoln has had a long career in the civil service, which included serving in the Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office.
Immediately prior to this appointment, he was Director General of the Crime, Policing and Fire Group (CPFG), which included overseeing reforms to the police and fire services, according to his official biography.
Before that, he was Acting Director General of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT) in the Home Office, covering terrorism and organised crime.
Mr Lincoln has been the Home Office’s Gender Equality Champion, and in 2020 spoke about how the civil service could use data to ensure diversity targets were being met.
Home Office accounts for the financial year 2020-21 reveal he had his salary bumped up from £130,000-£135,000 to between £135,000 and £140,000.
In May, quizzed about long queues at Heathrow, he said new Covid health checks at the border meant it took five to ten minutes to process every passenger.
In June, he was made an OBE for services to border security in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. In July, it was announced he will leave his role as director general and be replaced by Tony Eastaugh, a former national counter-terror gold commander.
Sir Iain Duncan-Smith and James Gray, MP for North Wiltshire, called on senior officials including Mr Lincoln to explain what is causing the ‘unacceptable’ queues.
‘They should explain what’s happening and why there are delays,’ Mr Duncan-Smith told MailOnline. ‘They are running a public service and they should be open to the public.
‘Number one they’ve got to explain what the problem is and why they weren’t able to cope. Then we can work out what to do about it.’
Mr Gray said: ‘The Home Affairs Select Committee needs to get these people in front of them so we can find out exactly what’s going on. It’s their responsibility.
‘The current situation is complete carnage – there’s no bit of it that’s acceptable.
‘I cannot believe that all these people are self-isolating, I cannot believe there are not enough staff, and I cannot believe Heathrow isn’t kicking and screaming about this.’
The Home Office has blamed the queues on the need to check Covid documents – in addition to families with young children not being able to use e-gates because the facial recognition technology does not work with under-12s.
But travellers have insisted their Covid-related paperwork has barely been checked by Border Force guards because most of the work is done by airlines.
Travel journalist Simon Calder told MailOnline: ‘All the evidence I am seeing is that the outsourcing of paperwork checks to airlines, ferry firms and train operators means minimal checks coming into the UK.
‘Because the airline has to check the UK-bound ‘fit to fly’ and passenger locator form – which can’t be completed until a post-arrival test is booked – the Border Force, in my experience, is simply wanting to verify identity.
‘Personally I don’t have a problem with this – last week in Berlin I was checked and re-checked by Ryanair staff before my flight to Stansted, and on arrival I was through in one minute flat.
‘But as a result it’s a stretch claiming that the long queues at Heathrow are down to extra checks.’
A Home Office source told MailOnline that while carriers did carry out checks Border Force guards ‘also had a role’ in scrutinising documents’, including passenger locator forms.
British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle said Government policy is ‘the biggest single enabler’ of airlines recovering from the virus crisis
Meanwhile, a Home Office spokesman said: ‘Throughout the pandemic we have been clear that queue times may be longer as we ensure all passengers are compliant with the health measures put in place to keep the UK public safe.
‘This weekend was the busiest of the year for returning passengers, with particularly high numbers of families with children under the age of 12 who cannot use e-gates.
‘We have endeavoured to improve waiting times this week, for example by flexibly deploying staff across Heathrow Airport and continue to work closely with all airports and airlines to make sure all passengers can have a safe and hassle-free journey.’
Heathrow’s summer of queuing chaos… so when WILL the government get a grip?
August 29 – Passengers were left furious as they stood in line for hours at Terminals 2 and 5 to pass through stringent Covid checks at Border Control, with some calling on management to ‘get more staff on desk’.
On Twitter, Heathrow Airport said: ‘Waiting times at the border have on occasion been unacceptable and we have called on the UK Government to address the problem as a matter of urgency.’
Irate passengers said they were left queuing for more than three hours to get through passport control with no social distancing
August 30 – The Home Office risked fury after it said that travellers ‘need to accept’ they could face lengthy delays at airport border control during peak travel times.
The Government was facing questions over why there were seemingly so few Border Force guards dealing with thousands of Heathrow passengers after yet more shocking scenes of huge queues at the airport.
The Home Office risked fury after it said that travellers ‘need to accept’ they could face lengthy delays at airport border control during peak travel times
August 31 – Furious travel firms suggested ministers had little interest in sorting out nightmare queues at Heathrow because they wanted to ‘put people off flying overseas’ – as others complained the chaotic scenes were damaging Britain’s image.
