Heathrow chief acknowledges queuing issues

Heathrow Airport chief executive Tony Douglas has admitted that improvements need to be made to minimise queues at the hub.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's PM programme, Mr Douglas conceded to claims that the airport is experiencing longer than average queues on a regular basis.

He said that the airport is now "bursting at the seams" as it sees 68 million passengers a year pass through its gates, adding that delays in the Terminal Five planning process have added to the problems.

However, Mr Douglas also urged passengers to remember that the airport had to deal with a major security scare last summer.

"Since August 10th of last year… we have handled it in a way where we have hired 1,400 additional security guards, we have put 21 new security lanes in, we have actually knocked some shops down where we could and put in another 2,000 square feet of security processing," he commented.

Earlier this week, BAA released passenger figures for May indicating that Heathrow saw a 1.9 per cent drop in customer numbers during the month.

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