One-hour passport check wait at Heathrow longer than flight

[Dawie]

The leader of Britain's immigration officers has said today that thousands of passengers a day are waiting an hour or more to clear passport control at Heathrow.

John Tincey said the delays were so severe that some travellers on short-haul journeys spend longer in immigration queues than on their flight.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770

[SK1]

The leader of Britain's immigration officers has said today that thousands of passengers a day are waiting an hour or more to clear passport control at Heathrow.

John Tincey said the delays were so severe that some travellers on short-haul journeys spend longer in immigration queues than on their flight.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770

I am seriously thinking of rather taking other forms of travel to EU countries. I recently (June) went on holiday to the Channel Islands and had a nightmare flight out and back. I'm getting real tired of air travel.

[bbdivo]

The leader of Britain's immigration officers has said today that thousands of passengers a day are waiting an hour or more to clear passport control at Heathrow.

John Tincey said the delays were so severe that some travellers on short-haul journeys spend longer in immigration queues than on their flight.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770

I am seriously thinking of rather taking other forms of travel to EU countries. I recently (June) went on holiday to the Channel Islands and had a nightmare flight out and back. I'm getting real tired of air travel.

Why was it a nightmare, there aren't usually immigration checks to and from the Channel Islands?

[bani]

Don't they do iris scans at immigration at Heathrow? I know it's not standard, I wasn't able to find it at Heathrow, but an American relative (who travels a lot) told me about it, saves her a lot of time. She never has to get stamped in.

[Christophe]

Don't they do iris scans at immigration at Heathrow? I know it's not standard, I wasn't able to find it at Heathrow, but an American relative (who travels a lot) told me about it, saves her a lot of time. She never has to get stamped in.

Yes - you need to be eligble for the programme and enrol in it to make use of it. It's also available at Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester. See: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applying/iris/.

[SK1]

The leader of Britain's immigration officers has said today that thousands of passengers a day are waiting an hour or more to clear passport control at Heathrow.

John Tincey said the delays were so severe that some travellers on short-haul journeys spend longer in immigration queues than on their flight.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770

I am seriously thinking of rather taking other forms of travel to EU countries. I recently (June) went on holiday to the Channel Islands and had a nightmare flight out and back. I'm getting real tired of air travel.

Why was it a nightmare, there aren't usually immigration checks to and from the Channel Islands?

Nah, it's not just immigration control I'm referring to but just flight delays, problematic weather and the longer checking in times and security searches. I don't mind being searched, but nowadays the whole idea of getting a quick flight to Europe is fading. I had to fly from Stansted to Guersney and then connect to Jersey, but we got delayed at Stansted and it pushed everything out.

On our return we had fog on the Island and spent 5 hours waiting for our flight. We left the hotel at 8am and only got to our home at 3pm that afternoon. And to think we live just 8 minutes away from Stansted. Most of our whole day wasted in airports. I have a friend who had a worse experience with Ryanair from Jersey to Poland via Stansted...on both legs of her flight...which cost her £200 and a missed day at work. She's now trying to get her money back from them or her travel insurance.

Sorry for the rant, but it's just becoming too off putting to fly short-haul. Or maybe it's just me?

[Christophe]

Sorry for the rant, but it's just becoming too off putting to fly short-haul. Or maybe it's just me?

No, it's not just you!

[SYH]

Sorry for the rant, but it's just becoming too off putting to fly short-haul. Or maybe it's just me?

No, it's not just you!

Did you see the CNN report about Heathrow.
Everyone is trying to avoid it
Its business is down almost 2 percent vs other airports like Paris which is up 4 % from a year ago.

[Christophe]

Sorry for the rant, but it's just becoming too off putting to fly short-haul. Or maybe it's just me?

No, it's not just you!

Did you see the CNN report about Heathrow.
Everyone is trying to avoid it
Its business is down almost 2 percent vs other airports like Paris which is up 4 % from a year ago.

Well, I'm not surprised. I'll be going to Australia, probably in November, and I must admit it's tempting to take the Eurostar to Paris, spend a couple of days there and fly on from there, ditto in reverse on the way back. This is of course not a sensible option for most people (or for me, usually), but if I could avoid Heathrow on this occasion...

I know a woman who flies regularly between Australia and Ireland and has done so for the past 20 years or so. The most recent couple of times she has flown via Frankfurt, and she now says never again via Heathrow.

Things might improve, of course, when Terminal 5 opens, notwithstanding that Terminal 2 (and I read recently, Terminal 1) are then going to be closed for re-building.

[mads]

I avoid Heathrow at all costs especially with a little one in tow. I usually fly from Leeds Airport via Amsterdam to Cape Town. It might cost a bit more but checking in and out is a walk in the park and takes less than 5minutes even on a foreign passport.

[avjones]

We've just come back from a week in Cornwall - travelling by train is sooooo much more fun than by air!