Heathrow bosses blame social distancing mayhem on passengers arriving 'too early'
This is a blow to overly punctual dads everywhere
Charlie Lawrence-JonesReporter
Passengers have been complaining about the lack of social distancing at Heathrow Airport (Image: Tolga Akmen / AFP / Getty Images)
After months of lockdown many people are looking abroad for well deserved breaks.
But as passenger numbers at London airports increase, maintaining social distancing has proven difficult.
At Heathrow Airport pictures and footage taken on Sunday, July 19 showed people stuck in huge queues, with little social distancing taking place.
The scenes were described by one traveller as 'chaos'.
Heathrow bosses have said the mayhem was due to people arriving too early for their flights and have given advice on how long beforehand people should get to the airport.
For more news and features about London directly to your inbox sign up to our newsletter here
Passengers complained there were 'no staff' managing the social distancing in queues, despite coronavirus still claiming lives daily in the UK.
Others snapped pictures of packed lines of mask-wearing travellers at Border Control points this week.
The man who filmed one video said: ''Terminal 2 entry has no social distancing.
"There are long queues with people bumping into each other, no system in place and no staff managing this.
"It is chaos with people coming out the elevators and zero instruction."
Flight passengers have been airing worries at the growing queues over the past week.
F1 journalist Jon Noble tweeted images on Twitter Monday of long passport control queues, saying: "Heathrow Airport looks like it has made zero effort for social distancing. What a disgrace".
The problem appears to persist.
Data analyst James Allison on Thursday, July 23 compared Heathrow to the Spanish airport he departed from as he shared pictures on Twitter.
He wrote that Madrid's Terminal 4 was 'back to normal' and praised British Airways' handling of his flight.
He wrote last week: "BA did a good job. Boarding and disembarking by row number. Space on the plan. Snack and water bags distributed rapidly."
Tweeting a picture of the queues upon arrival in the UK he wrote: "Heathrow, less good. Big queue where people aren't spacing, nor is the airport double spacing the route."
For more news from your area, use our handy widget below:
Responding to the complaints, a spokesperson for Heathrow Airport said: "We are aware that some passengers are arriving several hours in advance of their flights which is not necessary and causing some congestion issues.
"To prevent this, passengers are advised to arrive no earlier than 2 hours before a short-haul flight and 3 hours for long-haul journeys.
"Our teams are on hand to support where possible, but we recognise that there are points in the journey where social distancing is not always possible.
"That is why face coverings are mandatory in terminals, as they help to reduce the risk of transmission at the airport."
TUI announces new policy on booking changes that could save customers thousands
Latest from Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic, easyJet, British Airways and TUI as Jet2 pushes back flights
In May, Heathrow's chief executive warned that UK's major airports do not have enough space for passengers to social distance.
John Holland-Kaye wrote in The Daily Telegraph: "Forget social distancing – it won't work in aviation or any other form of public transport, and the problem is not the plane, it is the lack of space in the airport.
"Just one jumbo jet would require a queue a kilometre long."
Heathrow's chief executive had warned only in May that even Britain's biggest airports do not have enough space for social distancing.
Have you been through one of London's major airports? We want to hear from you. Please get in touch at charlie.jones@reachplc.com