UK Airport 'Border' queues.
 

I think I am grounded. At 79 years of age there is no way in which
I could spend 6 hours or more in a airport queue. Anyone have
a suggestion ? I am due to fly 3rd Oct. to join a cruise, but after
the reports of excessive waiting times this morning feel like just
abandoning it. Obviously my travel insurance would not compensate me.
Thanks for any advice.

I came through Heathrow T3 at lunch time yesterday (Fri 24th Sept). (before the outage). Through the e-gates in 5 minutes.
If you don't have a biometric passport or you're traveling with children under 12, then you need to be seen by a BF person.
I have been using LHR all pandemic. The longest wait was about 45 minutes.
(The longest queue was at London City, no e-gates).
Yes, I have been "lucky" and have missed the epic queues.
Most arrivals from "red zone" countries are being routed through T4 at LHR so that keeps it simple.

Therefore, assuming no e-gate outage and you have a biometric passport and your PLF filled out (linked to passport), not been near a red zone country, double jabbed, then you should have little to no delay entering the UK.

I havent flown lately but i have had to meet /pick up three people at LHR..
In fact all got through readily , one said it was much quicker than usual.

Yesterdays event , while typical of Global Britain and its world beating systems and services was, as described earlier, something of an random event . I am also over 70 and will be travelling ina couple of weeks and I too would say don't cancel your trip as the odds are all wiil be fine. Good luck.

Same experience as redsnail, I flew in the other day, they made us walk a long snaking ‘queue’ but kept moving all the way to a queue of about 5 people at the egate.

been flying all pandemic too and while I have had to wait over 90 mins once at Heathrow the queues have been very random with ‘no delay’ being the norm.

Don’t let fear of what might happen put you off but if you do get stuck don’t be scared to make a fuss, ask for a seat, drink of water, etc.

no disrespect intended sir, but at 79 consider requesting wheelchair assistance from the airline and you’ll likely get taken straight to the front, and if not well at least you have a seat. Enjoy your cruise.

(I used to be a check in agent and this is fairly common when flying to the states. Ethically sure it’s questionable but given the length of the queues there it’s understandable and it keeps people employed I guess.)

I would agree with all the previous posters, that is don't be put off by the alarming articles and photos of epic waiting times. I read one or two of these and in the comments accompanying them there were plenty of people saying "rubbish, I was through in 20mins from plane to taxi rank" and so on. I think such doom articles, especially on news websites generate many clicks and are therefore encouraged. Aside from peak times, when several long haul flights arrive at the same time, it's probably quicker than normal!

I would have no hesitation in asking for wheelchair or buggy assistance to help glide my way through the process if I were you, take advantage of the offered facilities. This will allow you to make a good start on your well-deserved holiday.

I agree, use age to your advantage should you need to - After you’ve had a bloody good holiday!

Heathrow is definitely the worst airport for border control queues out of every country I have ever visited.

It sure as heck doesn’t star compared with the likes of SIN and many other other airports especially in some far eastern countries but OTOH I’ve witnessed some pretty dreadful queues as a passenger going through some of the terminals at the likes of LAX and JFK.

There’s no argument that “Border” at LHR haven’t starred in the last year and it’s obviously been pretty grim at some times on some days but on my (sadly only two) experiences of T5 arrivals in the last year have both seen me off the aircraft and through to landslide in under 20 minutes.

I was apprehensive before but came thru BHX this week and immigration was completed in 15 mins no hassle,all of the e gates were open and working, all in all a pleasant experience