CHAOS at London’s Heathrow Airport as passengers forced to wait for 5 hours in packed queues despite Covid-19 risk (PHOTOS)
London’s Heathrow Airport suffered huge queues and a dangerous lack of social distancing this week, despite the ongoing threat of Covid-19, due to a Border Force staff shortage which kept travellers waiting for five hours.
Travellers at Heathrow Airport have repeatedly experienced such conditions since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, as the limited number of staff working are unable to cope with those at the border.
Social media users posted photos of the chaos at Terminal 5 on Friday, with some Brits reporting queue times as long as five hours.
The London Heathrow Queues are insane. With no idea of when they are going to move. Not sure if this is an effective way to prevent the spread of Covid. Box a few thousand people in a confined space to check Covid documents. The irony. pic.twitter.com/c6vqu4R6MD
— Noel Braganza (@dootah) September 3, 2021
#Heathrow delays at arrivals for hours and hours “world beating UK” crams thousands of people together from all over the world #covidpic.twitter.com/eOT2dnIop3
— Richard Boatwright (@boatwr) September 3, 2021
Very young children screaming and crying. Queuing for over 2 hours now. #Heathrowpic.twitter.com/D4G4BUf8cH
— Ashley Doody (@AshleyDoody) September 3, 2021
“Wow never seen anything like Heathrow right now for passport control… queues of 1000s probs 10,000 waiting for hours all stood together… utter madness,” tweeted professional chef and television presenter James Martin on Friday evening, while others reported offline ePassport machines and limited desk service.
@HeathrowAirport I’m at border control in the line for people with young families (I have three under seven). The queue is ridiculous and will take hours to clear - why aren’t you putting more desks on?!
— Richard Wyborn (@RJDDubya) September 3, 2021
I came prepared Heathrow. Shame you wasn’t ready for your customers. Passport control was a mess, only a few of your machines working . The staff manning them didn’t know what was going on. Oh, and I arrived just under 2 hours ago and still no updates from your team.
— Paul Waller (@wallerp) September 3, 2021
One man even reportedly fainted during the chaos.
Heathrow Airport responded to complaints by claiming that the delays were due to Border Force conducting “Health Measure Checks to ensure passenger compliance with the UK Government’s latest entry requirements.”
The airport did not address the lack of social distancing and lengthy, packed queues, however, which posed a coronavirus risk to thousands of airline passengers.
On Saturday morning, travellers at Terminal 5 reported on social media that the queues had died down.
It was not the first time that Brits documented chaotic and unsafe scenes at Heathrow Airport during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to local media, at least eight other incidents of long queues, crammed crowds, and a lack of access to water and bathroom facilities have been recorded between May and September.
In December 2020 – just days before Christmas – hundreds of passengers were left stranded at Heathrow Airport as flights became overbooked with Brits trying to escape recently-announced Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions, which forced families to stay at home and away from loved ones over the holiday season.
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