Passengers landing at Heathrow Airport in London faced queues stretching a quarter of a mile at the weekend as officials carried out spot checks on travel documents.
Travellers complained on Twitter that bottlenecks caused lines “stretching the full length of Heathrow Terminal 5” on Sunday.
The delays occurred the day before the UK loosened its travel rules to allow passengers fully vaccinated in the US and EU to avoid quarantine in the UK.
Millions of tourists are expected to take advantage of the changes, with quarantine-free deals expected to be agreed with other countries in coming months.
Passengers criticised the current arrangements at the airport as inadequate, raising questions over whether Border Force officials could handle a large surge in arrivals.
Carmen Ogilvie posted a video of waiting travellers, asking: “Ridiculous queues for immigration at Heathrow Airport. Is this the new normal?
“What's the point of all these safety measures if this is our arrivals?”
Tom Kibasi, who was also caught up in the delays, said the snaking queues were the equivalent to about a quarter of a mile.
When Heathrow Airport informed him that the queues were because of spot checks from customs officers, he replied: “Great job! I’m sure there are so many benefits from spot checks that they surely outweigh the Covid-19 risk of confining thousands of people in the same space for an extended period!”
The airport said that queues had “on occasion been unacceptable” but said the spot checks were required by the UK government.
Authorities recently changed travel rules to require airlines to check passenger documents before boarding, meaning fewer checks are carried out by Border Force workers at the gate. While officers no longer need to inspect every form, spot checks still take place to ensure passengers and carriers are complying.
“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,” Heathrow Airport said.
“Waiting times at the border have on occasion been unacceptable and we have called on the UK Government to address the problem as a matter of urgency.”
A report in The Times claimed the Border Force was hit by a wave of absences at the weekend, with about 80 of the force's 300-strong staff off with coronavirus.
It said dozens more were forced to isolate because they had been in close contact with one or more of them.
The Home Office said last month passengers should expect longer queues during the pandemic.
“Our utmost priority is protecting the health of the public and our enhanced borders regime is helping reduce the risk of new variants being transmitted,” a spokeswoman said.
“That means, for the time being, passengers will need to accept an increase in the time taken at each stage of their journey.”
Last month, passengers at Heathrow were forced to queue for hours at departure gates after more than 100 staff received a coronavirus alert telling them to self-isolate.
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 640hp
Torque: 760nm
On sale: 2026
Price: Not announced yet
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Power: 272hp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 331Nm from 5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.7L/100km
On sale: now
Price: Dh149,000
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