Packed like sardines': Passengers slam 'chaos' at Heathrow Airport as queues spark social distancing fears' 

Furious passengers have complained they were “packed in like sardines” in "shambolic" queues at Heathrow Airport, sparking growing fears over social distancing.Furious passengers have complained they were “packed in like sardines” in "shambolic" queues at Heathrow Airport, sparking growing fears over social distancing.

Travellers lashed out at “disgraceful” lengthy queues in terminals causing “chaos”, and claimed some groups were failing to wear face masks.

Bosses at Britain’s biggest airport have faced a stream of complaints over the past week, raising concerns the swelling passenger numbers could prompt a surge in coronavirus infections.

This weekend is expected to be especially busy at the airport, now the schools have broken up and with Brits eager to make use of the "air bridges" scheme.

PhD student Chris Sarnowski tweeted a picture of a packed queue at Heathrow on Wednesday, adding: “At @HeathrowAirport now. Plenty of capacity in the passport queue.“Could have used every other row. But no, packed like sardines. This is why Britain can't be trusted to use "common sense" against Covid-19.”

Another Twitter user posed on Thursday morning: “Heathrow is a zoo. No social distancing. Why aren’t there 2m floor markings and proper queue managers ensuring passengers stay apart?”Journalist Jon Noble pictured huge queues at customs in Heathrow's Terminal 5.

"It was a pretty shocking lack of effort from Heathrow in sorting out their queuing system," he told the Standard.

“Three weeks on the road seeing all the brilliant efforts F1 did to stay safe. Then arrive home to this," he added. "Looks like [Heathrow] has made zero effort for social distancing. What a disgrace.”

Three weeks on the road seeing all the brilliant efforts #F1 did to stay safe. Then arrive home to this. @HeathrowAirport looks like it has made zero effort for social distancing. What a disgrace. 

— Jon Noble (@NobleF1)July 20, 2020A video, filmed on Sunday, showed a large group of people stuck in a lengthy queue at Terminal 2. "Terminal Two entry has no social distancing,” the man filming the video said.

"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 ''

At @HeathrowAirport now. Plenty of capacity in the passport queue. Could have used every other row. But no, packed like sardines. This is why Britain can't be trusted to use "common sense" against Covid-19. 

— Chris Sarnowski (@chrissarnowski)July 22, 2020Others also criticised people not wearing face coverings inside terminals, despite Heathrow rules stating they are mandatory. “Checking in at Heathrow T2. Signs everywhere clearly saying you must wear a face mask,” journalist Ali Azrouzi tweeted.

“Nonetheless a small bunch of people don’t wear one and no airport/airline officials or police are asking them to, even some of the airport staff are not wearing one.”

@HeathrowAirport @BorisJohnson @guardian Heathrow is a zoo. No social distancing. Why aren’t there 2m floor markings and proper queue managers ensuring passengers stay apart? 

— Chris Pixel (@PixelCharge)July 23, 2020Heathrow Airport blamed the queues on passengers arriving too early for flights. A spokesperson said: “We are aware that some passengers are arriving several hours in advance of their flights which is not necessary and is 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.

Checking in at Heathrow T2. Signs everywhere clearly saying you must wear a face mask. Nonetheless a small bunch of people don’t wear one and no airport/airline officials or police are asking them to, even some of the airport staff are not wearing one.

— Ali Arouzi (@aliarouzi)July 20, 2020“That is why face coverings are mandatory in terminals, as they help to reduce the risk of transmission at the airport.”

It comes amid concerns that some destinations currently on the UK’s so-called air bridges list - allowing holidaymakers to avoid self-isolate on their return - are rapidly becoming fresh virus hotspots.

Spain has seen a rapid rise in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, leading to some lockdown restrictions being reimposed in parts of the country. New cases jumped by nearly 4,600 on Monday, the highest since April.

Ministers are understood to be considering regional “air bridges” to avoid whole nations being wiped off the list if they suffer local outbreaks. Portugal and Maldives could soon reportedly be opened to quarantine-free travel.

Reference: Evening Standard: Ewan Somerville 23 hrs ag; 23rd July 2020