I wonder if these additional staff are in addition to the extra staff they are supposed to be already be recruiting.
When I complained about the pathetic service at LGW North they said that they had been recruiting over 200 extra staff since November. Part of the reply is below.
"The issue of security resourcing at Gatwick is a complex one. Unlike
other airports, Gatwick has huge seasonal variances in demand. It also
has infrastructure constraints which make it difficult to reconfigure
the security screening area at short notice. Following the
announcement of the new regulations in November we commenced a recruitment
programme for 200+ new security staff at Gatwick. We have had more than 1,000
applications for the security officer positions, but we need hundreds
more. For every 20 applicants only one officer is offered a job. It
takes approximately 14 weeks from submitting an application to completing
training and criminal record checks and starting work. This is
clearly an area in which no compromise is acceptable to ourselves and the
Department for Transport."
So far my experience has been that the problem is worst at airports run by BAA.
What they should do is give everyone a £20 voucher to spend if you have to wait more than
10 Minutes to pass through security, that would maybe give them an incentive to improve matters.