London Stansted: ‘Complete chaos’ at border control as angry passengers react to ‘shambolic’ waiting times

Passengers at London Stansted Airport were furious on Sunday (March 20) night, due to packed crowds at Border Control. People were describing the scenes as ‘complete chaos’ with images on Twitter showing hundreds of people trying to get through the security checks.

MP Liam Byrne tweeted a photo with the caption: “Complete chaos at Stansted Airport Border Control at midnight Sunday. Staff with no idea what’s going on. No information to passengers. Noone empowered to bring order. Not only dangerous but shameful.” The image shows hundreds of people stood waiting whilst airport staff seemed lost.

Several passengers were tweeting about the incident, claiming people were shoved into crowded areas and asked to fill out feedback forms whilst it continued. Mr Byrne criticised the forms saying there was no place to actually fill them in.

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London Stansted later replied to Mr Byrne’s initial tweet, saying: “Good morning. We’re very sorry to hear of the poor arrival experience, Liam! We’re working alongside Border Force, who manage this part of the operation, to ensure passengers enjoy the best experience going forward. We will ensure your feedback is passed on – thank you.”

One passenger tweeted: “This is Stansted Airport. There are families with children and they are not being looked after There are elderly people stuck in narrow corridors with very little fresh air and asked to wear masks Complete shambles.”

The pictures shows hundreds of people stood at the ePassports check-in area, usually for fast track service. Stansted began replying to people on Twitter with the feedback forms, apologising for the disruption that occurred.

The Government are supposedly aware of the situation and Border Controls are handled by the Home Office. A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “As international travel continues to reopen and passenger numbers rise, we have been clear that queue times may be longer as we ensure all passengers are compliant with the security and immigration measures put in place to keep us safe.

“Border Force’s number one priority is to maintain a secure border, and we will not compromise on security. We are working closely with Stansted Airport to ensure passengers have the smoothest possible journey, and we will continue to deploy our staff as flexibly as we can.”

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https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/news/hertfordshire-news/london-stansted-complete-chaos-border-6840711

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