[cwoodward]

Sounds like the normal UK border cock-up and buck passing that been going on for years plus a good dose of political gamesmanship. Exaggerated out of all reality by the Daily Fail and other comics.

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PeterCoultas

[miningguy]

I arrived at LHR a week or so ago from Madrid and go through in about 10 minutes….so maybe I got lucky or they have improved. What had changed this time around was they were checking people as they got off the plane. I think this could still be made more efficient if they put up signs telling people to “Make sure you have Documents A,B,C ready” and for there to be staff in the queues to prep people ahead of getting to the customs official.

[Shamsh]

The simpliest way would be to send the required docs before depature. Similar to ESTA. All that has to be checked on arrival is the passport and off we go. But will this ever be possible in Britain?

[DavidSmith2]

The Guardian/Observer headline tonight reads ‘Heathrow: ministers must ‘get a grip’ of customs before 17 May’. That is simply amateur, uneducated journalism by the headline writer. The only time you usually see a ‘customs’ officer is when you pass through the red/green channels, after baggage control. You might also see them when you disembark, with the currency or drug dog checks, but those checks are usually unobtrusive.

The queues are all about immigration staff who check your passport and other bona fides. Customs are concerned with revenue goods/taxes and with smuggling of prohibited goods. Of course they all now work under the Border Force umbrella, but that does not detract from the fact that it is not ‘customs’s who are causing any delays. Nor do I blame the operational immigration staff – the problem is a mix of shoddy management and cut backs and a failure to realise what was needed. I just hope they realise what will be needed in the very near future, when traffic hopefully increases.

[AMcWhirter]

Singapore Changi is to make a separate terminal available to arrivals from high-risk countries.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-changi-airport-to-segregate-flight-arrivals-high-risk-14815160

Perhaps Heathrow will make something similar available.

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DerekVH

[Tom Otley]

Queues are back…

Three-hour queues as border staff struggle to cope with travel surge

“Some travellers told of being forced to stand side by side with arrivals from India — one of the UK’s red list destinations — while queueing at Heathrow passport control.”

It’s not surprising when Border Force have to check extra documents and the e-passport gates are either shut or only used once those checks have taken place.

[canucklad]

[quote quote=1100231]“Some travellers told of being forced to stand side by side with arrivals from India — one of the UK’s red list destinations — while queueing at Heathrow passport control.”[/quote]

14 months into this crisis !!! Not good enough by any stretch of the imagination , and reminds me of that old quip about the definition of insanity !!

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DerekVH, PeterCoultas

[CathayLoyalist2]

At Changi they are sending all arrivals from high risk areas into a separate terminal with little or no access to non essential personnel. Singapore identified arriving travellers and airport employees mixing at some stage of the arrival process and this has caused the increase in infections. I

[AMcWhirter]

[quote quote=1100399]At Changi they are sending all arrivals from high risk areas into a separate terminal with little or no access to non essential personnel. Singapore identified arriving travellers and airport employees mixing at some stage of the arrival process and this has caused the increase in infections. I[/quote]

Yes I posted details of what Changi is doing above.

Here’s the link again to the CNA piece.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-changi-airport-to-segregate-flight-arrivals-high-risk-14815160

[AMcWhirter]

News just emerging – Heathrow’s T3 to become dedicated Red List terminal from June 1.

[MartynSinclair]

[quote quote=1100728]News just emerging – Heathrow’s T3 to become dedicated Red List terminal from June 1[/quote]

Accepted the standard UK excuse that it takes time to facilitate a ‘red list terminal’ (surely it should have been considered at the time that hotel quarantine started), but you can understand the frustration of the masses who have kept and still are keeping to the rules, especially about not travelling.

So at Heathrow, red list arrivals, which includes India, simply arrive and mix with all and sundry for the next 10 days…. as for the last 10 days…

Are there any stats available how many quarantined arrivals in the UK have tested positive?

Have a great weekend everyone…. from a very blowy and wet north London…

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PeterCoultas

[DavidSmith2]

[quote quote=1100731]Accepted the standard UK excuse that it takes time to facilitate a ‘red list terminal’ (surely it should have been considered at the time that hotel quarantine started)[/quote]

1982:

2nd April – Argentina invades Falklands
5th April – Main task force sets sail
12th April – UK imposes 200 mile exclusion zone

Just saying….

[SimonS1]

[postquote quote=1100734]

I’m curious how you could have enforced an exclusion zone when the task force was still half the world away?

[DavidSmith2]

[quote quote=1100748]I’m curious how you could have enforced an exclusion zone when the task force was still half the world away?

THANKS[/quote]

we had a submarine in the area by then.

[SimonS1]

[postquote quote=1100749]

I’m sure we could have defended the Falklands with a single submarine.

Anyway what relevance is an example from 40 years ago here?

[Author]

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