Aviation chiefs back security checks overhaul

Mr Broughton said passengers should not have to undergo some of the checks and the UK should not "kowtow" to the Americans every time America wanted something done when airports in the USA were not required to do the same.

The chief executive of BAR UK, Mike Carrivick, representing more than 80 scheduled airlines in the UK, said the whole question of airport security needed to be looked at.

Mr Broughton's comments came at the annual conference of the UK Airport Operators Association in London.

He said people should not be forced to take off their shoes and have their laptops checked separately in security lines.

And he said there was no need to "kowtow to the Americans every time they wanted something done", especially when this involved checks the US did not impose on its own domestic routes.

The US stepped up security in January in the wake of an alleged bomb plot, introducing tougher screening rules, including body pat-down searches and carry-on baggage checks, for passengers arriving from 14 nations which the authorities consider a security risk.

Passengers from any foreign country also face random checks.

Mr Broughton said: "America does not do internally a lot of the things they demand that we do. We shouldn't stand for that. We should say, 'We'll only do things which we consider to be essential and that you Americans also consider essential.'

"We all know there's quite a number of elements in the security programme which are completely redundant and they should be sorted out."

These included the requirement to remove footwear, brought in after British "shoe bomber" Richard Reid hid explosives in his shoes on a transatlantic flight in 2001, as well as inconsistent approaches to laptop computers and other equipment.

Mr Broughton said: "Take the iPad – they still haven't decided if it is a laptop or it isn't. Some airports think you should take it out and some think you shouldn't."

Mr Carrivick said: "There seems to be a layered approach to security at airports. Every time there is a new security scare, an extra layer is added on to procedures.

"We need to step back and have a look at the whole situation. Standards change fairly regularly and this puts pressure on airports and airlines. We need to decide what we are trying to do and how best to do it."

Chief executive Colin Matthews, of BAA, which runs six UK airports including Heathrow, added: "We could certainly do a better job for customers if we can rationalise them.

"There are some aspects which have been frustrating to everyone, but equally everyone understands we have to keep the passenger safe."

The calls have also been backed by airline pilots' union Balpa. General secretary Jim McAuslan said: "These procedures currently employ a catch all approach, lacking true focus on the very real threat from international terrorism that faces both UK and international aviation."

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said he was looking to develop a new regulatory system that balanced the needs of operators with European Union requirements.

1,000 jobs to go as ryanair wields axe

Budget airline Ryanair is to axe 1,000 jobs including 150 pilot and cabin crew posts.

The cuts – at Frankfurt Hahn airport – will mean fewer flights to and from Stansted and Edinburgh.

Ryanair blamed the cuts, which take effect next summer, on the German government's new eight euro (about 7) tourist tax.

Service to Dublin and Kerry in Ireland will not change.

About 30 per cent of Ryanair's flights from Hahn will go and nine routes from Hahn will be axed – including those to Berlin, Prague and Gothenburg.

Ryanair said it will reduce its Hahn-based aircraft from 11 to eight next summer and handle one million fewer passengers there.