UK: Heathrow queue fears as Border Force staff diverted to deal with migrant crisis

Border Force staff are being redeployed from airports to the English Channel as ministers scramble to try and contain record-breaking numbers of migrants reaching Britain’s shores this summer, it has emerged. Staff from major airports have been relocated to Dover as the agency tries to process the hundreds of migrants arriving every day, amid fears that the number of small boat crossings could surge in the coming weeks. However, sources have warned that the move threatens to leave airports overstretched, leading to longer queues during the busiest period of the year, when tens of thousands of families are heading overseas for their summer holidays. Aviation chiefs are worried about any understaffing of Border Force desks as the summer progresses and increasing numbers of travellers return to the UK. “This is the thing we are dreading the most,” said a senior aviation source. On Saturday, travel experts also hit out at the decision to redeploy staff from airports, warning it risked harming the recovery of the aviation sector, which has been among the hardest hit by the pandemic.<br/>