Easter Travel Delay Alert For The U.k.
Altegrity Risk advises the United Kingdom of possible "gridlock" at airports during
the Easter break due to staff shortages, reports indicated on April 4th. The British Air Transport Association claimed there were too few border staff scheduled to work during the break, delaying security checks.Says the UK Telegraph:
A memo sent by Virgin Atlantic to the home affairs select committee warns that long queues at passport control could leave passengers stranded on planes and put the operation of "entire airports at risk".
Easter weekend is one of the busiest times of the year for the airports with more than 1.5 million holidaymakers expected to travel overseas. More than 370,000 passengers will leave Heathrow between Good Friday and Easter Monday while Gatwick will handle 200,000.
The Virgin Atlantic memo says: "If arriving passengers are unable to proceed efficiently through the UK border then the entire airport operation will be at risk. Passengers arriving late from passport control to collect their luggage will cause congestion in the baggage hall, delaying delivery of luggage from later flights.
"If there is no space in the immigration hall for any more arrivals then airlines will be forced to keep passengers aboard the aircraft, thus jeopardizing the operation of subsequent flights."
The leaked Virgin Atlantic memo, sent by a senior executive and seen by The Daily Telegraph, is even more stark. It warns that there is a very real chance of gridlock at UK airports over the Easter holidays. It says ministers have either to provide more staff, or to reinstate targeted checks on people coming from high risk areas instead of taking a blanket approach.
It says the number of border officials has fallen by a quarter in recent years, leading to fears that this level of resource is incompatible with a return to 100 per cent checks and if left unaddressed will cause congestion at UK airports.
If you purchased a Roundtrip travel insurance policy from Insurance Services of America and are traveling to Europe this Easter weekend, then please contact your travel supplier for current travel delays. While traveling, if your flight is delayed or cancelled, then please contact the 24 hour telephone assistance number on your ID card for live travel assistance.
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