housands of people arriving in the UK are being urged to expect carnage at the border this Christmas as passport control guards began their strike on Friday.
Roughly 1,000 Border Force guards, who are members of the PCS union, will walk out, bringing disruption to major airports such as Gatwick and Heathrow.
The action is expected to bring delays to around 250,000 incoming passengers at the busiest Christmastime for airports since 2019 and coronavirus restrictions were lifted.
Heathrow – the UK’s busiest airport, where some 579 flights are due to land on Friday – could be the worst affected.
Around 10,000 passengers were due to arrive before 7am alone, with the first flight – a British Airways service from Cape Town – due to land at 4.45am.
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