http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2183188,00.html
Originally Posted by Dan Milmo, transport correspondent
But yesterday the waits to get through security checks at Heathrow were described as "unacceptable" and the company that runs the airport, BAA, was ordered to make sweeping changes.
"BAA has failed to manage security queueing and queue times to avoid unacceptable delays to passengers, crew and flights, and have not furthered the reasonable interests of the users of Heathrow and Gatwick," a report by the Competition Commission said.
Here's something I didn't know:
Originally Posted by Dan Milmo, transport correspondent
BAA must pay a rebate to airlines if passengers are forced to queue at security checkpoints for more than 10 minutes. Over the past four years this regulation has resulted in BAA making payments totalling only £2.6m to carriers at Heathrow and Gatwick, despite widespread anecdotal evidence of severe delays.
The commission, which pointed out that a similar warning on queues was ignored five years ago, recommended a maximum queueing time and improvements in security checkpoints. It added that the fine for breaching queue targets should be tripled, from 3% of landing charge revenues to up to 10%.
Somehow I doubt those rebates are passed on to the consumer. In fact that makes it seem like the airlines have a vested interest in the lines being long...