Travel chaos: Heathrow airport boss blames women packing too much make-up as reason for queues

euronews.com:

Horror delays at Heathrow are being partly caused by passengers taking too much make-up and feigning mobility issues, the airport’s boss has claimed.

In recent months, Heathrow passengers have faced winding queues, last-minute cancellations, and mountains of lost baggage.

To stem the chaos, the airport recently introduced a daily cap of 100,000 visitors and asked airlines to stop selling new tickets for August flights.

However, Heathrow Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye today insisted that the summer getaway has “started well.”

Speaking on ‘Leading Britain’s Conversation’ radio station, he claimed that airport security numbers matched pre-pandemic levels - but that passengers are “travelling with more than they usually would.”

"They have got more bags, and more liquids in their bags so that takes a little bit longer,” he said.

"A lot of people are put off from checking in all of their make-up for example because they are worried about whether their bag will make the journey with them.

“People tend not to think of makeup as being prohibited from travel, so there's a lot of education that we need to do with people."

Since it tends to be women carrying make-up, it is assumed his comments are directed at female travellers.

Heathrow’s flight cap - imposed in order to “protect holidays” - was slammed by airports like Emirates, which initially refused to comply.

On Monday, Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary accused the airport of being unable to run “a p***-up in its own brewery.”

However, the airport has hit back, blaming airlines for failing to hire enough ground staff.

"Ground handlers are the backbone of what you think of as being the airport, but they are employed by the airlines,” Mr Holland Kaye said.

"They did a very good job through