Pilots and crew criticise fast track
12.08.08
Pilots and cabin crew are being forced to queue with passengers to get through security checks at Liverpool Airport, the Echo reports. Unions are calling the situation ‘ill thought out’.
The problems started after the airport introduced a fast-track security lane for passengers who are pay an extra £2 to beat the security queue. When this was introduced, pilots and aircrew lost their dedicated security channel and they are now forced to join passenger in the fast track queue.
The newspaper reports that crew have been given passes, which are mean they can go to the head of the queue. But some passengers who have paid extra for a quicker service are said to be angered at seeing crew - who tend to travel in packs - walk past them and hold up the line, and have told cabin crew to ‘get to the back’.
The British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) has called the situation ‘ridiculous’. The union confirmed that they had received a number of complaints from their members working at Liverpool Airport about the situation.
David Reynolds, flight safety officer at Balpa, told the Echo: ‘The last thing anyone wants is to be in a situation that’s potentially confrontational before they get to work – let alone get on a flight. And if you’ve paid for a premium service you’re going to be rightly aggrieved.'
‘If the product is not as described, and it comes at a premium, then there’s going to be problems. The issue lies with the airport operator. There needs to be a rethink.’
However, Robin Tudor, spokesman for the airport, said there had been no reports of operational problems or direct complaints. He told the newspaper: ‘It happens mainly at peak periods. I can see how, if it has happened to you for the second time in a couple of weeks, then it would be annoying.'
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