Covid: Travellers returning to England warned of six-hour airport queues

People returning to England from abroad could face peak-time airport queues of up to six hours when travel measures are eased, a union has warned. Fully jabbed UK citizens coming back from amber list countries will no longer need to quarantine from 19 July. The Immigration Service Union said the "sheer number" of passengers arriving and a shortage of Border Force officers would slow down checks. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also admitted travel could be "disrupted". But he added that airports, airlines and train and ferry companies were developing apps to cut queues. On Thursday, the government announced that fully vaccinated UK residents returning to England from amber list travel destinations - including popular holiday countries such as Spain, France, Italy and the US - would no longer have to quarantine from Monday 19 July. Lucy Moreton, the Immigration Service Union's professional officer, said the government needed to recruit more Border Force workers to cope with the increased demand. Ordinary passport checks took two to four minutes per person, she said, adding that those involving the Covid-related documents increased this to eight to 12 minutes.<br/>