Security screening at Heathrow
Sep 23, 2015, 9:52 am
#1
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Security screening at Heathrow
Why doesnt the security screening at Heathrow have some expedited screening for passengers coming from US/Canada flights holding citizenship and a global entry or nexus type trusted traveller program holder?
I mean one would assume the US would have the most stringest security protocols so if the pax has already gone through their process and are sterile then why give hard time to such passengers during transit especially with tight connections? For example I have Canadian citizenship with Nexus/Global entry and was coming from DFW. But they made me go through the whole deal + perfume inspection + turning on all electronics including my smart watch and I almost missed my flight at the last boarding call.
Im sure they can streamline such passengers?
I mean one would assume the US would have the most stringest security protocols so if the pax has already gone through their process and are sterile then why give hard time to such passengers during transit especially with tight connections? For example I have Canadian citizenship with Nexus/Global entry and was coming from DFW. But they made me go through the whole deal + perfume inspection + turning on all electronics including my smart watch and I almost missed my flight at the last boarding call.
Im sure they can streamline such passengers?
Sep 23, 2015, 10:31 am
#2
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Sep 23, 2015, 10:36 am
#3
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Partly no doubt because of the sheer difficulty of separating the passengers into two groups based on where they've flown in from. Once they've landed and disembarked, all the passengers are mixed up together, so at the point of entry to any special security queue there'd need to be detailed checks of used boarding passes to make sure that they were (a) from the same day, and (b) matched the name on the holder's passport, which in turn would have to be matched to the person. In addition, there'd still have to be the usual checks relating to the next flight.
Sep 23, 2015, 6:04 pm
#4
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Presumably for much the same reason as the US does not give expedited clearance to people coming from the UK, where, if anything, the security screening is more stringent still.
Sep 23, 2015, 6:10 pm
#5
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Why doesnt the security screening at Heathrow have some expedited screening for passengers coming from US/Canada flights holding citizenship and a global entry or nexus type trusted traveller program holder?
I mean one would assume the US would have the most stringest security protocols so if the pax has already gone through their process and are sterile then why give hard time to such passengers during transit especially with tight connections? For example I have Canadian citizenship with Nexus/Global entry and was coming from DFW. But they made me go through the whole deal + perfume inspection + turning on all electronics including my smart watch and I almost missed my flight at the last boarding call.
Im sure they can streamline such passengers?
I mean one would assume the US would have the most stringest security protocols so if the pax has already gone through their process and are sterile then why give hard time to such passengers during transit especially with tight connections? For example I have Canadian citizenship with Nexus/Global entry and was coming from DFW. But they made me go through the whole deal + perfume inspection + turning on all electronics including my smart watch and I almost missed my flight at the last boarding call.
Im sure they can streamline such passengers?
Assuming the US is the most stringent is also a bad thing.
Sep 24, 2015, 2:41 am
#6
Join Date: Oct 2002
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I can sort of see where the OP is coming from.
The UK is pretty much alone in the EU in requiring everybody to be rescreened. The EU has common airport security standards, and normally anybody who has cleared security in either the combined EU/Schengen area, or in the USA (which has signed up to the EU standards), does not have to re-clear security when in transit, unless airport lay-out makes this necessary (as was the case at Schiphol until a few weeks ago).
The UK, in typical UK fashion, decided to opt out of the common standards.
Of course even if the UK were to end its opt-out (pigs might fly!) the current arrangements would continue for the foreseeable future, because of the way LHR is laid out. It took years for AMS to complete the redesign that now allows passengers from all "safe" countries to transit without re-clearing security.
The UK is pretty much alone in the EU in requiring everybody to be rescreened. The EU has common airport security standards, and normally anybody who has cleared security in either the combined EU/Schengen area, or in the USA (which has signed up to the EU standards), does not have to re-clear security when in transit, unless airport lay-out makes this necessary (as was the case at Schiphol until a few weeks ago).
The UK, in typical UK fashion, decided to opt out of the common standards.
Of course even if the UK were to end its opt-out (pigs might fly!) the current arrangements would continue for the foreseeable future, because of the way LHR is laid out. It took years for AMS to complete the redesign that now allows passengers from all "safe" countries to transit without re-clearing security.
Sep 24, 2015, 7:14 am
#7
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Don't transfer in London.
Difficult to see, given the disaster that is Flight Connections at Heathrow and the likelihood of having to change terminals, why anyone would want to do this anyway!
Difficult to see, given the disaster that is Flight Connections at Heathrow and the likelihood of having to change terminals, why anyone would want to do this anyway!
Sep 24, 2015, 3:32 pm
#8
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As an aside, I've never managed to connect at FRA without having to reclear security.
Sep 25, 2015, 12:30 am
#9
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Given that the hub aspect is one of Heathrow's core arguments for a 3rd runway, it remains somewhat bewildering why they seemingly can't get Flight Connections right.
Sep 25, 2015, 2:29 am
#10
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Anyone who claims that it 'increases the destinations available' should ponder why Heathrow flies to fewer destinations that Amsterdam or Frankfurt.
Adding APD would solve all these problems as LHR transfers would be prohibitively more expensive than transfers via AMS etc.
Sep 25, 2015, 2:35 am
#11
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Why should they and what is so special about the US/Canadian screening? All I see is complaints about how rubbish they are.
Sep 25, 2015, 3:07 am
#12
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Sep 25, 2015, 3:17 am
#13
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I have never transited through LHR as it is my home airport. I assumed that as they were transiting they also had to change terminals, which would mean the security dance again I suppose?
Sep 25, 2015, 3:25 am
#14
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The 'hub' issue is actually the biggest problem at Heathrow. Huge number of people passing through, contributing nothing (you don't even pay APD) and clogging up the system.
Anyone who claims that it 'increases the destinations available' should ponder why Heathrow flies to fewer destinations that Amsterdam or Frankfurt.
Anyone who claims that it 'increases the destinations available' should ponder why Heathrow flies to fewer destinations that Amsterdam or Frankfurt.
13.16 These effects would be supported by the strengthening of Heathrow’s hub status that additional capacity would make possible. With expansion, airlines operating from Heathrow could compete more effectively for transfer passengers with other European and international hubs. Attracting transfer passengers should not be seen as an end in itself. But they can be a decisive factor in determining the viability of a route which is economically advantageous to the UK. Without expansion, the number of international transfer passengers at Heathrow is forecast to fall from 20 million a year in 2014 to 8 million or fewer by 2050; with expansion this pattern of decline could be reversed, seeing up to 30 million international transfer passengers by 2050. Expansion in capacity would also enable the airport to operate more efficiently as a hub, as network carriers could use the new slots that become available to move more towards operating arrivals and departures in wave patterns, maximising the number of connections available for passengers.
Of course as you suggest Raffles there's the seemingly contradictory point that the number of destinations served by Heathrow has actually gone down over recent years, perhaps particularly since the EU-US Open Skies agreement replaced Bermuda II in 2008 (opening up Heathrow) and lucrative transatlantic routes have seen frequencies increase.
Personally, regarding the Heathrow 3rd runway, I take what I imagine for FlyerTalk is essentially the heretical position of being against it!
Sep 25, 2015, 3:38 am
#15
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Transfer passengers still pay a facilities fee, and APD would just make Heathrow even less competitive than it already is.
I personally feel Heathrow security is proportionate and not too cumbersome.
I personally feel Heathrow security is proportionate and not too cumbersome.