Noel Josephides, Director of AITO, the Specialist Travel Association, suggested there were broader considerations at play, telling MailOnline: ‘Very unfortunately, we believe that allowing such unnecessarily bad experiences to occur is part of the Government’s strategy simply to put people off travelling overseas.’
Parents complained about being corralled to the limited number of counters operated by Border Force staff because facial recognition on e-gates does not work with babies and toddlers
September 1 – One frustrated passenger compared the scenes to the dying days of the Soviet Union.
Pictures and video from around midday showed long snaking lines of travellers packed closely together with no social distancing, as some aired themselves with leaflets in an attempt to stay cool.
Journalist Guy Faulconbridge tweeted: ‘Reminds me of travelling around the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. Children playing on the floor of the airport while their parents wait for officials to check some very important documents. ”Welcome to the United Kingdom…”
Pictures and video from around midday showed long snaking lines of travellers packed closely together with no social distancing
September 3 – Tory MPs joined a growing backlash against continuing border chaos at Heathrow, with arrivals forced to wait for four hours as pregnant women, pensioners and young children wilted in the queue while a dysfunctional British Airways operation left planes queuing for empty gates.
British Airways said it had no operational disruption at Heathrow. It said Heathrow Airport Limited was in charge of the airport itself, adding that BA was not the only airline with flights to and from Terminal 5.
Sir Iain Duncan-Smith called the scenes at arrivals ‘madness’, telling MailOnline: ‘We are going to achieve the worst of all worlds by having people close together who may have Covid. The whole thing is chaotic and we still haven’t fully opened up yet. We don’t seem to have a plan for how we are going to manage that.’
Pictures showed snaking lines of frustrated passengers waiting to enter the UK, as e-gates were hardly used
September 4 – Frustrated British holidaymakers claimed to have been crammed into hallways with no social distancing and made to walk long distances with no shuttles available.
Passengers, including pregnant women, pensioners and young children, were made to stand in long queues of ‘three to five hours’ into the early hours of the morning amid further disarray at border control at Europe’s busiest airport.
Pictures shared with MailOnline showed long snaking lines of hundreds of people packed together tightly, as elderly and more vulnerable passengers wilted amid an unapologetic stance adopted by the Home Office, who blame understaffing for the travel mayhem.
Furious passengers say they’ve been left ‘stranded’ and crammed into Heathrow airport’s hallways with no access to water, ventilation or toilets as they were forced to stand in long queues well into the early hours of Friday morning
September 5 – Home Office finally admitted that massive queues at London Heathrow where people, including a pregnant woman, have fainted are ‘unacceptable’ after airport bosses accused Border Force of causing chaos at Terminal 5 all this week.
A furious blame-game broke out after images posted to Twitter overnight showed thousands of British arrivals forced to cram into small hallways with no social distancing measures in place and queueing for several hours to pass immigration.
One image even appears to show a male traveller lying on the floor in Terminal 5 after apparently passing out while queueing
September 6 – Air passengers described ‘total chaos’ at Heathrow’s £4.2billion Terminal 5 as rows broke out in passport control and exasperated people who had already spent hours waiting to enter Britain then had to wait in long lines for the car park.
Witnesses said they had ‘never seen anything like it’ as ‘massive queues’ also appeared at Luton and Manchester airports and travellers raged that the country is fast becoming an international ‘laughing stock’.
One woman caught up in the chaos described rows in arrivals at Heathrow – and to add insult to injury, a wait of 30 minutes just to get to their parked cars.
Queue chaos: Dozens of passengers line up to get through immigration gates at Heathrow Terminal 5
September 7 – The UK’s travel rules are ‘not fit for purpose’, the boss of British Airways said, as he called for testing and quarantine requirements to be ‘simplified’.
Chief executive Sean Doyle said Government policy is ‘the biggest single enabler’ of airlines recovering from the virus crisis.
He went on: ‘We had the traffic light system over the summer. There was some progress made. But I think it’s not fit for purpose. It needs to be simplified. It needs to be adapted in the same way that we see in Europe and in the US.’
Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate called for testing to be removed altogether for travellers who have been double jabbed. ‘Other countries have done this and their aviation sectors are recovering much faster with bookings in Europe recovering twice as fast as in the UK,’ he said.
MPs today demanded answers from Border Force chief as long queues were seen again at Heathrow today (pictured)
September 8 – Snaking lines of frustrated travellers were seen for a tenth day, with people complaining of queueing for more than five hours, social distancing apparently impossible at Terminal 3 and just six out of 40 passport booths allegedly unmanned.
Heathrow insists it is unable to do anything to fix the problem because only Border Force staff can man immigration gates.
