Isle airports axe bag and body search

IT is something most travellers dread, as they squeeze toiletries into tiny plastic bags, remove shoes and belts and wait in line to be searched.

But those who use some airports will soon be able to skip security.

At the end of this month instead of facing a body search, passengers flying from Barra, Tiree and Campbeltown will shortly be able to walk straight onto their plane as security at the airports is changed to what the operator terms ‘proportionate’.

However, union leaders have warned the move will make the airports a target for terrorists.

All three airports are regularly used by local residents to avoid lengthy ferry journeys, while the planes used at times carry only a handful of passengers to and from Glasgow.

Highlands and Island Airports Limited (HIAL) says the changes will mean people can enjoy a ‘streamlined check-in process’. Staff will no longer carry out regular bag and body searches, although perimeter patrols and hold luggage checks will remain.

The changes have been agreed with the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport (DFT).

A spokesman for HIAL said: ‘The new measures have been designed to improve the general passenger experience for passengers travelling to Glasgow while maintaining appropriate security standards.

‘Items on the prohibited articles list displayed at the airports involved may not be carried on any aircraft.’

But the new measures – which will result in the loss of ten part-time jobs – are proving controversial.

‘They have put a big neon sign up to say there is no security here, jump on a plane,’ said Nationalist MP Angus MacNeil, who lives on Barra and regularly uses the island’s airport.

‘We can’t advertise to the world that the easiest way to get a plane in the UK is to go to some far-flung corner like this. We need to be upping the security, not advertising that we have a security gap.’

Prospect trade union negotiator David Avery claimed that staff at rural airports still regularly find passengers carrying prohibited liquids, small knives, even firearms ammunition.

Mr Avery pointed out that the flight path to Glasgow is near nuclear power facilities and Ministry of Defence establishments such as Faslane.

He added: ‘Lowering security at Highlands and islands airports could make these sites, and the airports themselves, far more likely to be potential targets.’

A DFT spokesman said: ‘Passenger screening at Campbeltown and Tiree will be streamlined for customers flying to Glasgow. Passengers taking connecting flights from Glasgow to other destinations will need to go through standard screening.’

‘Advertising a security gap’