BA boss slams 2-hour airport queues

THE boss of British airways yesterday criticised the ‘border farce’ of two-hour queues for passport checks at Heathrow.

alex Cruz spoke out after reports that theresa May was considering designated lanes for UK passport holders.

He said: ‘two-hour queues are fast becoming the norm for those visiting from outside the European Economic area (EEA), despite a target of no more than a 45-minute wait. Even EEA citizens wait almost an hour. this is unacceptable.

‘Queues are significantly worse than at many other major world airports.’

in a letter to the times, he added: ‘we need more than UK-only lanes to show Britain is open for business, and that includes Sajid Javid [the Home Secretary] taking immediate action to end this border farce once and for all.’

Mr Cruz said Heathrow missed its target for non-EEA arrivals 8,298 times last year, and had already missed its target more than 6,000 times this year.

targets are for an up to 25-minute wait for British and EU passengers, and up to 45 minutes for non-Europeans.

Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport, with about 110,000 passengers arriving on average every day last year.

a Home Office spokesman said: ‘the vast majority of people get through the border within our service standards.

‘But we understand the frustration for those who have experienced longer waits and remain committed to working with our partners to reduce waiting times.’