Still on Heathrow, it probably won’t surprise you that a recent experiment by a leading neuro-psychologist has revealed that passing through Heathrow airport is more stressful thanbeing mugged at knifepoint!

The experiment, carried out by Dr David Lewis on behalf of business class airline Silverjet, was conducted to measure the stress levels experienced by passengers travelling through Europe’sbusiest airport.

Four passengers had chest monitors fi tted to record increases in heart rate, pressure pads attached to their arms to monitor changes in blood pressure and sensors were attached to their fi ngertips to measure changes in physiologicalstress.

The shocking results from Dr Lewis’ experiment showed passenger heart rates peaked at four times their resting levels and physiological stress levels exceeded those recorded amongst Formula 1 racingdrivers or free-fall parachutists.

According to Dr Lewis, the conditions at Heathrow Airport and the stress levels that passengers are routinely subject to,"poses a very grave danger to the healthof travellers at the airport.”

He added that the main causes of the stress were the queues, unfriendly and impatient staff, lack of information, burly security and inadequate facilities. The study showed that arrivals were as stressful as the departures. Queues of over an hour and a half at understaffed passport desks resulted in dramatic increases in heart rate and soaring bloodpressure levels.

Commenting on the result of the study, Silverjet CEO, Lawrence Hunt said: “With passengers enduring these conditions it’s no wonder that there is such a demand for business class airlines offering an affordable private jet experience.”