London Olympics 2012: Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 Meltdown Raises Fears for Games Visitors

Heathrow Airport suffered yet another meltdown due to a shortage of immigration staff raising concerns over its ability to cope with tens of thousands of visitors to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The £4.3bn British Airways base, Terminal 5, was hardest hit but delays at other terminals were also reported.

The airport was forced to call taxis for furious passengers because they were not able to clear immigration before the public transport shut down for the night.

One passenger who refused to be named told the Telegraph said: "It is terrifying, when you think about the Olympics and the crowds, this was just a regular Thursday night with a bit of rain.

"They were clearly expecting this as they had set up all these extra barriers up and down the corridor. They knew this was happening."

"Most people were mumbling but there was a little bit of terminal rage.

"I was already two hours late and it was just very disappointing especially as it is this brand new multi-billion pound terminal."

"We are about to have this amazing deluge of people into this country and this was Heathrow. A little of rain and the whole airport just stops."

Alistair Campbell highlighted the issues T5 faced on Twitter and even having some advice for Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

He tweeted: "If this is what Heathrow T5 border queue is like on an average Thursday Olympic athletes should think about coming soon #sortitout"

Later adding: "Jeremy Hunt should get down to Heathrow and do a bit of pre-Olympics border control recce work. Take his mind off things"

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said the airport had to be in working order before London's business status is damaged.

He added: "London is the business capital of the world and we cannot allow this position to be undermined, putting economic growth and therefore jobs at risk."