Well the picket lines are manned and the public sector strike action day is under way. So lets see if this is a damp squib, or if HM Government have been overstating the matter.
Again.
According to the BBC, Take-offs and landings have been mainly unaffected at London Heathrow and London Gatwick with a few minor cancellations. Staffing at the border appears to operating at 2/3’s of normal capacity.
Brtitish Airways have reported they are operating a “near normal” service with immigration being “no longer than usual”
A report at Heathrow T3, 10 EU immigration desks are being manned by a mix of Home Office staff and police officers, with the other 5 for non-EU passengers operated by immigration staff.
The Guardian confirms that the 8-10-12 hour waits that were expected have failed to materialise.
In Northern Ireland, no train or buses are operating today.
So really, for travellers – nothing of massive consequence other than the stand-still of travel in Northern Ireland. Some good advice from The Telegraph if you’re coming into the UK:
- having travel documents, including passports, available and taken out of any wallets
- using automatic e-Passport gates (where available)
- having landing cards fully completed and ready
- staying in family group
I’ll be monitoring this during the day and hope to have an update out about 14:00GMT.
