My surprising Heathrow experience gliding through airport without queues

Passengers queue for check-in at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 2. Laura O’Callaghan / The National

Heathrow’s week of manic queues and flight cancellations, relayed to me by countless passengers who had been caught up in the chaos, meant I was fully expecting to experience a similar nightmare first-hand when I arrived at the airport on Friday afternoon.

But instead of being greeted by long lines of frustrated travellers snaking their way towards unmanned desks I was surprised to find just a handful of people in front of me in the check-in line and more than enough staff on hand to assist.

Those travelling with other airlines, however, appeared less fortunate.

I watched a queue of about 50 passengers waiting to check in with Swiss Air that barely moved during the 15 minutes it took to drop my luggage off.

After managing to clear check-in I was surprised to have just seven passengers in front of me at security.

Half an hour after arriving at Heathrow I found myself pondering my luck in a half-empty terminal, with check-in and security behind me. I thought of the thousands of passengers who had been stranded in queues for hours earlier this week. Passengers arriving into the country had faced even longer queues, as problems with e-gates meant delays at passport control.

Queues at Manchester Airport on Thursday morning. Bosses at Heathrow and Manchester airports are braced for a nightmare weekend as staff shortages look likely to hamper what is expected to be the travel industry’s busiest day of the year to date. Photo: Richard James

A busy Manchester Airport on Tuesday morning. Photo: Megan Thwaites / Twitter

Long queues of passengers snaked around Heathrow Airport in London. Photo: Jessica Oliver / Twitter

Manchester Airport, as seen on Monday morning, is hit by setbacks as the busy holiday season kicks off. Photo: Gareth Melling's Twitter

People queuing to go through security at Heathrow Terminal 2. PA

People queue to check-in at Heathrow Terminal 5. PA

One passenger at the airport said it took two hours to clear check-in at Manchester Airport. Photo: Luke Maher's Twitter

Queues at Manchester Airport's Terminal 2. Photo: @LancsHT/Twitter

Passengers queue for security screening in the departures area of Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport. Reuters

Heathrow Airport's Terminal 2 is crammed with people Photo: Twitter

One passenger said it took three and a half hours to check in a single suitcase. Photo: Martin Duggan's Twitter

Passengers wait at border control of Heathrow Terminal 2. Photo: Martin Duggan's Twitter

A packed Heathrow Terminal 2 check-in hall. Photo: Twitter

Passengers shared photos showing corridors packed with people. Photo: Twitter

Arrivals queue at Heathrow Airport. Photo: Sven Kili's Twitter

While the Easter break has brought a much-needed boost to the travel industry, not everyone is happy about the west London airport’s handling of the sudden upsurge in passenger numbers.

Heathrow, like Manchester Airport, is struggling to recruit enough staff to cater for the swelling passenger numbers.

A waiter at one of the restaurants told me he wanted to see Terminal 4 opened “as soon as possible” to ease the strain on T2, T3 and T5.

'A dangerous cocktail'

Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 2 was quieter on Saturday. Laura O’Callaghan / The National

The airport has said it will bring it back into operation by July.

“It’s not fair on the workers and passengers in the other terminals when there’s no room to walk here,” the waiter said.

He blamed the extended waiting times at check-in, security and passport control on three factors: the lack of transparency from the UK government, Heathrow bosses’ handling of the situation and the pandemic.

“When you get those three things together it’s a dangerous cocktail,” he said as he poured a drink for an awaiting customer.

He believes the Conservative-led government should have been more open with the travel industry before lifting restrictions, and Heathrow management should have stepped up and done more to ease the pressure this week.

“Sorry is just not part of the managers’ vocabulary,” he said.

But despite the strain that the pent-up demand for travel has placed on Heathrow and other airports in Britain, shop assistants told me it offered a dose of cash the industry has long been waiting for.

One employee said travel pillows had been flying off the shelves. Her store had sold 400 in the previous five days — double the rate of recent weeks.

Another saleswoman said her manager was scrambling to hire more staff following the rush that started last week when schools shut for the Easter holidays.

An assistant at a make-up counter said the Easter break coinciding with the beginning of Ramadan was just what airport businesses needed.

“It's been busy this week for Easter. There have also been a lot of people travelling to the Middle East for Ramadan,” she said.

“It’s good. Things are picking up now that the travel restrictions are gone.”

Passengers around me appeared upbeat, but I doubt they would have been so excited to be boarding a plane for the first time in months, perhaps years, if they had been stranded in the massive queues at Heathrow early this week.

One woman remarked how she was looking forward to “cuddles on the other side” when she met up with loved ones for their first reunion since the pre-pandemic days. An air hostess with bright red lipstick also commented on how “it’s great to be back”.

After breezing through the entire departure process I sat on the plane and breathed a sigh of relief. I had dodged the dreaded chaos and as a result started my holiday on a positive note.

I considered myself to be equally lucky to have booked a flight on Friday, given that Heathrow is braced for more chaos in the coming days. Saturday is tipped to be the busiest day of the year so far for the travel industry, as the first batch of Easter holidaymakers arrive back and the second wave leave.

An influx of travellers is also expected to hit Heathrow next week as people head abroad and others fly to the UK for the bank holiday Easter weekend.

And then I remembered … my return flight to Heathrow is next week.