London Latest - Heathrow Concerns; Young Leaders; John Lewis Olympic Shops

Lawmakers Harbor Heathrow Concerns

Heathrow Airport could struggle to deal with the huge increase in passengers passing through immigration during the Olympics, according to British lawmakers.

House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport chair John Whittingdale outlined the concerns in a letter to culture secretary Jeremy Hunt published Wednesday, writing that British lawmakers had met with Heathrow operator BAA to discuss its preparations for the Games.

"We understand that significant preparations have been made to accommodate unusual sporting equipment, special lanes for the Olympic family, welcoming arrangements for competitors and additional Olympic ambassadors," Whittingdale wrote.

"However, far less thought seems to have been given to the issue of how to deal with long queues at immigration."

Heathrow is the world’s third busiest airport, and even in the summer period of 2011 some border checks had to be relaxed in order to deal with high demand.

Whittingdale is worried that long queues could force planes to sit on the runways, circle in the air or block gates if they are not able to unload passengers.

According to an Associated Press report, BAA agreed with Whittingdale’s concerns because immigration is handled by a different agency – the UK Border Agency.

"Immigration waiting times during peak periods at Heathrow are frequently unacceptable and we have called on Border Force to address the problem as a matter of urgency," a BAA spokesperson was quoted by AP.

"There isn't a trade-off between strong border security and a good passenger experience – Border Force should be delivering both."

However, the UK Border Agency insists it's "well prepared" for the Olympics, which run July 27 to August 12.

The three days following the closing ceremony will see around 10,000 athletes and support staff go through a newly created "Special Games Terminal" at Heathrow to help ease the departure flow out of London.

London 2012 Brings Out Young

LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe andLondon 2012 ambassador Jonathan Edwards celebrated Wednesday the culmination of the London 2012 Young Leaders Program with youth from across the U.K.

The initiative launched in January 2010 and gave a group of youngsters the chance to take part in a two-year training program designed to improve their interpersonal, communication and leadership skills.

The scheme, supported by BP, also gives the "Young Leaders" the chance to be part of the Games by offering them volunteering roles this summer.

"As part of our original bid for London 2012, we made a commitment to deliver a program that would engage and inspire young people. It is hugely encouraging to see these young people graduate fromthe Young Leaders Program today," Coe said in a speech at the British Museum.

"Through creating a program that encourages positive change not just to individuals, but also their communities, we are delivering on inspiring young people to be part of London 2012."

John Lewis Pushes Olympic Merchandise

British retailer John Lewis is helping feed the Olympic buzz in the U.K. by launching London 2012 shops in all of its full-line department stores.

A total of 27 new Games shops will showcase up to 3,000 London 2012 products and give customers across the country access to official Olympic and Paralympic merchandise.

With summer starting to make its way into daily life in the U.K., John Lewis and LOCOG hope that Olympic fever will really start to gather pace now, translating into positive retail purchases.

"We are delighted to further our support of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with the roll-out of official shops in each of our branches," saidPeter Ruis, Buying and Brand Director, John Lewis.

"We have seen strong sales of merchandise in our existing London 2012 shops and with the 100 days to go milestone just around the corner, excitement towards the Games is definitely building."

Written by Christian Radnedge.

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