Heathrow chaos: new figures show Border Force missed targets almost daily Unless we get this right, the UK's reputation will be permanently damaged. Performance targets agreed by the Border Force set a 25 minute maximum waiting time for passengers arriving from the European Economic Area - the EU along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. At Heathrow this target was missed at at least one terminal on six out of 30 days. On April 10, the queue reached just over an hour, approaching three times the maximum in Terminal 5. The figures for non EEA passengers are even more damning. At Terminal 5, which is operated by British Airways, the target of clearing 95 per cent of passengers within 45 minutes, was missed on 23 out of 30 days. At Terminals 3 and 4, the Border Force failed on 21 days. Passengers at Terminal l fared slightly better with the target being missed "only" on 12 days. Airlines who met Theresa May, the Hoe Secretary, stepped up their demand for greater long term investment in the Border Force. "In the short term, the problem may be eased by pumping in temporary additional resources - but as the Home Secretary acknowledges a sticking plaster solution is not the answer," said a spokesman for the British Air Transport Association, which represents 11 major ailrines including British Airways, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic. The latest statistics are another blow for the Government which is bracing itself for a walkout by members of the Immigration Services Union next Thursday in a dispute over pensions. After weeks of criticism over lengthy queues at Heathrow airport, up to 4,600 immigration officials are expected to walk out on May 10 They will coordinate their strike with 200,000 public sector workers who have already announced plans for a national day of industrial action. Home Office officials last night drew up contingency plans to draft in Military Police officers and civil servants to man immigration desks. They said disruption would be "minimal" and advised passengers not to cancel. One union representing border staff warned of queues of up to four hours at Heathrow, which is already overstretched, because the drafted-in staff would take even longer to process passengers. Another raised concerns that passengers may simply be waved through without being checked if long queues built up. They say this happened during a Border Force strike in November.