????5月15日，英國國會召開一場會議，探討希思羅機場的邊境控制問題，會場鋪著東方地毯，擺著飾以王冠紋章的椅子。內政事務委員會主席提出了第一個問題：“該現象是最近才出現，還是說已經持續了有一段時間？”維珍大西洋航空公司（Virgin Atlantic）的運營主管回答道：“主席先生，對我們和我們的乘客來說，數年來這一直是個問題。”

????喬恩?斯圖爾特（美國脫口秀演員、電視主持人，擅長諷刺新聞事件與人物——譯注）何在？他的英國同行呢？

????在英國，抨擊希思羅機場與評論天氣一樣司空見慣。每日出版的小報特別擅長撰寫關于“希思羅地獄”的頭條新聞，簡直形成了一種藝術。倫敦前市長肯?利文斯通曾于2007年發表著名評論，稱希思羅機場將旅客扣為“囚徒”。傳統上公眾憤怒的對象很大程度是擁有希思羅機場的私營公司英國機場集團（BAA），因為它未能迅速實現機場設施現代化。如今，面對旅客們需在入境關口排上三小時長隊的窘境，英國機場集團轉而指責政府，稱最近削減預算的決定和嚴格的護照檢查政策乃是旅客經常在機場遭遇各種煩心事的真正原因。

????人們或許會覺得英國機場集團與政府雙方都有興趣展開合作——若希思羅機場運轉順暢，英國機場集團與英國經濟都將受益——可是，相互推卸責任的政治風氣，使這家私人公司與政府官員之間更常見的是互相指責。上個月，英國機場集團甚至在護照檢查處發放傳單，推卸自己的責任，并鼓勵旅客向政府方面投訴。奧運會還有三個月就召開了，這場責任大戰卻方興未艾，令英國首相戴維?卡梅倫和倫敦市長鮑里斯?約翰遜失望不已。告訴那些沮喪的旅客們一個骯臟的秘密吧：短時間內是不大可能有什么解決方案的。

????“希思羅問題”備受關注至少已有十年了。倫敦于2005年贏得奧運會主辦權之后，英國機場集團就拿出了一套希思羅機場現代化方案，不過該計劃遭到了媒體毫不留情的質疑——當時希思羅已經擁擠不堪，英國航空（BA）還經常爆發罷工。如今，盡管第五個航站樓已于2008年投入使用，希思羅機場兩條跑道的使用率仍然高達99.2%。

????除了最近入境關口的亂象之外，背后隱藏的問題是：英國機場集團是否應該建設第三條跑道，以緩解承載能力不足的問題。該公司多年來一直就此游說政府，但效果不佳。盡管英國機場集團——其母公司為西班牙運輸巨頭法羅里奧集團（Ferrovial）——第一季度利潤增長了15%，但其首席財務官指出，除非希思羅機場增加一條跑道，否則真正的增長無從談起。

????這一立場并不出人意料，畢竟機場的主要收入來源就是飛機起降費，第三條跑道將會顯著增加其利潤。此外，法羅里奧集團四年前還擁有英國全部七個重要機場的所有權，但之后在英國反壟斷部門的壓力下賣出了其中三個。

????On May 15, the British Parliament held a meeting about Heathrow's border control problem, in a gilded room with oriental rugs and chairs emblazoned with the crown. Here is the opening question, posed by the chair of the Home Affairs Committee: "Is this a recent phenomenon, or has it been going on for some time?" The response, from Virgin Atlantic's Director of Operations: "This has been a concern to us and our passengers for a few years now, Mr. Chairman."

????Could Jon Stewart please come forward? Where is his British equivalent?

????In the U.K., Heathrow-bashing is as common as commenting on the weather. The daily tabloids have made an art out of writing "Hell at Heathrow" headlines. Former mayor Ken Livingston famously commented in 2007 that Heathrow was keeping its passengers "prisoners." Much of the anger, traditionally, has been directed at BAA, Heathrow's private owner, for not modernizing fast enough. Now, faced with three-hour immigration lines, BAA is pointing its finger at the government, blaming recent budget cuts and strict passport controls for the nuisance the airport commonly causes passengers.

????Although one might assume that BAA and the government would have interests in cooperating -- a well-run Heathrow benefits BAA as well as the United Kingdom's economy -- the politics of responsibility has created a nasty blame game between the private company and members of the government. Last month BAA even-handed out leaflets at passport control deflecting responsibility and encouraging passengers to complain. The fight is on, three months ahead of the Olympics, to the dismay of Prime Minster David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson. And the dirty secret is that frustrated travelers shouldn't expect a resolution any time soon.

????The "Heathrow problem" has been scrutinized for at least a decade. When London won its bid for the Olympics in 2005, BAA produced a plan to modernize Heathrow, though even at the time the press roundly doubted it. The airport was bursting at the seams and BA strikes were common. Today, even with the opening of a fifth terminal in 2008, the airport's two runways still operate at 99.2% capacity.

????Beyond the recent chaos at immigration, the issue lurking in the background is whether BAA should build a third runway to alleviate capacity concerns. The company has been lobbying the government for years, to no avail. Although BAA, which is owned by the Spanish transport group Ferrovial, posted a 15% rise in first-quarter profit this year, the company's CFO says that real growth won't be achieved unless Heathrow adds the extra runway.

????That's not a surprising stance, given that an airport makes the bulk of its money from charging airlines landing fees. A third runway would increase its profits considerably, and at a time when Ferrovial, which owned all seven major British airports as recently as four years ago, has been forced to sell three of them by Britain's competition regulator.