Immigration minister Damian Green has had it rough recently, with the chaos at the UK Border at various ports of entry - and rightly so after not ensuring enough manpower was available to process the visitors into the United Kingdom. As the UK ramps up its border inspections thanks to a lack policy and a will from the Government to do deeper inspections, delays into the UK … [Read more...]
Oh great. Big UK Border Fun as one of the unions goes on strike….
Arriving on the 10th May? Well you're probably going to have more of a wait to get into the country as the Immigration Services Union (who represent 4500 members) are going out on strike over pensions and retirement ages. The 24 hour strike is set to start at 00:01 on 10 May for 24 hours. BAA who operate London Heathrow, Stansted and other some other UK airports … [Read more...]
UK Border chaos spreads to Stansted
In what should be no surprise to anyone, the border wait times have extended to London Stansted. Last night entries into the United Kingdom on a European Economic Area Passport were taking from 90 minutes to two hours. Which for a mainly European port of entry for low cost carriers is again... disgusting. The UK Border Force states: "We flexibly deploy staff to meet … [Read more...]
An Easter gift from UK Border Agency: Expect delays this weekend
It seems a lack of manpower is behind this weekend's dire warning that there could be gridlock at the UK Borders The UK Border force says it has a "very solid plan" in place and disruption would be kept to a minimum during the Easter weekend and the weekend after. The UK Border Agency is planning to recruit extra staff to help with the holiday demand. Last year, it seems … [Read more...]
UK Border/Public Sector Strike – Update II
Well for those who are going through UK Border, this is turning into a damp squib of an action. Reports indicated that 2/3rds of immigration desks are open at London Heathrow and Gatwick, with other ports of entry suffering only minor delays. Or to quote The Telegraph's Neil Tweedie: Here in terminal 3 at Heathrow and the passport hall is a picture of tranquillity. 21 … [Read more...]
UK Border/Public Service Strike update
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 … [Read more...]
UK Border Agency/Public Sector Strike 30/11 – It’s on
Well with the Unions and Government itching for a smack-down fight, lets do a quick round of up of the facts thoughts, and damn lies Truths: Most public sector agencies will be down heavily tomorrow (30/11) due to a strike against the changes to the public sector provisions. This includes parts of Local Government, Schools, parts of the NHS, and the UK Border … [Read more...]
