Thursday, August 17, 2006

SECURITY BREACH AT GATWICK AS BOY BOARDS PLANE

It seems that the security at Britain’s airports isn’t as tight as we originally thought. Apparently a 12 year old boy managed to sneak past security lines at Gatwick and board a flight without anyone noticing! Nobody knows exactly how he managed to do it. But if a 12 year old boy could sneak through easily then so could a terrorist. The system isn’t foolproof and there is obviously a loophole somewhere. The boy, who had escaped from a children’s home, was only discovered just before the plane took off, when the crew checked the manifest. He had managed to board the plane with no passport or documentation of any kind. If he had been a terrorist, the consequences don’t bear thinking about. Gatwick has now launched a full security investigation to see what went wrong.

We’re also told that because of tight security checks, there are long delays and queues because there aren’t enough staff to cope with the extra checks. After 9/11 there was always the threat of further terrorist activity. The British Airports Authority were well aware of this and should have had resources in place to cope with it. In some cases, planes are taking off minus passengers, luggage or both. At least 20,000 pieces of luggage have gone missing already. The whole system seems to be a shambles. Maybe it’s time the whole security system at Britain’s airports was seriously overhauled. Meanwhile the terrorists are having the last laugh as many hardworking Britons heading for their annual break suffer the misery of delays, cancelled flights and lost luggage. The British Airports Authority owe it to the people of Britain to clear the backlog and get everyone flying again. Only then can we as a nation stand defiant in the face of a terrorist threat.

1 comment:

Rosemary said...

It sounds like the terrorists are winning in England by default, doesn't it. That's a shame, for a country with such a heroic history of stodgily resisting bowing under the pressure of Hitler's bombs.