Sorry Strake, but I'll take the TSA service at EWR, IAH or JFK over any UK airport. I can also only compare the queueing to be re-screened whilst still airside at T5 before being admitted to the shopping mall, sorry departure lounge, from my connecting flight to that of animals penned and corralled at a slaughterhouse waiting to be stunned before slaughter.
Our security and immigration services could learn a lot from the TSA. The wider, more open, airy and well lit areas in US airports help to introduce a calm to fatigued and fractious passengers whereas the tightly coralled areas with passengers shuffling back and forth past each other in thight confines only helps to irritate tired and confused passengers, couple that with the archtect's favourite "subdued lighting", i.e. dark and gloomy and paint colours from the 1970's NHS psychiatric pallette just completes the depressive mood for incoming travellers.
Then again, if we were to have this, it would mean BAA giving up some of its retail space to better serve their customers and we all know that this is not likely to happen as BAA have never demonstrated greater love for their customers than for their customers money.