"It's for Security, Mam"

BA 2489 Barcelona - Gatwick
BA 2914 Gatwick – Manchester
22 October 2008

At the gate, 2 BA people were acting British Boarder Control. An Asian family had their passports scrutinised and a teenage son was questioned regarding his resident status. I find this practice somewhat disturbing, and don’t understand exactly what qualifies cabin personnel to act as border control. If I had been through the same treatment, I would no doubt find it degrading and also a lack of protection of my personal rights. I just don’t think it is ok that an airhostess questions travellers on such personal matters. I am aware that airlines are somehow responsible for passengers having valid travel documents, but does that really give them the right to ask people about their residence status, job, education etc?

Next stop was the Spanish border control. This guy was alone, he wore a uniform that made it clear that he was a public employee, and furthermore, he greeted everybody with a smile and a casual wave. And I mean that in the nicest possible sense!


I had to change flight in Gatwick. Never seem to be a direct flight between Barcelona and Manchester when I need one. (British Air, Monarch and BMIBaby do fly direct, but unfortunately never on the date or time that I need!).

Anyways; It is not possible to transfer directly i.e. “inside” the airport, so you have to walk out through passport control, out through luggage claim and then go up 2 floors to check in again.

In Gatwick, security check is no laughing matter. First, you get photographed, and the picture is linked to your boarding card. Then the regular security thing; PC out of bag, jackets and belt off, and plastic bag with liquids visible. And they have a special machine, just for checking footwear! Unfortunately, you have to remove your shoes to put them through the machine, and as there is only one, this can be quite a bottleneck. At all 3 steps do you show you boarding pass, and at the picture-stand, also your passport.

As you might know, Gatwich airport gates are organized in clusters at the end of a number of piers. To access the pier and waiting area, you must show you Boarding card yet again, and your live image must match the picture taken at general security to gain access.

At the gate, I had to show both Boarding card and passport again, and thus got slightly annoyed, when the cabin staff also insisted on checking my Boarding pass. They informed me, that it was “for security”.

What a relief! Who needs border control, bombs-in shoes detecting devices, pictures and X-rays, when you can have your boarding pass checked by a British Airways air hostess!