Nearly half of all Border Force staff stationed at Heathrow were off sick last week as a trade union accused the Home Office of causing mayhem by imposing ‘rigid and inflexible’ work bubbles, MailOnline can reveal.
Thousands of passengers who tried to beat the Government’s hotel quarantine regime which has come into force today experienced massive delays at Border Check at the West London airport last week.
Video showed stretched Border Force officials complaining that they were understaffed while checking the passports, locator forms and Covid test results of scores of arrivals who queued for hours to clear customs.
MailOnline can now reveal that the chaos experienced at the border has been partly caused by sickness, with 138 out of around 300 agents off work last Friday – and just 44 of those actually ill with coronavirus.
Sources said 16 were self-isolating after they or another member of their household received a positive test result, and 78 were off with non-Covid sicknesses such as flu, stress and injury. There is currently a nationwide restriction on 9,500 Border Force staff taking annual leave.
Trade unions also blamed the Home Office for causing ‘needless’ border chaos by instructing Border Force officials to work in 12-person bubbles which perform different operations across the two open terminals.
It is understood that Border Force Chief Operating Officer Emma Moore made a decision to split the workforce into bubbles in mid-December, in an apparent bid to prevent staff from spreading mutant variants of Covid.
However, Heathrow received its three-star Covid-secure certification last September – with Border Force agents already socially distancing and sitting in isolated booths as they complete passport checks.
The Immigration Services Union (ISU) has claimed that the decision was ‘arbitrary’ and has accused Chief Operating Officer Moore of ignoring their concerns that the policy would cause mayhem at the border.
Passengers line up for passport control in the UK Border area of Terminal 2 of Heathrow Airport, London last week – with half of all Border Force staff were off sick last Friday
Border Force agents working across the two terminals open have been required to work in bubbles since December 31, following a decision by Chief Operating Officer Emma Moore
Though there are official supposed to be 12 people in a single bubble, in reality a bubble numbers anywhere between six and eight due to a combination of factors including child care, illness and work rotas, sources have claimed.
Border Force officials in one bubble are not allowed to ‘burst the bubble’ to help their colleagues completing a difficult task in another – meaning there is no flexibility if hundreds of passengers fly into the airport at once.
This often means that a small number of Border Force agents are inundated with arrivals all wanting to complete border checks at the same time while other bubbles are in other, more quiet parts of the airport.
While up to eight officials might be checking hundreds of passports, passenger locator forms and Covid test results, others can be sorting paperwork, looking after vulnerable adults and children – or on their break.
MailOnline understands that there are around 30 passport gates at the two terminals, with no fewer than half open at any one time.
The ISU said Chief Operating Officer Moore’s bubble policy is ‘needless when Heathrow is already Covid-secure and staff are already socially distanced’.
Spokeswoman Lucy Moreton said the bubbles were ‘plainly far too rigid and inflexible’ and accused Border Force of causing chaos at the airport.
‘We warned Border Force that this approach would create serious difficulties at the Border but were ignored,’ she told MailOnline.
‘It was claimed that ‘bubbles’ would better protect our people’s welfare but cases of Covid infection and self-isolation have instead increased, leading to still further absences.
‘Our people are now left under enormous pressure and with completely inadequate support as they try to secure the Border. The ISU cannot stand by and see our people blamed for Border Force mismanagement.’
The Home Office did not respond directly to MailOnline’s queries about the bubble policy or the chaos at Border Check at Heathrow.
However, a spokesperson said the force has ‘a responsibility to ensure our officers are working in Covid secure environments’.
They insisted bubbles were created ‘to reduce staff-to-staff transmission and ultimately protect our staff and the public’ – and added that it would be ‘inappropriate to comment on the deployment of staff for operational and security reasons’.
A Government spokesperson previously said: ‘People should not be travelling unless for a very limited reason. Given the enhanced monitoring in place at UK airports to keep us safe and protect the vaccine rollout, people can expect queues.
Thousands of passengers who tried to beat the Government’s hotel quarantine regime experienced massive delays at Border Check in the West London airport last week
‘Every essential check from pre-departure testing, to the Passenger Locator Form, to the suspension of travel routes will strengthen our borders and help to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
‘Every airport, including Heathrow, has a responsibility to comply with social distancing and Covid measures on site.’
It comes as a Heathrow arrival today claimed to have ‘no idea’ about the new hotel quarantine scheme before being hit with a £500 fine and told to pay £1,750 for 10 days’ isolation.
British businessman Wayne Kelly said he had not heard about the new rules for high-risk countries before he was handed a note by Border Force warning him to expect a penalty for breaching Covid laws.
Meanwhile, others slammed ‘ridiculous’ rules confining them to their rooms despite having mixed with travellers not on the ‘red list’ during the flight home.
Travellers were dropped off at hotels near Heathrow as the new scheme began and a hospitality boss vowed to make their ten-day, stay more ‘homely’ with ‘branded shampoo, puzzles and crockery’.
Dozens of passengers were seen arriving by coach at the four-star Radisson Blu Edwardian after touching down in the UK from a variety of Covid red list countries including the United Arab Emirates, Zambia and South Africa.
Guests will pay £1,750 per person for the 11 nights, plus an additional £650 for anyone over the age of 12 and £325 for children aged between five and 12. There will be no extra fees for children under five.
Throughout their stay guests will have to eat airline-style food left at their door, change their own sheets and towels and be accompanied by security if they want fresh air or a cigarette outside.
The Radisson offers spacious and airy rooms with large windows, Egyptian cotton linen and goose down pillows – although confined guests will be unable to enjoy its spa or choice of three restaurants.
Standard rooms cost around £150 a night while superior suites include their own Nespresso machine.