Pilots’ union Balpa is demanding an industry-wide round table discussion with prime minister Boris Johnson and leading ministers after a weekend of five-hour queues at Heathrow.
Balpa accused the government of “shambolic” border rules while being “clearly incapable of effectively regulating international travel”.
It added: “This government has not only reduced the UK’s international aviation sector to a shadow of its once world beating strength; even at this level the government’s shameless inability to implement an efficient border system is shocking.”
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Balpa called for the meeting to include transport secretary Grant Shapps, home secretary Priti Patel and chancellor Rishi Sunak in the wake of lengthy delays for returning holidaymakers for immigration checks at the London airport on Friday and Saturday.
The union argued: “Five hour queues at the border are not the fault of Border Force staff on duty.
“They are the fault of the government’s shambolic border rules with wholly overblown and complex requirements for testing and quarantine.
“These are then made more difficult by complex traffic light systems and a plethora of private sector, rip off, unregulated testing companies.
“The government needs to face up to its inadequacies, demonstrated repeatedly by events on the ground, and sit down with Balpa and other travel industry unions and trade bodies to find a practical, workable way forward.”
Balpa acting general secretary Martin Chalk said: “The United Kingdom was a great global trading nation, built on a world class aviation industry.
“Government decisions have seemingly set about destroying the foundations of global Britain by an apparent deliberate undermining of the aviation industry.
“Unless we can talk some sense into them, at an industry round table conference, we might as well pull up the drawbridge and sink into a box set of Little Britain.”
A Home Office spokesman was quoted as saying on Sunday: “The very long wait time at Heathrow are unacceptable. This is the busiest weekend of the year for returning passengers.”
It said Border Force was “rapidly reviewing its rosters and capacity and flexibly deploying our staff across the airport to improve waiting times”.
A Heathrow spokesperson added: “We are very sorry. Border Force were aware of the extra demand from families and we were very disappointed that they did not provide sufficient resources.”
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