A young boy 'fainted' while waiting in an "hour-long queue" with his family to get through passport control at Manchester Airport, a customer has claimed. The child, whose exact age in unknown, was assisted by airport workers at the scene. Further details about his condition have not been released.
The customer, who shared a photograph of long queues after flying in to the airport on social media - said he was also worried about newborn babies made to wait in the busy terminal with parents and families. He added that Terminal One passport control was in desperate need of extra UK Border Force staff, with passengers forced to queue for over an hour on Thursday afternoon.
However, the Home Office said in response that there were 'no significant delays owing to immigration or Border Force' on Thursday. Passengers at the airport have previously described scenes of chaos at arrivals for passport control, with the Manchester Evening News reporting of mile-long queues on one occasion.
The latest incident comes at the end of the school holidays, with many holidaymakers flying back into the airport ahead of the start of the new term. The immigration hall area is managed by UK Border Force, who the holidaymaker said in a tweet was 'failing families and younger children'.
The M.E.N. contacted the Home Office for a comment - and a spokesperson said in response 'there were no significant delays'. The Home Office spokesperson said: "There were no significant delays owing to immigration or Border Force on Thursday. Border Force constantly reviews its capacity and flexibly deploys staff across the airport to improve waiting times.
"We work very closely with Manchester Airport and its airlines and are committed to helping to ensure all passengers have a safe and hassle-free journey."
The M.E.N. understands customer services staff at the airport gave assistance to the boy who collapsed, but no further details about him have been released. In a statement to the M.E.N., a spokesman for Manchester Airport said there was an 'extended wait'.
The airport said: "We are sorry to hear that some passengers faced an extended wait at the border. UK Border Force manages the immigration process, however, our customer services staff were on hand to help direct and provide information to passengers as they waited."
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