Assistant at Heathrow During the bank holiday weekend, the airport faces hours of queuing.
Vacationers complain about the shortage of airport personnel and lack of social distancing.
On Sunday, families were forced to wait up to four hours to pass border control because Border guards Additional random checks were conducted in accordance with the latest government entry requirements.
Heathrow Airport It was confirmed that the border forces encountered a delay on Twitter.
The chaotic scene saw pregnant women line up, parents trying to entertain their children, and a mother rationing a bottle of milk for her baby.
According to reports, border guard officials have been told that they no longer need to conduct Covid checks on people from countries on the green and amber lists to reduce queues.
However, when travelers realized that only a quarter of the desks could hold hundreds of passengers, they vented their frustration.
Amidst the crowds, a mother explained why eGates did not queue up, but those who could not use it, including adults with children, were queued into a detailed three-tier queue system.
The woman from Zurich, Switzerland told The Evening Standard: “Family has waited for hours. You have babies, toddlers, and pregnant women, all trapped.
“We have planned for this possibility. My children are 9 and 7 years old. They have fully charged game consoles and a bag of snacks, but many people have nothing to occupy their children.
“Anyone who has checked the stroller has to hold the baby all the time. I saw at least one mother rationing a bottle of milk for her baby.
“It’s not that there are too many passengers, nor that it takes a long time to check documents. It’s just that there are not enough staff and most of the desks are not open.”
Passengers reported that only two of the eight border control consoles in Terminal 2 were operating.
Some passengers praised the Heathrow airport staff for distributing water and doing their best to help, while others criticized the waiting conditions.
Among those waiting, one said: “This is too cruel. Families with children are forced to line up for two to three hours, standing, with no food or water other than the food or water you brought from the plane.
“Yes, the border guards set the rules, but Heathrow Airport controls the conditions
Another said: “Our flight GQ700 arrived at 1.45 pm together with the other two flights. The queue was four hours in line, no Covid measures were taken, and no special attention was paid to women and children.”
A spokesperson added that as a procedural issue, airport staff will deliver water every day, which is mainly a problem with border troops.
The “Evening Standard” has contacted the Ministry of Interior for comments.
