Airlines oppose fee to cut queues at Heathrow
Airlines have hit out at suggestions landing fees could be increased to help cut queuing times at airports.
While British Airways said it was not totally against the move, Virgin Atlantic said: "We would be strongly opposed to airlines being forced to pay for extra border staff."
Lufthansa and Scandinavian Airlines told the Financial Times they too were opposed to the plan and Willie Walsh, boss of IAG, accused the government of "failing to get to grips" with the crisis at Heathrow.
Any increase in landing fees, which already cost £19.30 per passenger at Heathrow, must be approved by the Civil Aviation Authority. A percentage is already used by BAA to pay for immigration control infrastructure, such as the new e-passport gates, but the money has not been used before to pay immigration staff.
UK Border Force staff numbers have been cut by 800 in the past two years and a further 700 jobs will be lost by 2014-15 and BAA accused the Home Office of failing to ensure there were enough staff to man desks at peak times.
More than 550 volunteers are reportedly going to be drafted in to help man UK borders during the Olympics to help cope with 660,000 additional arrivals, but there is, as yet, no long term strategy to reduce queuing times.
According to The Times, staff from Revenue & Customs, retired immigration officers and those who have already taken voluntary redundancy will be given four days training before taking up their posts at passport controls at London airports and in Calais, Dunkirk and Bristol.
All leave for UK Border Force staff has been cancelled during the Olympics but airlines are concerned that staff shortages are already leading to delays of up to three hours at Heathrow and they will continue after the Games.
Mary Rance, chief executive for UKinbound, has called on the Home Office and UK Border Force to recognise that "staffing at UK Borders should be for life not just the Olympics."
"Where is the sense of urgency?" she asked. "It is all well and good drafting in emergency staff from Manchester but what does that quick fix solve? Papering over the cracks is not the answer.
"What the government must realise is that there is life after the Olympics. The UK’s brand image and reputation is on the line. We cannot afford to lose potential visitors, business travellers and investors to the UK. We do not have that luxury."
Meanwhile Nigel Pocklington at Hotels.com is warning that any prolonged delays could have far reaching consequences.
"Continuing border delays at Heathrow airport risk damaging London’s reputation as a tourist destination on the eve of the city’s most exciting summer for a lifetime," he said.
"Pictures of lengthy queues at passport control being beamed around the world could put travellers off from visiting the UK. This problem has to be resolved quickly and decisively in order to restore confidence."
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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