has anyone been approached?.

[darrylj]

i was told by a BA work colleague (airside cargo driving) that the dft could approach cargo i have dropped off or taking back & have a good snoop around it's contents & if they get far enough into it, anything that was on the stand awaiting the outbound, would be taken back to BA world cargo & would have to be re-built, screened etc-possibly the inbounds too.

been there some several months now, i have not seen these people wondering around near my cargo to challenge them, like i was told to do. apparently, they are in plain clothing, no ID visible.

i was also told they carry plain white type ID, & if i challenge them, as well as telling me (hopefully) who they are, they will note down my staff number & pass on to BA for a job well done, or maybe not.
has anyone on here challenged them or is it not all what i was told?.

many thanks all.

[mantug01]

Its true, the DfT do send inspectors out to the airports around the UK, we have had quite a few in Manchester. If they find any outbound baggage unattened no matter what the reason, its all off and rescreen everything and what they say goes.

The DfT do have a poster available which shows you what the inspectors ID looks like so you know they are who they say they are.

I have a couple of colleagues who have stopped strange and unfamilar looking people approaching their aircraft, they did turn out to be DfT inspectors. They were thanked by the inspector for their good security procedures.

[darrylj]

thanks very much, i will have to read the paper less & keep a better eye out on the stands...;) i guess.

[Leezyjet]

Yeah I've had a few problems with the Dft inspectors over the years.

Had to do a manual baggage ID on a 393 seat all Y, bulk loaded (yes even the main holds) Tristar in MAN not long after I became a Dispatcher as the loader couldn't tell me how many bags he had loaded !!!. That was fun !!.

Had another problem last year with them too, I was up on the a/c as crew had just arrived, loaders and sec guard on the ramp. Cargo being loaded, and bag bins at rear of a/c. Plain clothed guy walks up, opens bin and proceeds to rummage around. Loader sat in bag tug asleep didn't do anything, neither did the security guard as she "didn't know who they were and didn't want to challenge them" :ugh: WTF are you actually down there for then. :ugh:

I got called down, and they asked me what I was going to do about it - so I said I'd send all the bags away for re-screening. They were happy with that, but served airline with a deficiency notice - airline not happy with security company either as 2nd notice in as many days for exactly same thing and another 30 mins delay !!!.

I've also had them on the jetty trying to board the a/c before, fortunately I was there that time to challenge them, (can't rely on the security guard now can we !!), and they are cool as long as you do something. I just asked who they were, why were they there and could I see their ID cards, and they don't get funny with you unless you do what a now ex-colleague of mine did, and start telling them they are cr@p at their jobs and don't know what they are doing, are a waste of tax payers money etc. !!! :eek:

The Dft guys are actually alright. The same guy who did my Tristar flight about 10 years ago, I still see him around now. Don't be afraid of them, they just want to know that you know what you are doing and what to do if they do manage to catch you out !!.

:ok:

[Geezers of Nazareth]

darrylj/all,

I 'caught' one at Heathrow too. We were on a terminal 3 stand doing an outbound flight; the trucks with the cargo were there and waiting with their doors open, and I was sitting in my baggage tug waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. Somebody not recognised by me, and not wearing a hi-viz jacket, casually walked from the head of the stand towards the trucks. He passed me about 30 feet away (when I first noticed him) and then walked around the back of the trucks. Unseen by him (;)) I followed him, and as he walked past the front of the trucks I tapped him on the shoulder. He must have been surprised because he visibly jumped!

I asked who he was, what he was doing, what his business was, and why no hi-viz. He showed his DfT badge and gave his thanks to me for being alert. Unfortunately, I forgot to get his name!

If you challenge a DfT Inspector, make sure that you get his name and id number, as proof that you challenged him. He has to make a report about the whole thing, and when the whole affair comes back to your bosses you can mention his name.

One trick that they have tried with cargo is to place a little 'DfT' sticker onto the bin or pallet, then wait until it is all loaded, and then tell the Team Leader what he has done. All the cargo has to be off-loaded and sent for checking. :*

One enterprising colleague saw this happening one day, and discretely removed the stickers, so when the DfT Inspector told the T/L about the stickers, none could be found!

[Leezyjet]

One enterprising colleague saw this happening one day, and discretely removed the stickers, so when the DfT Inspector told the T/L about the stickers, none could be found!

Good job it was only stickers they put on then !!. Part of the reason they went to town on my Tristar flight was because it was a foreign a/c with foreign crew and a/c had been parked all day, unattended with doors open and steps on. The Caa had apparently been onboard several times and hidden various items that the crew should have found during their security search, however being a foreign airline/crew they didn't bother to do one !!!.

That "enterprising colleague" was not only risking the safety of the flight, but also his job !! :=

At the end of the day, the Dft will always win !!.

:sad:

[pwalhx]

I have had many experience with DFT inspectors as a freight forwarder, they arrive unnanounced and will try to gain access without being seen, thats their job.

I am aware of an inspector arriving at an unamed transit shed in the North and ringing the manager of the shed and announcing himself and enquiring how secure his shed was from intruders. When he answered very he was invited to go into his warehouse and chat to said inspector who was sat ontop of a wooden case in the middle of the warehouse.