Airport queues

Looking forward to your summer holiday? There's one thing that might dampen your spirits - besides the British weather - and that's the thought of the notoriously long queues at the airport.

Heathrow in particular has come in for more than its fair share of criticism over lengthy queues. And now the airport is facing an uncertain future as owner BAA comes under fire from a wide range of sources. After a public consultation which received more than 60 responses from airlines, consumers and other interested parties, the Office of Fair Trading has referred BAA - which also runs Gatwick and Stansted - to the Competition Commission.

One of the airlines leading the criticism is American Airlines, which has stated: "BAA's mismanagement of its London airports has cost American millions of dollars in higher landing fees, reduced operational performance and lost revenue ... We believe that these problems stem in large part from the conclusion reached by the Office of Fair Trading in its study of UK airports - lack of competition has led to lower quality services and higher prices".

Members of the business community have also been openly critical of BAA's running of Heathrow. In a recent article in the Evening Standard, James Roper, chief executive of online retail industry group IMRG, proclaimed: "Heathrow is a horror. It's difficult to park, scruffy, uncared for, you have to walk miles. It's unbelievable the state it has been allowed to get into".

Public complaints about long queues and delays at Heathrow have become legendary, leading many to question whether BAA is up to the task of managing the airport.

BAA Fights Back

BAA is now fighting back, insisting that all its current problems can be solved. According to chief executive Stephen Nelson: "Our analysis is that the fundamental problem for passengers is lack of capacity, not the structure of BAA. The opening of Terminal 5 next March will begin to address this issue by vastly improving the experience at Heathrow and providing much needed new terminal space. Our intention is then to knock down Terminal 2 and replace it with another brand new terminal, Heathrow East."

As well as building new terminals, BAA is also looking to increase flight capacity at Heathrow. This June BAA joined Future Heathrow, a coalition of airlines, trades unions, business groups, aircraft manufacturers and other organisations that is lobbying for a new runway at Heathrow. "We are increasingly confident that the further growth of Heathrow is possible within the environmental limits set out by the Government – that means no more noise than in 2002, air quality pollution safely within EU limits, and public transport improvements to help manage congestion,” says Heathrow Airport ceo, Tony Douglas.

Expansion of Heathrow could be extremely lucrative for BAA at a time when Heathrow is losing traffic to European rivals because of congestion both in the terminals and on the runways.

The next few months may prove the making or breaking of BAA. If the Competition Commission decides to break up its monopoly in London then BAA may have to choose between keeping Heathrow or retaining control of the smaller airports at Gatwick and Stansted.

Whatever the Commission's findings it seems certain that capacity at London airports will expand, which should be good news for passengers who are fed up with long queues and overcrowding.

Avoiding Delays

In the meantime Holiday Extras has a number of useful tips on how you can avoid queues at the airport. There are now several options that enable you to save time at check-in. Online check-in is an increasingly popular option being offered by airlines at Heathrow, Gatwick and other airports that allows you to check-in from the comfort of your own home or hotel normally between 2 and 24 hours in advance.

Self-service check-in kiosks are also springing up at more and more airports and can save you time if there are long queues at the check-in desks. However, if there are also lengthy queues at the fast bag drop then check-in kiosks may not prove any quicker.

But perhaps the biggest time-saver - and stress-reliever - of all is the day before, or "twilight", check-in. Gatwick is leading the way in this with British Airways and First Choice Airways offering twilight check-in at the North Terminal. At South Terminal airlines currently offering day before check-in are easyJet, Excel Airways, MyTravel, Thomas Cook, Thomson Fly, and Virgin Atlantic. Most let you check in between 16.00 and 22.00 on the day before your flight so you can relax on the morning of your flight and avoid those check-in queues.

If you've got an early flight to catch and you want to avoid the stress of an early morning drive to the airport then staying at an airport hotel is a great option, and can be combined perfectly with a twilight check-in. Staying at an airport hotel before you depart enables you to have a good night's sleep and to wake up refreshed for the start of your holiday. And combining a hotel with airport parking can often work out the same or just a little more than the cost of parking alone.

So you've managed to avoid the worst of the queues by following our check-in tips, now why not grab yourself a touch of luxury before you fly by relaxing in an airport lounge? Lounges let you unwind with free drinks, snacks, newspapers and magazines for up to three hours before your flight. Book with Holiday Extras and lounges are surprisingly good value, starting at just £15.95 per person.