There were scenes of “total chaos” this morning at Heathrow airport check-in due to huge numbers of staff being forced to self-isolate, the Independent reported on Monday.
Passengers complained of long queues at check-in at the Terminal, one of the two operating terminals at the London airport. Social media was flooded with images of the disruption, all showing snaking queues for check-in desks and security,” the report said.
One passenger said he estimated there were “more than a thousand” people trying to get through security at one point, according to the report.
Another passenger caught up in the disruption said on Twitter: “Never seen Heathrow so busy. Tried to stay at home or at least deploy maximum social distancing ahead of flying to the US today – seems slightly redundant when this is what greets you at the airport.
Sheila_Talks, who works in clinical research, told Surrey Live that it usually takes her around 15 minutes to get through security at Heathrow, but today, it took nearly an hour.
“I walked in this morning and it was absolute chaos. There were so many people waiting to check in their luggage and get through security; it was absolute madness
There were two security points to go through. I started walking towards one and it was packed, but the other one was the same. It was a mass of people and it only got worse as time went on.
There was no communication from staff and I can’t remember hearing anything on the tannoy. Staff just came up to us and said we can take you forward depending on your flight time.”
The airport said in a statement later that day: “”We have activated additional team members to assist passengers with their journeys and the operation has now returned to normal. “We apologise to our passengers for any inconvenience caused.”
REUTERS