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4w ago

Heathrow Video Claiming ‘Every Worker Is Indian’ Prompts Scrutiny of Assumptions About ‘British’ Staff

Local hiring patterns plus London demographics indicate many visible staff are British citizens of South Asian heritage.

In London, a US man filmed himself saying he found no British employees at the airport, only Indians, a claim that stirred heated discussions.
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Overview

  • A US traveler posted an Instagram video from Heathrow asserting he saw no British employees and that every worker was Indian.
  • The clip has amassed more than 500,000 views since September 9, drawing broad online reaction and media coverage in the UK and India.
  • The traveler praised staff politeness and efficiency while arguing his question about the absence of “British” workers was not racist.
  • Commenters cautioned that visual identification is unreliable and noted workers who appear South Asian may be British, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi, not necessarily citizens of India.
  • Analyses cite Heathrow’s roughly 76,000-strong workforce, ONS data showing about 17% of UK workers are foreign-born, and recruitment from nearby boroughs such as Hounslow and Ealing that have large South Asian communities.