Country, Opposition Sen. Trevor Woolridge charged yesterday.

And Sen. Woolridge believes visitors caught for hours at the Airport will be discouraged from returning to Bermuda.

Sen. Woolridge, speaking in the Senate yesterday, called for a rescheduling of flights away from the Civil Air Terminal's busy period and an increase in Immigration staff.

But Sen. Wendell Hollis (UBP) said Government has done everything in its power to alleviate the problems.

Sen. Woolridge said that the PLP had been pushing the airlines to reschedule flights, particularly between 11.30 a.m. and 1.45 p.m.

"The number of visitors and residents arriving between those times is exacerbated by the reduction in the numbers of immigration officers,'' he said. "There are four primary officers and two clerks in an immigration hall that can hold 12 people. Last week we had over 10,000 people arriving by air.'' Sen. Woolridge said passengers were forming queues from the immigration desks back out of the hall and onto the tarmac of the Airport.

He added that people were having to wait for more than an hour to pass through Immigration, Customs and then found they had no transport because of the sheer volume of numbers using taxis.

He said: "When 1,000 people arrive on four to six aircraft it puts a strain on the transportation service.

"It is embarrassing and a shame that the gateway to Bermuda is so short of staff that they cannot even move the people through.

"It is giving us bad publicity when visitors are going back home after experiencing these delays when they first arrive in the Country. "Of course it is in the national interest for Immigration and Customs to prevent drugs from entering the Country but it would be easier if the required number of staff was provided.'' Sen. Hollis said Government had been in prolonged discussions with the airlines in an attempt to persuade them to reschedule flights to the Island.

But, he said:"It's a bit like the tail trying to wag the dog. Bermuda is not big enough to dictate to airlines about how they fly.

"In fact, it is not even dictated by the airlines themselves, it is all down to international scheduling.

"Nobody wants to go into the airport before 6 a.m. or late in the day. The best time for a plane to leave the US to get to Bermuda is somewhere around 9 a.m.

"However the Government has done all it can to encourage and to goad these airlines but it is just impossible.''