希思羅機場開“後門” 花錢可快速入境

Wealthy travellers can pay £1,800 to jump long immigration queues at Heathrow airport.

The service, described as Heathrow's 'best kept' secret has outraged critics at a time when many passengers are forced to endure a three-hour wait to enter the country.

And it follows claims long queues and staff shortages have forced customs officials to stop screening travellers for arms and drugs.

Passengers who pay the £1,800 fee are whisked by limousine from their aircraft to a VIP suite, where they can sip champagne while their passports are checked and their luggage is brought to them.

The fee covers up to six passengers, who are given priority treatment, even if airport staff are stretched by long queues inside the terminal.

Staff shortages, caused by recent government cutbacks, have been blamed for weeks of chaos at Britain's airports.

Some travellers arriving in the UK have had to endure queues of three hours to pass through immigration, prompting huge numbers of complaints.

Police officers have been called in on several occasions in recent weeks to control impatient passengers who had attempted to force their way through immigration without having their passports checked.

The chaos has piled pressure on immigration minister Damian Green and critics are calling on Home Secretary Theresa May to intervene.

Louise Ellman, chairwoman of the Commons transport select committee said the VIP offer 'shows the contempt for members of the public trying to get into the country.'

And Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told The Sunday Times: 'If the only way to avoid a nightmare queue is to fork out over £1,000 extra, Britain's reputation for travellers will be in shreds.'

A report in The Observer newspaper today claimed staff shortages are so severe at Heathrow, frontline officers have had to abandon screening for passengers smuggling arms and drugs into the UK.

A senior official, who chose to remain anonymous, told the newspaper Heathrow could be described as having 'no border controls' at all when it comes to smuggling.希思羅機場的“後門”服務近日引起爭議。只要花上1800英鎊，富有的乘客就可以不用排隊，直接接受入境服務。

這項被稱爲希思羅機場“最高機密”的服務招致了批評，很多乘客在入境時都被迫經歷排隊3個小時的煎熬。

此前，由於排隊過長和人員緊缺，希思羅機場的海關工作人員已經停止檢查乘客是否攜帶武器和毒品。

乘客交1800英鎊後，一下飛機，就有豪華轎車立即把他們接到VIP套房。他們可以在那裏邊喝香檳邊等待護照檢查，行李也會被運過去。

費用可同時包含六名乘客，即使其它乘客在航空站排着長隊，工作人員也會趕來優先接待他們。

由於英國政府削減經費，造成機場工作人員緊缺，這也成爲幾周以來英國機場一片混亂的主因。

一些旅行者抵達英國後辦理入境手續時不得不忍受排三個小時長隊的痛苦，這也導致了大批投訴。

最近幾周，由於某些缺乏耐心的乘客試圖不接受護照檢查就強制入境，英國警方已經幾次被召集去控制局面。

類似騷亂對英國移民部長達米安-格林構成壓力，還有批評人士呼籲英國內政大臣特里薩•梅伊參與協調。

英國下院交通特別委員會女議長路易斯•艾爾曼說，這種VIP服務對於“進入英國的普通民衆也是一種歧視”。

英國影子內政大臣伊薇特•庫珀告訴《星期日泰晤士報》：“如果避免噩夢般長隊的唯一辦法是要多花一千多英鎊，那麼英國在旅遊者中的名聲會變得很臭。”

《觀察家報》今天的一份報道稱，希思羅機場的員工緊缺問題非常嚴重，一線工作人員不得不放棄檢查乘客是否向英國走私武器和毒品。

一位不願透露姓名的高級官員告訴該報，如果說到走私，希思羅機場簡直就是“沒有邊境控制”。