Travel&Vacation

LONDON, England — Tougher security measures introduced at UK airports are failing to protect passengers, an industry watchdog said as it criticized the country’s busiest airport for delays that could harm the country’s economy.

In a report on half-year air traffic results, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) criticized the UK’s "unique screening policies," which it said "inconvenience passengers with no improvement in security."

The report comes after UK ministers said tougher airport security measures were creating longer lines that could become new targets for terrorists.

London’s Heathrow Airport has also been criticized for suffering from excessive delays and an ineffective setup.

The IATA praised a U.S.-EU agreement on harmonized security measures, which include the sharing of passenger information, describing it as "a step in the right direction."

But it said governments must be careful that new security rules do not work against passengers.

UK regulations state that passengers can only take a limited quantity of liquids on board and can carry only one item of hand luggage.

But CNN’s Richard Quest said this "is really just a numbers game," with passengers still able to take several bags on board providing they can squash them into one.

The IATA also criticized airport operator BAA, which runs Heathrow, as being the only beneficiary of the security measures.

It added that BAA "continues to deliver embarrassingly low service levels by failing to invest in appropriate equipment and staff to meet demand. This must stop."

IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani told CNN the situation was "an embarrassment" for the UK.

"It’s a monopoly provider out of control, making a fortune. But it’s a nightmare for passengers. And it is a big problem for airlines. Why? The delays, the queues," he said.

Bisignani said no airports in any other country have the same problems as Heathrow.

"Everybody is trying to avoid Heathrow. But you don’t need high technology. You don’t need any kind of special tool. You need right staffing, good practice in implementing some kind of operational, I would say new equipment, in order to avoid those queues."

Kitty Ussher, London’s City Minister, has also expressed concerns that delays at Heathrow and the airport’s layout could drive business away from the country.

"You spend so much time being processed. That’s the issue … passports, security, just the layout of the buildings, which makes it more difficult," she said in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper.

A spokesman for Heathrow said the airport was serving around 20 million passengers a year more than its terminals were designed for, but said the opening of Terminal 5 in March 2008 would provide an opportunity to overhaul the rest of the airport.

"By 2012, the vast majority of passengers using Heathrow will be traveling through terminal facilities which aren’t yet open."

Last week, the British Parliament’s Transport Committee said a failed terrorist attack on Glasgow airport in June highlighted how passengers standing in line could be threatened.

It also described rules introduced last year in the wake of a failed trans-Atlantic terror plot, as "lengthy, intrusive and frustrating."

Source: rss.cnn.com