Operators hit by long airport queues
Long queues at UK airports are damaging the travel industry and the ordeal of entering the country could harm the wider economy, say ministers who are calling on the Home Office to relax security checks.
The cross-party Home Affairs Select Committee said travel firms like Thomson and Eurotunnel are being hit because of the amount of time it takes to check their passengers and the extra staff needed to manage queues.
Although more border guards have been hired for the Olympics, ministers said they feared waiting times would increase again after the Games, when staff numbers will be reduced and more foreign students arrive in the UK for the start of the new academic year.
The Home Affairs Select Committee said the Home Office should immediately reintroduce a risk-based pilot for entry checks, which allowed border guards to waive through large low-risk groups such as families travelling with children and school parties.
Risk-based checks were abandoned last November after it was discovered that border guards had relaxed the rules further than originally intended without authorisation
In a report released yesterday, the Select Committee said the pilot had been effective in handling large groups and called for it to be reintroduced, along with "smart zones" to screen passenger before they arrive in the UK so that any individuals deemed to present a risk can be subjected to further checks.
The committee also said that boards telling arriving passengers how long they will have to queue at immigration, such as those already used at Heathrow T4, should be rolled out across all airports as a courtesy measure.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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