Heathrow could “grind to a halt” when immigration officers go on strike next week over pensions, reports claimed today.
The airport’s owner BAA has been holding talks with airlines and the UK Border Agency to try to minimise the impact of Wednesday’s public sector strike.
The Daily Telegraph quoted a Heathrow official as saying travellers arriving at the airport could be held on aircraft for up to 12 hours while immigration queues cleared.
The Home Office said it was exploring all options to minimise disruption with Whitehall civil servants being drafted in to work as border staff at Heathrow.
Heathrow’s operating officer Normand Boivin told the Daily Telegraph that delays at immigration could be so long passengers would need to be held on arriving aircraft for up to 12 hours.
Carriers have been told to fly aircraft only half full in response, the newspaper reports.
“Modelling of the impacts of strike action on passenger flows at Heathrow show that there are likely to be very long delays of up to 12 hours to arriving passengers,” Boivin is quoted as saying.
“The delays at immigration are likely to be so long that passengers could not be safely accommodated within the terminals and would need to be held on arriving aircraft.
“This in turn would quickly create gridlock at the airport with no available aircraft parking stands, mass cancellations or departing aircraft and diversions outside the UK for arriving aircraft.”
Disruption at the London hub is expected to be particularly severe because almost 100 long-haul flights are due to arrive before 9am on the day of the strike.
The Guardian has reported that staff from private security firm Serco are being trained up to man the borders amid claims from the unions that they will not be able to receive the necessary training in time.