A meeting was today held in London between Ruth Kelly, the new Minister for Transport, and several prominent figures representing five major companies within the airline sector. The focal point of the discussions held between Ms Kelly, and the bosses of airlines British Airways, easyjet, Virgin Atlantic and BMI, as well as the airport operator, BAA, was the subject of airport security. Specifically, it covered the security requirement that has, since August 2006, restricted UK passengers to carrying a single piece of hand luggage on board flights.

The meeting's conclusion was detailed in a subsequent statement issued by Ms Kelly, in which she affirmed the government would not be prepared to reduce this level of airport security. "We will not compromise on the safety of passengers, and this means that the heightened security measures introduced last summer are still necessary", she said. To this, she added: "But I am only too aware that as the main summer season approaches better preparations need to be put in place."

Ultimately, Ms Kelly affirmed, the rules would stay in force until airlines could demonstrate that allowing passengers more than one item would not compromise issues of safety and security.

In the eyes of the airlines present at the meeting - particularly British Airways and Virgin - the regulation is responsible for persistent airport chaos; passenger disruption levels stretching back to when the rule was first implemented. Ms Kelly did not entirely rule out the option of reinstating levels of security pre-August 2006, and said that the government and industry could work in tandem to achieve this goal. Detailing this, she stated: "In time we are willing to make further changes, for instance on the one bag rule. But currently the ball is in the industry's court. It is up to it to work with us to develop a process that would enable a change without compromising the safety and security of passengers".

Amongst the comments from the industry representatives present, Willie Walsh - the Chief Executive of British Airways - said that the hand luggage limitations were both gratuitously delaying the flow of passengers through UK airports, and additionally, reflecting more widely, and negatively, on Britain from a tourist's perspective. He stated: "I made it very clear that the one piece of hand luggage restriction, which applies to customers departing the UK and transferring through the UK, has no security justification and has become intensely irritating to customers." Mr Walsh, however, did also express his pleasure at Ms Kelly taking the issue on; adding that he was "optimistic that some real progress can be made."

Source - Airport International Newsdesk

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