Heathrow to Suffer During Public Sector Strikes
Long delays are expected tomorrow as the public sector strike threatens the UK's border controls. The Army is being deployed to provide assistance and control the heavy disruption that is expected at all airports tomorrow, particularly Heathrow, Gatwick & Stansted.
Many airlines including BA, BMI and Virgin Atlantic are offering alternative travel dates for passengers booked for travel on 30th November. BAA is holding crisis talks with the UK Border Agency and airline representatives to assess the potential impact and put contingency plans in place to deal with the expected chaos. Already, airlines have been asked to halve the number of passengers they fly in to the airport as would-be travellers are told to expect 12-hour delays, most of which could be spent on the aircraft itself to minimise disruption at Passport Control.
CEO Norman Boivin said in a letter to all airlines operating from Heathrow, "The delays at immigration are likely to be so long that passengers could not be safely accommodated within the terminals and would need to be held on arriving aircraft.....This in turn would quickly create gridlock at the airport with no available aircraft parking stands, mass cancellations or departing aircraft and diversions outside the UK for arriving aircraft."
Of all the airports, Heathrow is going to experience the most disruption as it handles the most international passengers. In fact, more than 100 long-haul flights are expected to arrive into LHR in the early morning of Wednesday itself.
It has been reported that civil servants have been asked to step in to the shoes of striking Border Agency staff to help with processing passengers on the day, however it is not yet clear how many have agreed to assist. Airport staff who are not permitted to work at the border itself will still help out where they can, with non-essential meetings and activities cancelled for the day.
The strikes by Border Agency staff are part of a UK wide walk out by public sector staff due this week over changes to pensions which unions insist are unfair and unjust.
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