The tangled priorities of security theater

Airports are cashing in on the queues at their security gates by charging passengers to use fast-track priority lanes. At least eight have introduced the system and are charging travellers up to £5 to beat the queues.

A whistleblower security guard at Luton Airport, which adopted the system last year, claimed there is a deliberate policy to let the queues grow to encourage people to pay for the express lane...

The Luton security guard told the Daily Mail: 'Before the priority lane was introduced we had to keep queues down. 'Now the lane is there staff are told to create queues, which forces passengers to pay for the priority lane.'

The claim was denied by Luton Airport. The Air Transport Users Council, the official consumer body for passengers, described the claims as 'worrying'...

Earlier this week, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary joined other airport industry leaders in condemning the current level of security screening. He said: 'What happens, particularly in the coverage of the Yemeni issues of recent days, is that we have another huge lurch by the securicrats into making travel an even more tedious ordeal for the travelling public...

More at the link, via J-Walk.