News: BA slams overzealous UK security
Flights > News > # 1366 (18/07/2007)
British Airways says security rules over hand luggage on UK flights are too strict.
New measures were introduced last August in response to the alleged plot to blow up airliners in transatlantic flight using liquid explosives.
BA chairman, Martin Broughton, told shareholders at the airline’s annual general meeting yesterday (July 17) that the UK airport security requirements were “no longer credible.” He said: “The rule restricting passengers to one piece of hand baggage on board flights in the UK had “no security justification, evidenced by the fact that it is not required in the US or anywhere else in Europe.
"It is irritating to passengers, the consequent increase in hold baggage causes many of the baggage conveyor-belt breakdowns, and makes London an unattractive place, particularly for transit passengers. It needs to be changed as soon as possible."
Both BA and airport operators BAA believe the baggage rule, which is unique to the UK, has hit the number of passengers transferring between flights at Heathrow, with many choosing instead to fly through rival European hubs such as Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt.
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