Home Office says Heathrow delays ‘unacceptable’ | Heathrow Airport

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The Home Office described the delays at Heathrow as “unacceptable”, after reports of passengers fainting in queues of up to three hours.

Border officials were left dealing with a large number of travelers, with witnesses saying they saw people – including a pregnant woman – pass out while standing in line.

The Home Office has criticized Britain’s Border Force, its immigration agency, and said long waiting times for passengers are “unacceptable”. He added that the Border Force was reviewing its rosters and “flexibility” to help deal with the issue and improve wait times.

A spokesperson for the company said: “Throughout the pandemic, we have been clear that wait times could be longer as we ensure all passengers comply with health measures put in place to keep the UK public safe. However, the very long wait times we saw at Heathrow last night are not acceptable.

“This is the busiest weekend of the year for returning travelers, with particularly large numbers of families with children under 12, who cannot use the online portals. Border Force quickly reviews their listings and capabilities and flexibly deploys our staff throughout Airport to improve waiting times.

“We work closely with Heathrow and its airlines, and we are all committed to ensuring that all passengers can enjoy a safe and hassle-free journey.”

One vacationer, Sunny Singh, told Sky News he saw a pregnant woman fainted while standing in line at the airport on Friday night. He said, “There were thousands of families queuing and only two people at booths at the front to check documents.

The children were screaming and crying. The queue moved about five feet in about 45 minutes. Then, when the pregnant woman fainted, she finally reached someone somewhere–the children were put on their side to sit while the adults were waiting in the queue and she started moving faster.”

Singh said his family left Heathrow shortly after midnight after a three-hour wait, at which time trains stopped running.

Another passenger caught in the chaos said he and his pregnant wife had to wait two hours after returning from their vacation in Malta. Jason Reed told Sky News: “Honestly, it was an absolute massacre. My wife is pregnant and has a bad back so she was really uncomfortable and tired.”

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