The travel and aviation industries must shoulder the blame for a government overhaul in UK airport security.
The claim is made by David Speakman, founder and chairman of home working travel agency group Travel Counsellors, following the foiled attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight en-route to Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas Day.
He believes the travel industry in general and the aviation sector in particular have created a “political vacuum”.
This has enabled the Government to suggest the implementation of more security measures, which will probably mean more delays.
“The industry has failed to bring the Government and its agencies to task regarding its dire inefficient security delays,” said Speakman.
“Customer security has to be paramount but the Government has failed to deliver this without burdening the customer with inefficient and under manned processes.
“Airlines with very few exceptions have failed to promote the cause to their customers and have left them to be abused by the system, which by silence the industry has condoned.”
He added: “The Government has now filled this vacuum of complacency and will now impose even more processes that will affect all our customers, when the airlines should long ago have demanded that these government agencies become more accountable.
“There was a fantastic opportunity to show the public that the industry cared.
“Now we must understand that any further inconvenience at airports is unnecessary and unacceptable – after all, the terrorist can win by making travel just not worth the effort.”
by Phil Davies
