flyertalker00133

Why do BA insist on undermining not only their own revenue protection but also the UK’s border security for departing passengers?

Instead of scanning the boarding pass and checking the name on the reader’s LED screen matches the passport in front of them, staff stand at the entrance to the queueing system checking passports against printed or mobile boarding passes before letting people through the gate scanners or automatic gates without further checks.

Clearly this would allow you to leave the country on anyone’s ticket and passport API, it happens regularly enough that one could rely on it. I’ve written to BA security about this twice over the years so it’s an intentional bad practice presumably to cut costs with boarding times.

I’m sure a trivial and silly complaint to make until it’s a criminal that’s harmed your loved one that’s managed to abscond to never face justice…

CT-UK

May I suggest going to the pub or finding a hobby instead?

flyertalker00133

I’m sure a trivial and silly complaint to make until it’s a criminal that’s harmed your loved one that’s managed to abscond to never face justice…

Working in security it’s things like that you tend to notice.

KARFA

Ba do check passports against bps on departing (non CTA) flights so I honestly am not sure what risk has been identified.

KARFA

For anyone with an outstanding warrant I fail to see what any such checks would stop absconding persons anyway since there is no information on the bp or passport to that effect. Outbound passenger info is sent to UKBF tho so if that is the case that’s who will pick it up and stop them.

LondonAussie

I'm no expert, and unsure on reasons why, but it is interesting to note that different airlines and countries do things differently.

In Australia, there's no ID required for domestic flights, you can book and fly under any name you want, but you'll be denied boarding if you don't show your boarding pass to cabin crew when entering the aircraft, even though you've just had it scanned and inspected at the gate a few moments earlier. Catches me by surprise after flying around Europe where the cabin crew give you a strange look if you present your boarding pass to them at the door.

Swanhunter

I too am completely confused.

KARFA

So domestic ba flights you don’t have to show any ID. But then you are not leaving the country so I can’t see any risk. There are biometrics used at T5 though to check the person who entered the terminal is the same person boarding the plane - and there hasn’t been some swapping of BPs with someone doing and international transit who hasn’t been through immigration. The same also applies for departures to JER and DUB as both are within the common travel area.

At LGW you do have to show something at the gate when boarding but a photo driving licence is sufficient- this is because biometrics have not been turned back on since south terminal was reopened.

cauchy

They tend to find the person they want before boarding time --

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.u...ested-airport/

Scots_Al

How is this a risk to the U.K. border? I'm completely failing to understand this.

Dan72

Can you elaborate on the risk you see? Thr BP and passport will have been matched and all passengers will have been through security. I don't see the opportunity for collusion that exists between check in and boardimg, as any accomplice would need a matching passport and BP for the same flight too.

If you're really concerned you could write to the Department for Transport, although they track aviation security practices quite closely.

Bohinjska Bistrica

And they definitely do pay attention to that. If anyone happens to fail the check, a few additional staff members appear pretty quickly.

henrus

I too am confused by the problem, but the only situation I could think of this being a problem is as follows.

Person 1 shouldn’t be leaving the UK.

Person 1 books a domestic flight departing from T5 and are allowed through security.

Meanwhile they find someone else who can leave the UK (person 2) and get their boarding pass for a flight outside the UK/CTA.

Person 1 presents a fake boarding pass (eg altered mobile boarding pass) for the flight outside the UK/CTA and are able to pass through because the doc check is well before the boarding pass scan. When they get to the boarding pass scan they switch to person 2’s boarding pass and are able to board no questions asked.

Meanwhile after person 1 has departed, person 2 goes back through the border and renters the UK.

I’d be interested to hear from the OP if they think the above is possible but at some point with person 2 coming back into the UK but also having been marked as departed on a flight there are going to be questions asked.

flyertalker00133

I was trying not to spell it out to leave at least something to the imagination to a budding criminal

So you’ve just committed a heinous crime and want to leave the country, but there’s an APB out for your arrest - booking a ticket to deepest darkest Peru in the name of Guido Fawkes will raise a flag - especially when you enter your Advanced Passenger Information. Expect a uniformed welcome at the gate taking you straight to an all inclusive break at His Majesty’s Pleasure.

Instead just take a look anyone’s passport page, young, old, man or woman, either in your camera roll from a holiday you’ve booked or probably the top bedside drawer of the nearest house that doesn’t answer their doorbell - and book the next flight to sunny destination of your choice.

Check in online, boarding pass as PDF, edit the name from Anastasia Beaverhausen to Guido Fawkes, boarding pass matches the boarding pass when BA staff check it in the queue (but wouldn’t match if they were checking at the scanner), next stop paradise! Short of an international arrest warrant catching you on arrival you’re home free.

Hardly keeping me awake at night nor worth more than the 60 seconds filling in the contact form while stuck on a delayed flight but it does slightly peeve me noticing a corporate cutting costs or just being plain lazy when it comes to national security. <shrug>

KARFA

Not sure how you would manage to pass the doc check on your story.

Is there some personal issue you want to share here?