In the BALPA Security Briefing (
http://www.balpa.org/intranet/BALPA%20Security%20Briefing%2010%20August%202006.htm) our Chairman stated:
"If there any are issues or anomalies that you feel we should be addressing or that have been overlooked, please do let us know as all the agencies involved in this are liaising closely and are keen to make this work as well as we can in the circumstances."
Accordingly, I am writing to submit my comments.
Does BALPA have ANY IDEA of the concern being expressed by British Pilots over this fiasco? There is serious talk of pilots turning on their heels and walking back to their crew rooms when faced with such draconian measures that prevent them even taking a PEN onboard!
I would refer you to a thread which is running on the Professional Pilot's Rumour Network (PPRuNe). I'll start you off on page 10, as the situation has escalated since the earlier posts. We're now up to page 20. To save you the time of sifting through all of it, some pertinent extracts follow below.
Edited out for brevity. While it may be a bit time consuming, I would kindly urge you to read them.
These comments express views supported by me and many others. While some of the "opinions" on specific security procedures may be "uninformed", there is an undercurrent of unrest and a belief that BALPA is not representing it's members interests in this crisis. There is a feeling by many that industrial action may be called for.
In summary, we feel that the procedure outlined in the Chairman's statement is not being followed and there are major inconsistencies between procedures at different airports - all (apparently) run by BAA. In particular, Flight Crew are generally not being screened separately from PAX and there seems to be no effort in setting up such screening procedures. Hand-searches of crew items are not being performed in many cases, and petty confiscations, (such as pens, tea bags and toffee crisps), extending to PDAs, Electronic Flight Bags and Mobile Phones are beginning to obstruct the crew in their duties, elevate stress and fatigue and destroy any sense of cooperation between crew and security services. The security procedures are so draconian, that not only can crew members not bring personal refreshments on board, but the short turnarounds prevent crews from obtaining any personal refreshments throughout the course of their duty periods.
Of less immediate concern, (but an issue nevertheless), is that blanket banning of hand luggage for passengers will, if not revised, damage the industry and jeopardise jobs. This would not take long, and there is much speculation that there must be a better way. With the insurance situation often not covering valuable electronic items in the hold, passengers and crew are now often faced with Hobson's Choice. Indeed many laptops and PDAs contain such sensitive information that they are not permitted to be let out of their owners sight by virtue of the Data Protection Act. Many passengers will opt to take the boat or the train for destinations in reach. Corporate customers may well resort to tele-conferencing as an alternative. These are all serious threats to our industry, (especially on the more profitable business sectors), and must be addressed in short order.
There is considerable alarm that these measures may not be temporary - and there will be some pressure to make them a permanent feature. The Aviation Security Commission (TRANSEC) is charged with the responsibility for these decisions and we believe this must NOT be allowed to happen. BALPA does have representation on TRANSEC. It is time this unholy mess was sorted.
Yours sincerely,
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=238656&page=10