Gatwick No 1 For Short Security Queues

Data IN 2008 revealed that Gatwick Airport has the shortest security amongst European Airports The quarterly survey from the Airports Council International which identifies passenger comments pn various services at the ten busiest airports in Europe.

Waiting times experienced by passenger ar Gatwick's security check points were shorter than those at major airports - Heathrow London, Frankfurt Germany, Charles de Gaulle Paris, & Schipol Holland

 

BA - Safety Concerns

Before you travel you you ought to know the following: On Feb 7th: 06 BA Flight 184 en route from Newark USA to London was forced to make an emergency landing at Boston after fumes of an acid nature were reported on the flight deck, according to a BA spokesperson. A spokesperson for the American Federal Aviation Authority said that during the incident on the Boeing 777 smoke was visible on the flight deck. The plane was 75 miles East of Boston at the time.

On 11th Jan. Following a power failure and a suspected engine fire whilst taxiing to the take off runway at Edinburgh Airport, passengers on Flight BA 8703 were evacuted via an emergency chute. Earlier in the month an investigative report in The Sunday Times (Jan 01) has revealed that at least four British Airways planes have experienced serious technical problems whilst in flight. These include: A door falling from a Boeing 777 at 6,000ft which damaged the fuselage before crashing to land near a couple out for walk. The door had not been checked to ensure it shut firmly after an inspection by maintenance enginneers.

Fuel leaked out of a holed fuel tank on another flight leaving behind a 4km vapour trail. The hole should have been plugged by a screw and cap which were left inside the fuel tank...Another plane, a Boeing 757, that failed to respond correctly to flight controls was later found to be minus two wing panels. They were later dicovered in a storage rack in a maintenance hangerOn another flight the Pilots of a 757 had to use oxygen masks and make an emergency landing when the flight cabin filled with oil fumes. Aircraft enginneers had overfilled the jet with oil..

Currently accident investigators are also investigating a flight to Budapest in October when the air crew heard a strange banging sound which was immediately followed by a blackout on the flight deck. During this incident the flight and navigation displays failed along with the auto pilot. Maintenance enginneers could not establish the reason for the fault and amazingly the plane was not taken out of service for some time.

Other similiar instances are detailed in The Sunday Times report which publishes the findings of the AAIB (Air Accident Investigation Board). Amongst their findings the AAIB have concluded that these problems were the result of systemic issues which increased the probabilty of error, rather than wilful negilence or intentional poor workmanship. A response from British Airways is also included in the report. The size of the British Airways fleet has remained static over the last decade, but the number of enginners and maintenance staff working on them has been reduced by about a third.