Documentary maker Louis Theroux was among thousands of passengers caught up in travel chaos at Heathrow today after an IT failure caused chaos across Britain’s major airports.
Passengers arriving into Heathrow Airport this morning faced scenes of total chaos with queues of three hours and people lining up in their thousands, with very little signs of social distancing.
The delays have also caused a backlog at baggage collection, meaning some people have had to search through groups of luggage packed together in-between the operating carousels.
The chaos is being caused by an IT failure leaving hundreds stranded in the underpass at Terminal 2, and is also affecting travellers at Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh and Manchester airports.
A Heathrow spokesperson said a systems failure affected the e-gates, which are staffed and operated by Border Force.
Disgruntled passengers took to social media to share their frustration with one claiming queues for immigration checks were ‘one kilometer’ long and others slamming the ‘absolute farce.’
Travel industry experts have repeatedly warned the chaotic scenes seen in the wake of the country reopening 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.
Tory MPs have demanded answers from the head of Border Force over the Heathrow queuing scandal seen in recent months but Paul Lincoln, the agency’s director general, has not commented publicly on the issue in recent weeks.
The chaos is being caused by an IT failure leaving hundreds stranded in the underpass at Terminal 2 (pictured), and is also affecting travellers at Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh and Manchester airports.
A Heathrow spokesperson said a systems failure affected the e-gates, which are staffed and operated by Border Force.
According to the Home Office a technical issue has affected eGates at a number of ports including Heathrow
The news comes amidst continuing chaos at airports due to Covid travel rules and reported staff shortages for UK Border Control.
Documentary maker Louis Theroux was among the passengers caught up in the chaos this afternoon
Passengers have been queuing for three hours this morning at Border Control with Heathrow Airport admitting that wait times are at ‘unacceptable levels’ via its Twitter account. Young families have been hit worst because they can’t use e-gates
Passengers queue in their ‘thousands’ with minimal social distancing at border control, as they wait to prove their Covid travel status before entering the UK. Some have counted just six processing officers and several closed customer counters
Thousands of people were simply stranded at Heathrow Airport this morning after the gates went down
A Heathrow spokesperson said a systems failure affected the e-gates, which are staffed and operated by Border Force.
Due to the extensive queues, masses of luggage has been grouped together for people to sift through once they’ve made it through the border control as the baggage handlers try to keep up with the constant stream of inbound flights to Heathrow
A Heathrow spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of a systems failure impacting the e-gates, which are staffed and operated by Border Force. This issue is impacting a number of ports of entry and is not an isolated issue at Heathrow. Our teams are working closely with Border Force to find a solution as quickly as possible.’
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘This afternoon a technical issue affected eGates at a number of ports. The issue was quickly identified and has now been resolved.
‘We have been working hard to minimise disruption, and apologise to all passengers for the inconvenience caused.’
Another traveller said their delayed arrival to the UK began before border control, with a 30-minute delay for a bus transfer from the aircraft.
Whilst a third arrival claimed she’d been waiting for 2.5 hours at Heathrow, compared to the 5 seconds it took her to pass through passport control at Dubai airport.
The news comes amidst continuing chaos at airports due to Covid travel rules and reported staff shortages for UK Border Control.
Border Force chief Paul 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.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith and James Gray, MP for North Wiltshire, have called on senior officials including Mr Lincoln to explain what is causing the ‘unacceptable’ queues.
Stricken holidaymakers shared their frustration on social media this morning
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘This afternoon a technical issue affected eGates at a number of ports. The issue was quickly identified and has now been resolved’
Twitter has been awash with comments and criticisms directed at Heathrow and Border Control as passengers are forced to queue for three hours. One passenger claimed that the queue stretched for a kilometer
As a result, some families have been worst hit because they are unable to use the passport e-gates.
Heathrow Airport has responded to travellers on Twitter this morning saying: ‘Queue times are at unacceptable levels. Border Force are working to process passengers and we have called on the UK Government to address the problem as a matter of urgency, we do appreciate your patience.’
They added: ‘Whilst we do not have exact figures out how long queues can take our teams in the terminals are on hand to support where possible and we are working with Border Force to reduce delays as soon as possible’.
British Airways SCRAPS plans for short-haul budget airline subsidiary operating from Gatwick after talks collapsed over pilots’ pay
By Stewart Carr for MailOnline
British Airways’ plans to launch a short-haul budget airline subsidiary at Gatwick Airport have been scrapped after it failed to reach an agreement over pilots’ contracts.
The airline had planned for the new business to have up to 17 Airbus A320 aircraft based at Gatwick in summer 2022, with more added in line with demand over the following three to four years.
But after initially securing support from the pilots’ union Balpa, talks broke down over pay – leading BA to abandon its project, which depended on its running costs to be ‘viable and sustainable’.
British Airways had planned 17 aircraft to helm its low-budget subsidiary operation at Gatwick Airport, but talks have broken down with union Balpa over pilots’ pay
A spokeswoman for the airline said it was ‘disappointed’ it could not secure a deal with trade union Balpa.
She said: ‘After many years of losing money on European flights from the airport, we were clear that coming out of the pandemic, we needed a plan to make Gatwick profitable and competitive.
‘With regret, we will now suspend our short-haul operations at Gatwick, with the exception of a small number of domestic services connecting to our long-haul operation, and will pursue alternative uses for the London Gatwick short-haul slots.’
Potential uses for the now-empty slots include selling them to rivals such as easyJet or Wizz Air, or offering them to partner airline Vueling.
The vast majority of British Airways’ short-haul flights from the West Sussex airport have been suspended since March 2020 due to the pandemic.
In an email to staff, the airline’s chief operating officer Jason Mahoney wrote that the terms offered to Balpa were ‘the best that could be achieved in order to create a viable and sustainable operation at London Gatwick’, but the union has chosen not to continue with a ballot of its members on the issue.
Mr Mahoney added that the resumption of short-haul flights at Gatwick in summer 2022 would have been ‘good for our business as we try to recover and pay back the debts that the pandemic has necessitated’.
BA’s short-haul slots at Gatwick could be sold to rivals such as easyJet and Wizz Air, or offered to partner airline Vueling
Balpa acting general secretary Martin Chalk said: ‘Despite our best efforts Balpa was unable to reach an agreement with British Airways on revised terms and conditions for London Gatwick short-haul that was acceptable to our members.
‘The company has informed us it is now pulling out of London Gatwick short-haul and considering what to do with its London Gatwick slots.
‘Balpa remains open to future negotiations with British Airways to address our members’ concerns with the proposal for London Gatwick short-haul or about any other part of the business.’