《中英對照讀新聞》London airport queues ’depend on wind’ 倫敦機場排隊人龍長短「要看風向」 …詳全文
◎俞智敏
Long waits to clear passport control at London Heathrow Airport can depend on which way the wind is blowing, Britain’s immigration minister said.
在倫敦希斯洛機場等候通關的時間長短,端視風向而定,英國移民部長說。
Delays at the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic have triggered a furore in Britain as the clock ticks down to the July 27 opening of the London Olympics, for which Heathrow will be the main gateway.
在這個全球最忙碌的國際機場,旅客通關時間過長已在英國引發眾怒,尤其倫敦奧運即將於7月27日開幕,屆時希斯洛機場將成為奧運最主要的門戶。
Immigration Minister Damian Green said passengers from New York might well have to wait longer to clear passport control if their flight arrives 10 minutes after one from Lagos in Nigeria, for example, rather than 10 minutes before.
移民局局長葛林說,舉例而言,如果來自紐約的班機是在來自奈及利亞大城拉哥斯的班機降落後10分鐘,而非降落前10分鐘才抵達希斯洛機場,那麼紐約旅客就可能要等候較久才能通關。
"That will depend on the wind, over which, with the best will in the world, airlines and the Border Force don’t have the control," he told a parliamentary committee.
「這都要看風向來決定,而就算各航空公司與邊境檢查署竭盡全力,也無法控制風向,」他在國會的一個委員會中表示。