HEATHROW has asked holidaymakers not to arrive more than three hours early for their flight – despite long queues and “panics” when a baggage drop broke.
Britons traveling via Britain’s busiest airport have faced chaotic scenes in recent weeks, as British Airways and easyJet canceled thousands of flights and baggage piled up on return.
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But with many planning to arrive extra early so as not to miss their trip entirely, Heathrow bosses have urged customers to stay away for as long as possible.
A spokesman said: “Passengers are being reminded to arrive at the airport three hours before a European and a long-haul flight.
“We ask passengers not to arrive earlier as this may cause unnecessary congestion at the airport.”
Angry customers shared photos of disruptions on Saturday.
Taking a photo of huge queues at Terminal 3, one traveler branded the delays a “joke”. They added: “Waiting in line for a queue.”
Another blasted: “The baggage drop is now broken so mass lines have turned to panic.
“People are being asked to leave suitcases and travel with hand luggage only and they will be sent on in two days. Really stressful.”
A third posted a photo of hundreds of discarded sacks.
Some said the security desks were unmanned “despite the lines snaking their way to the door.”
A customer says she has been without her suitcase for almost three weeks.
“It’s been 19 days since we last saw our luggage,” she said.
The already desolate situation at the airport is likely to worsen in the coming weeks.
But not only Heathrow is experiencing travel chaos, passengers at Birmingham Airport also had to wait a long time.
Angry TUI customers tried to force down a door to collect their suitcases after being forced to hang around for FOUR hours.
Travelers had been diverted to the Midlands before finally landing and faced another delay when collecting their luggage in a 12-hour hell.
A series of strikes are planned over the summer holidays, with aviation fuel services (AFS) workers threatening a three-day strike between July 21 and 24.
More than 70 airlines, including Virgin, Delta and KLM, are expected to be affected as the union fights to end its three-year wage freeze with a double-digit wage increase.
EasyJet has already gone on strike this month, with more planned between the 15th and 17th and the 29th and 31st.
But in rare good news, a planned British Airways strike at the airport has been called off.
Hundreds of BA workers at Heathrow were preparing to shut down tools. However, a new collective agreement was concluded.
AIRPORT ELID
Just in case travelers get their hopes up, anyone hoping to fly BA might be in for a shock.
The airline is to cancel 10,300 more short-haul flights between August and the end of October.
This means that between April and October this year, almost 30,000 flights were removed from BA’s schedule.
The cancellations affect London Heathrow, Gatwick and City airports.
Overall, however, easyJet is the worst culprit when it comes to flight cancellations.
Between July and September, 10,000 flights were grounded, affecting 1.5 million people.
Between May 1 and July 4, the airline canceled 1,144 flights within 72 hours of departure.
The Sun has reached out to Heathrow for comment.
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