Delays at UK airports ...
Mar 5, 2012, 12:02 pm
#16
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I do think that as many passengers as possible ought to be enabled and encouraged to use some sort of biometric entry system, and that it ought to be made easy to enrol in such a system (if enrolment is necessary), and that it ought to be a priority to keep the equipment in good working order. It would seem to me that this sort of entry system would work for most people with an EU/EEA/Swiss passport, as well as for people with a right of abode certificate, possibly for people with indefinite or long-term resident permits, and possibly some non-visa short-term visitors from countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, etc. These groups would account for the majority of travellers anyway, and such a system would enable the staff to concentrate on the people that they need to concentrate on.
Mar 5, 2012, 12:59 pm
#18
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IRIS is the system being phased out. The e-passport gates have someone sitting there matching photos to faces. Not very automated, and unavailable for non-European passport holders.
Mar 6, 2012, 1:03 am
#20
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Mar 6, 2012, 3:31 am
#21
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In UKBA's operations outside of the airports, I think UKBA's problems would not be solved merely by increasing the number of staff. My experience is that half of the staff are mopping up the messes created by other parts of the organization. Things like passports go missing. Vital steps in processes just get forgotten. People seem to be untrained. Communications that should be electronic are conducted via paper mail systems (or perhaps an arrangement of speaking tubes, typing pools and butlers with heavily tarnished silver trays). But I digress...
Mar 6, 2012, 9:37 am
#22
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Neil
Mar 6, 2012, 10:13 am
#23
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Absolutely; I'm sure you're right there. The delays and inefficiencies in the system seem to be so bad and so frequently occurring as to be barely credible. Not for nothing is Lunar House in Croydon often referred to as "Lunatic House".
Of course, unlike the people working in the "back office", passport officers at airports can rarely simply "put things into the too-hard basket" – they really have to deal with each situation, usually definitively, as it arises; i.e., the passenger presents himself or herself and a decision has to be made as to the admissibility of that passenger. Certainly, difficult cases can be shunted off to a manager, but that doesn't happen particularly often (compared to the total volume of passengers), and it is certainly not the cause of the delays that we see and hear about at passport control in UK airports.
At the airports themselves, I think you may be right - and I feel that IRIS (where it exists) has been a great way to get more efficient without having to increase staff. I really mourn its passing.
In UKBA's operations outside of the airports, I think UKBA's problems would not be solved merely by increasing the number of staff. My experience is that half of the staff are mopping up the messes created by other parts of the organization. Things like passports go missing. Vital steps in processes just get forgotten. People seem to be untrained. Communications that should be electronic are conducted via paper mail systems (or perhaps an arrangement of speaking tubes, typing pools and butlers with heavily tarnished silver trays). But I digress...
In UKBA's operations outside of the airports, I think UKBA's problems would not be solved merely by increasing the number of staff. My experience is that half of the staff are mopping up the messes created by other parts of the organization. Things like passports go missing. Vital steps in processes just get forgotten. People seem to be untrained. Communications that should be electronic are conducted via paper mail systems (or perhaps an arrangement of speaking tubes, typing pools and butlers with heavily tarnished silver trays). But I digress...
Of course, unlike the people working in the "back office", passport officers at airports can rarely simply "put things into the too-hard basket" – they really have to deal with each situation, usually definitively, as it arises; i.e., the passenger presents himself or herself and a decision has to be made as to the admissibility of that passenger. Certainly, difficult cases can be shunted off to a manager, but that doesn't happen particularly often (compared to the total volume of passengers), and it is certainly not the cause of the delays that we see and hear about at passport control in UK airports.
Mar 6, 2012, 10:55 am
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Mar 6, 2012, 11:39 am
#25
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Are you *absolutely sure* it does that? The system is supposed to measure your facial features against a set of facial biometrics stored in your passport; one simple example of this (no idea if it's one they actually use or not) is the distance between your eyes. That's why they are called "biometric passports".
Neil
Neil
Mar 6, 2012, 11:57 am
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Mar 7, 2012, 9:21 am
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Apr 28, 2012, 2:15 pm
#28
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/ap...-queues-delays
Perhaps those of us who care about the long lines for non-EU passport holders should write to Keith Vaz and Damian Green to make the case that automated gates need to be available for frequent visitors with non-EU passports (whether IRIS or biometric passport style). This would reduce numbers of people going through manned gates and improve the experience for people who regularly visit the UK.
Keith Vaz: http://www.keithvazmp.com/contact-me/
Damian Green: http://www.damiangreenmp.org.uk/text.aspx?id=12
Perhaps those of us who care about the long lines for non-EU passport holders should write to Keith Vaz and Damian Green to make the case that automated gates need to be available for frequent visitors with non-EU passports (whether IRIS or biometric passport style). This would reduce numbers of people going through manned gates and improve the experience for people who regularly visit the UK.
Keith Vaz: http://www.keithvazmp.com/contact-me/
Damian Green: http://www.damiangreenmp.org.uk/text.aspx?id=12
Apr 28, 2012, 2:57 pm
#29
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Or, just throw the letter/email straight in the bin for all they care. Britain is broken. The Eton debating society is as much use as an ash tray on a motorbike.
Apr 28, 2012, 3:25 pm
#30
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I think the only way to protest is the British way.
Once in the queue, get everybody singing "why are we waiting" to the tune of Adeste Fideles. That'll panic 'em.
Once in the queue, get everybody singing "why are we waiting" to the tune of Adeste Fideles. That'll panic 'em.