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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Paul Britton & James McNeill

Boy 'faints and collapses to floor' in Manchester Airport queues

A boy has 'fainted' and collapsed as he waited with his family to get through passport control at Manchester airport a holidaymaker has claimed.

The passenger who shared the photograph of the long queue said that the boy - whose exact age is unknown - was assisted at the scene by airport staff. Concerns were also raised over newborn babies forced to endure the wait with their parents and families.

The passenger said extra UK Border Force officers were urgently needed at Terminal One passport control at the airport, claiming returning passengers were forced to queue up for more than an hour on Thursday afternoon, the Manchester Evening News reports.

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Passengers at the airport have previously described scenes of chaos at arrivals for passport control, with reports of mile-long queues on one occasion said to have spanned the length of the T1 departure pier. 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, which the holidaymaker said in a tweet was 'failing families and younger children'. The M.E.N. contacted the Home Office for 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'.

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