Central Line Severe Delays

GetAheadofTheGames warns that our "world class" tube system is experiencing problems:

"REMINDER: Central line is still operating with severe delays." 

No surprises there then!

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Cabbies Blockade Parliament

Cabbies are blockading Parliament, see the picture here.

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First Impressions

It seems that first impressions of London, for the arriving Olympic athletes, are somewhat negative.

That at least is the conclusion we might draw from Olympic Gold & Silver Medalist, Kerron Clement, who has tweeted:

"Um, so we've been lost on the road for 4hrs. Not a good first impression London."

Followed by:

"Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee. Could we get to the Olympic Village please."

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Heathrow The National Disgrace of Olympic Proportions

This time last week I wrote the following about our national disgrace of an airport that is Heathrow:

"It seems that Heathrow is in meltdown yet again and, despite the media firestorm over April's clusterfuck, ministers and those in charge of passport checks etc have not yet learned their lesson."

One week on and things at Heathrow are still no better, as Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, can attest to. He paid Heathrow Terminal 4 a visit today and was less than impressed with the ongoing clusterfuck.

The Telegraph reports that Vaz said people were left “stacked” in corridors at 7am:

"I was appalled by the length of queues in the immigration hall this morning

It is now two months since the Immigration Minister promised additional resources and better management. 

The worst aspect was that half of the immigration desks were simply not opened even though the Border Force had prior knowledge of all flight arrivals. 

This creates additional security pressures with luggage piling up in the baggage hall.

We had people waiting in the corridors at the busiest international airport in the world.”

To add to the humiliation, BAA claim that the Border Force yet again failed to meet its 45 minute maximum waiting time target for passengers from the European Economic Area (the EU plus Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway).

It is quite clear that Heathrow will not be able to cope during the Olympics, therefore those who can change their travel plans are strongly advised to avoid London airport at all costs during the games!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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The Heathrow Clusterfuck Returns!

It seems that Heathrow is in meltdown yet again and, despite the media firestorm over April's clusterfuck, ministers and those in charge of passport checks etc have not yet learned their lesson.

The Telegraph reports that:

"Angry passengers reported queuing for nearly two and a half hours last week – with some starting far outside the immigration hall – to be met with empty passport control desks and uninterested staff."

It is quite clear that Heathrow will not be able to cope during the Olympics, therefore those who can change their travel plans are strongly advised to avoid London airport at all costs during the games!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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A Disaster In The Making

Seemingly, according to GetAheadoftheGames ‏@GAOTG, one million extra people will use London transport during the Olympics:

"Did you know that one million extra people per day are expected to use London's busy transport network during the Games?"

Given that the transport infrastructure cannot cope with its normal load, this influx will be a disaster in the making!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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The Threat of Water

Aside form all the issues that are already threatening the "smooth" running of the Olympics (eg lousy transport system, poor weather, greed and terrorism) it seems that water has to be added to the list.

Congratulations Thames Water for giving London a "wet" run re what might happen again in the future, eg during the Olympics, wrt the Central Line flood yesterday!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Civil Servants' Seven Week Domestic Sojourn

In order to ease congestion on London's lousy and third world transport infrastructure, the Times reports that  tens of thousands of civil servants will be allowed to avoid travelling to work from 21 July six days before the opening ceremony of the Olympics until 9 September when the Paralympics finish (seven weeks later).

They will be allowed to work from home, unlike many of those who work in the private sector.

Suffice to say, many people in the private sector are asking how the civil service will function effectively during this seven week hiatus. Others observe that no one will notice the difference!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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The Heathrow Cover Up - A National Disgrace

As loyal readers and hapless Heathrow passengers know, Heathrow's ability to process passenger arrivals in a speedy and efficient manner has collapsed.

This of course could not come at a worse time for the government, as with the Olympics (and Diamond Jubilee) just around the corner the country will be at the centre of the world's media eye just when large numbers of tourist/visitors are expected to pass through Heathrow.

Faced with this collapse of efficient arrivals' processing at Heathrow it seems that, according to the Telegraph, the powers that be within the failing UK Border Agency (UKBA) are trying to cover up their failure.

On Saturday BAA, the owner of Heathrow, tried to issue a leaflet apologising to passengers for the “very long delays” and saying people entering the country “deserved a warmer welcome”.

