Fears for Heathrow Airport during Olympic Games MPs have questioned Heathrow Airport's ability to cope with this summer's Olympic Games. Planes could be "left on runways" for long periods and tourists could be deterred from returning, warned the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee. The concerns were expressed in a letter - leaked today - from the committee's chairman, John Whittingdale, to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt. In his letter, Mr Whittingdale said two of his committee's members - Therese Coffey and Gerry Sutcliffe - had attended a briefing by Heathrow operator BAA concerning the company's preparations for London 2012. Mr Whittingdale said they had reported back that, while BAA considered the big challenge was the departure of spectators at the end of the Olympics, the two MPs "did not leave the briefing confident that Heathrow was ready to cope with the arrival of a huge number of competitors, Olympic family and visiting tourists in timely fashion." The letter went on: "We understand that significant preparations have been made to accommodate unusual sporting equipment, special lanes for the Olympic family, welcoming arrangements for competitors and additional Olympic ambassadors. However, far less thought seems to have been given to the issue of how to deal with long queues at immigration. The UKBA (UK Border Agency) representative suggested that there was insufficient funding to ensure all passport stations would be open.