The South African swim team was caught up in the chaos at Terminal 5 at Heathrow International Airport in London today, causing the squad from Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal to miss their connection flight to Manchester and the world s/c championships.

Head coach Dirk Lange, his swimmers and staff were stranded aboard their plane for 30 minutes, the RSA federation confirmed in a release, 'while the airport officials attempted first to get their skywalk electronic system across to the aircraft, followed by a lengthily wait for the good-old fashioned steps to arrive'.

The statement continued: 'The contingent eventually exited via the skywalk system only to miss their connecting flight to Manchester, resulting in a three and a half hour delay while waiting for another flight. It was a long morning at Heathrow for the 19-person group including the likes of Cameron van der Burgh, Thabang Moektsane, Melissa Corfe, Suzaan van Biljon and Melissa Corfe, as they waited for time to pass. The Western Cape-based athletes in the form of Heerden Herman, Chanelle van Wyk, Jessica Pengelly and Sebastien Rousseau and assistant coach Karoly Toros, were a bit more fortunate as they caught a different connecting flight, having flown to London from Cape Town.'

Lange said: 'The delay at Terminal 5 in Heathrow has meant that the SA team will not be able to put in a training session in the competition swimming pool in Manchester today, and team management have been scurrying to acquire other swimming facilities in Manchester, for the team to practice in, prior to the start of the competition tomorrow.'

Just the kind of publicity London can do without as the city gears up for 2012.