https://twitter.com/AdinaChirodea/status/1433898324118147102
The aviation body called for meetings with transport secretary Grant Shapps, home secretary Priti Patel, chancellor Rishi Sunak and prime minister Boris Johnson after it criticised the central authority for being "incapable" of regulating international travel.
Travellers at Heathrow took to social media over the weekend to complain about lengthy queues with "inadequate ventilation", while some claimed people had fainted while they were waiting.
A Heathrow spokesperson told the BBC it had escalated the problems with Border Force, which is managed by the Home Office, and expected them to provide a better service for the remainder of the weekend.
A Home Office spokesperson reportedly said: "Throughout the pandemic we have been clear that queue times may be longer as we ensure all passengers are compliant with the health measures put in place to keep the UK public safe. However, the very long wait times we saw at Heathrow last night are unacceptable.
"Border Force is rapidly reviewing its rosters and capacity and flexibly deploying our staff across the airport to improve waiting times."
Balpa said the queues were not the fault of the Border Force staff, but rather of the government’s "shambolic border rules with wholly overblown and complex requirements for testing and quarantine".
Balpa acting general secretary, Martin Chalk, said: "The United Kingdom was a great global trading nation, built on a world class aviation industry. Government decisions have seemingly set about destroying the foundations of global Britain by an apparent deliberate undermining of the aviation industry.
"Unless we can talk some sense into them, at an industry round table conference, we might as well pull up the drawbridge and sink into a box set of Little Britain."
