Extra checks due to security breaches will mean delays for passengers
Increased security at airports will lead to travel chaos for millions this summer – if a report in the Daily Mail is to be believed.
The newspaper reports that following the discovery that at least three terror suspects have recently evaded border controls, all British and EU citizens will have their passports closely inspected, with the new regime starting at Heathrow airport and then rolled out to the nation’s other sea and airports. The Mail states that terror police have discovered some suspects have been travelling on false identity cards and passports – and that immigration officers will now be making extra-rigorous checks.
One told the newspaper: “The big difference is that immigration officers will be physically handling passports rather than just looking at the opened picture page as a passenger walks through. It will allow the officer to feel the pages, look to see if the photo has been changed, and carry out forgery inspection. While disruption will be kept to a minimum, there will be an obvious increase in queues – it is already happening.”
The passport agency has recently admitted that there are likely to be some 200,000 passports “stolen, lost or unavailable” this year.
