MP slams Heathrow ‘slum’ in Commons

Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, Rotherham MP Denis MacShane said: “If we want tourists to come to Britain, can we give them a slightly better welcome? Arriving at terminals 1 or 3 at Heathrow is like arriving in a third-world slum — it is easier to get into Pakistan or North Korea.

“There are very surly, disagreeable officials and horrible 1970s collectivist architecture. Can we brighten up this gateway to Britain?”

The Tourism Strategy vows to “improve tourists’ first experience of the UK” when landing at ports or airports. More e-Passport gates are promised allowing those with biometric documents to pass through quickly, and a “trusted traveller” scheme with the United States could speed up arrivals for some passengers.

Ministers have also vowed to publish consumer data on airport delays and waiting times, so travellers can see whether they are performing well or badly and make informed choices about which ones to use in the future.

They hope the increased transparency will force poor performers to improve, while visitors will be more likely to return if they have a good experience the first time round.

Responding to Mr MacShane, Tourism Minister John Penrose said: “We as a country need to do more to make our entry ports more welcoming to foreign visitors, and to British people returning from abroad, and we are currently actively considering a number of measures.”

Airlines are also urged to reduce the need for long check-in times to cut the amount of time passengers need to spend at airports amid concern the two-hour check-in for long-haul flights adds “dramatically” to travellers’ journey times.