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By David Millward, Transport Editor

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said people were left “stacked” in corridors at 7am as the airport struggled to cope.
 
He demanded an explanation from the Border Force amid fears the chaos could hit the Olympic Games, which begin later this month.
 
Mr Vaz, a minister in the last Labour Government, was at Terminal 4 to see if the improvements promised by the Government were in place.
 
Instead he saw huge queues with inadequate staff in place to deal with the influx of passengers from Asia and the United States on overnight flights.
 
“I was appalled by the length of queues in the immigration hall this morning,” Mr Vaz said.
 
 
 
“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,” he added.
 
“We had people waiting in the corridors at the busiest international airport in the world.”
 
Mr Vaz also voiced concern that the the first tranche of Olympic competitors and officials have started to arrive a week ahead of the extra Border Force staff being deployed.
 
According to BAA, which operates Heathrow, the Border Force yet again failed to meet its 45 minute maximum waiting time target for passengers from the European Economic Area – the EU along with Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway.
 
Last week BAA released figures showing that the Border Force, which had promised to deploy extra resources, repeatedly failed to meet the benchmark it set itself.
 
The delays at Heathrow have angered the aviation industry with senior figures describing them as an embarrassment to Britain.
 
Earlier in the year, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Willie Walsh – the head of BA’s parent company, the International Airlines Group – warned the delays were discouraging major overseas investors from doing business in Britain.
 
The latest delays intensified pressure on Theresa May, the Home Secretary, for action with Yvette Cooper, her Labour shadow, failing to ensure that sufficient staff were deployed at peak times.
 
Damian Green, the Immigration Minister, defended the Government’s record, insisting there had been significant improvements in the last two months.
 
“But we’re not complacent about some long waiting times, which is why this weekend we have increased staffing numbers by more than 50% at Heathrow to respond to large passengers volumes,” he said.
 
“And by the start of peak Olympic arrivals in less than 10 days, there will be up to 500 additional staff on our rotas across the country – this includes enough staff at Heathrow to cover every desk during busy times.
 
“Additionally we have special lanes in place designated to Olympic athletes to enable them to pass through the border without delay.”
Telegraph