The leaflet suggested that passengers should complain to the Home Office.

Unfortunately for BAA, Marc Owen the director of UKBA operations at Heathrow, told BAA the leaflet was “inappropriate”.

He made threats to BAA:

“The leaflet is not all right with us. It is both inflammatory and likely to increase tensions in arrivals halls especially in the current atmosphere. 

It is inappropriate in that it is not for you to display how to complain on our behalf. 

Please refrain from handing out [the leaflets] or I will escalate [the matter] with ministers who are likely to take a very dim view. I know there are copies in the hall and your troops are ready with them.”

For good measure he also told BAA to stop passengers taking pictures of the queues in the arrivals hall.

The Daily Telegraph also has in its possession emails from within UKBA detailing the extent of the chaos.

It is quite clear that the current procedures being used at Heathrow to process arrivals are failing, and most certainly will not cope with the forthcoming Olympics.

This is a national disgrace!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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The Heathrow Clusterfuck

Earlier this month I wrote the following:

"Heathrow believes that its temporary Terminal 6 will be able to cope with the departing Olympics VIPs after the Games.

All very well, if you are a departing VIP. However, what of those coming to the UK before and during the Games?

It seems no one running Heathrow has thought of that. Step forward Culture Select Committee chairman, John Whittingdale, who has pointed out the elephant in the room and said that not enough thought seemed to have been given to ways of coping with long queues at immigration.

Seemingly, the much maligned and inept UK Border Agency (UKBA) is whining that it has insufficient money to open all of its passport stations.

Mr Whittingdale is quoted by the BBC as saying that MPs:

"did not leave the briefing confident that Heathrow was ready to cope with the arrival of a huge number of competitors, Olympic family and visiting tourists in timely fashion.

We understand that significant preparations have been made to accommodate unusual sporting equipment, special lanes for the Olympic family, welcoming arrangements for competitors and additional Olympic ambassadors.

However, far less thought seems to have been given to the issue of how to deal with long queues at immigration.

The UKBA (UK Border Agency) representative suggested that there was insufficient funding to ensure all passport stations would be open.

While visiting tourists will understand that the Olympics is a busy time, if the wait (at immigration) is in excess of an hour it may deter tourists from returning. The second impact may be that planes cannot unload their passengers into the terminal due to capacity being exceeded. This would lead to circling in the air, planes being left on runways or planes blocking gates."

In other words, Heathrow will be more of a shambles than ever during the peak travel season."

It seems, as news reports of 3 hour delays at Heathrow immigration show, that the shambles is already upon us.

Figures obtained by the Daily Telegraph, covering the first two weeks of April, have revealed the extent of the chaos faced by people flying into Heathrow.

Immigration Minister Damian Green was told he will have account for the chaos when he appears before the Home Affairs Select Committee and explain the chronic queues that are doing "huge damage" to Britain's reputation.

There are fears that the problems are tarnishing the UK's image, particularly with the London Olympics only three months away.

Heathrow is a clusterfuck, by anyone's standards!


Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Olympics Dampen Demand

Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG), which owns BA (the official airline of the Olympic Games) has warned that the Games will "dampen" demand for its flights, especially business class flights.

This is hardly surprising, given that the Olympics will be hugely disruptive to London's already overstretched and poorly performing third world transport infrastructure, anyone with any sense will pro-actively do all they can to avoid flying to or being in London during the Games.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Olympics To Crash The Interent

In one of the more bizarre threats arising from the Olympics to life on this planet as we know it, the Cabinet is warning that the London 2012 Olympics may well crash the internet.

The Cabinet Office's official advice, Preparing your Business for the Games, claims that the UK's telecoms system may be unable to cope with demand to access the internet in certain areas. 

Quote:

"It is possible that internet services may be slower during the Games or, in very severe cases, there may be dropouts due to an increased number of people accessing the internet."

It goes on to warn that there may be data caps to try to spread the load.

To my humble view this scaremongering is reminiscent of the overblown hype of the Y2K "problem" (that turned out to be a damp squib). My gut feeling is that this alleged "capacity shortage" will be used as an excuse to turn off certain social media networks at critical moments.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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