British Airways chairman slams US airport security checks
BA chairman Martin Broughton hit out at US airport security checks on Tuesday, stating that practices such as forcing passengers to take off their shoes should be abandoned.
Speaking at the UK Airport Operators' Association annual conference, Broughton affirmed that no-one wanted weaker security.
However, he was quoted by the Financial Times as telling the conference: "We all know there's quite a number of elements in the security programme which are completely redundant and they should be sorted out."
He also questioned why laptop computers needed to be screened separately. Broughton also hit out at the US for imposing increased checks on US-bound flights - but not on its own domestic services.
Broughton added that the UK should only agree to security checks that the US requires for passengers on its own domestic flights. "America does not do internally a lot of the things they demand that we do," he said. "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'."
The US stepped up security in January in the wake of an alleged bomb plot by introducing tougher screening rules such as body pat-down searches and carry-on baggage checks, for passengers arriving from 14 nations which the authorities deem to be a security risk. Passengers from any foreign country may also be checked at random.
