Immigration minister is lying, says travel industry
Embattled immigration minister Damian Green has lost the confidence of the travel industry following his handling of the Heathrow airport crisis.
A TravelMole survey revealed that the vast majority of readers don’t trust the minister to have immigration desks at Heathrow fully staff in time for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Green said last week that 80 extra staff would be recruited and a mobile team would be available to help process the extra 660,000 passengers expected to fly into Heathrow airport for the Games.
The pledge came following days in which immigration queues for non-EU arrivals were so long that some passengers were forced to wait in line for up to three hours.
While Green blamed bad weather for the queues, claiming that it had caused flight delays, he said more staff would be drafted in this summer to ease the problem.
However, 85% of those who responded to the TravelMole survey said they didn’t believe him.
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
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Marginal increase for New York City tourism in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments