Brit holidaymakers ‘to be kept on planes’ to prevent overcrowding at airports during strikes

BRIT holidaymakers could be “kept on planes” to prevent airport overcrowding during strikes.

Border Force strikes threaten to wreak havoc on millions of passengers at UK airports over the Christmas period.

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As part of the development of contingency plans, travelers are being held on planes to prevent overcrowding in the arrivals hall on strike days.

A source involved in discussions told The Times: “Delays of two hours at the border are routinely discussed in meetings.

“If everything goes back or something [such as e-gates] fails, airports must order passengers to be detained on planes to prevent overcrowding.”

The industrial action by Border Force members of the PCS union will also take place at Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester instead of the port of Newhaven.

More than 10,000 flights are said to land on the affected dates, which corresponds to around two million passengers.

The Civil Aviation Authority has warned passengers the disruptions could result in long queues at airports, as well as canceled and delayed flights.

To ease the problem at the hubs, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have suspended domestic ticket sales at Heathrow on strike days.

Earlier, a Ryanair pilot said that on days when strikes take place, full planes could get stuck on the tarmac as security and passport control are congested.

They told The Mirror: “I expect that the airport will either direct or the situation will dictate that passengers stay on the plane because the terminal will be full.”

“If these strikes happen, the strikes will cause even more delays at the airport and that will exacerbate the problem.

“Passengers will be delayed and late to the gate. Ryanair says ‘gates will close another 15 minutes’.

Britain faces another wave of strikes this week as nurses, ambulance drivers and driving examiners pull out.

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