BA chief criticises UK border wait times | News


Cruz addressed the problem in a letter to the Times

Alex Cruise, chief executive of British Airways, has urged the UK government to address lengthening queues at Heathrow Airport.

In a letter to the Times, Cruz says passengers arriving at the airport often face delays of more than two hours to get through border control.

This situation is “significantly worse” than other major hubs across the world, he adds.

The letter is in response to proposals for “UK-only” lines after Brexit.

British Airways is Heathrow’s largest airline, flying to more than 200 destinations in 75 countries across the globe.

The Home Office has said that most passengers arriving at Heathrow passed border control within agreed time limits.

For members of the European Economic Area this 25 minutes, while those coming in from outside that region are expected to pass border control within 45 minutes.

However, Cruz said the target was missed 8,298 times last year and the number had already reached more than 6,000 for 2018.

Heathrow welcomes more than 70 million passengers a year.

The airline chief executive called on home secretary Sajid javid to “take immediate action to address this border farce”.

He added: “What kind of message does this send as we try to build links outside the EU?

“We need more than UK-only lanes to show Britain is open for business, and that includes Sajid Javid taking immediate action to address this border farce once and for all.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said from January-June 2018, more than 95 per cent of people arriving at Heathrow passed border control within the agreed time limits.

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