Viewpoint: Airport wait

The travel industry is not impressed and I can see their point

Travellers arrive at Heathrow Airport in London | EFE

Jason MoorePalma21/05/2021 11:38

One of the biggest concerns of the UK travel industry is whether UK Border Force customs and immigrations officials will be able to cope with the additional paperwork needed to travel as a result of Covid. British government ministers have already admitted that tourists could be stuck at airports for up to seven hours as a result of all the additional paperwork which will need to be checked and then checked again.

The concern is so pronounced there are fears that it could ruin the limited travel which is being allowed. The industry has said that they are worried about long queues at arrival airports as well. Apart from the Covid paperwork the European Union could demand that all British passports are checked and stamped which could lead to even longer waits.

The British travel industry is demanding that extra resources are deployed to British airports this summer to make the whole process faster. Border Force have said that they are ready but the British government have warned of long delays. The travel industry is not impressed and I can see their point.

They are battling to get the industry moving again and find that their efforts are being halted at the border. As one senior travel industry executive said...if they can´t do their job then they should consider their future. The time has come for everyone involved with tourism to work together to ensure that when tourists can go on holiday they will have the best time possible.