LONDON — Several European officials questioned American requirements for airport security last week after the chairman of British Airways criticized Britain for bowing too quickly to Washington’s demands.
The chairman, Martin Broughton, said at a conference that Britain should not “kowtow to the Americans every time they wanted something done” with aviation security procedures.
Especially irritating, Broughton said, according to The Financial Times, was the requirement that passengers take off their shoes and remove their laptops from their luggage during security checks. The practice should be abandoned, he said. A representative for BritishAirways confirmed that he made the remarks.
The complaints added to the discontent and frustration among passengers, airlines and airport operators in Europe over the ever-changing safety requirements and the long waiting times atsecurity screening points in airports. Executives from other carriers and airports echoed the criticisms from British Airways.
Some airlines have repeatedly called for more sophisticated scanning machines to replace procedural safety measures such as requiring passengers to pack liquids separately.
Virgin Atlantic said last week that it had pleaded “for many years” for new security procedures that would be “effective but quicker and less intrusive on our passengers.”
Lufthansa of Germany was more circumspect, The Associated Press reported. A Lufthansa spokesman, Jan Baerwald, said airlines have “had more and more regulations since 9/11.”
But, he added, “I’m not going to say it is Lufthansa’s opinion that it is too strict- that is not for us to say.”
BAA, the company that operates Heathrow airport in London, argued that there was room to consider an overhaul of the current safetyregulation and said that it was “committed to ensuring passengers are safe and that we also constantly improve the levels of service we offer.”
Broughton specifically criticized the United States for burdening European airports and airlines with what he called “redundant” checks.
He also criticized Washington for not imposing certain safety restrictions on domestic flights that it requires from flights to and from the United States.
Even within Britain, however, there have been discussions about updated airport security. A plan by the British government this year to introduce body scanners at airports was met with strong opposition in Parliament. The new coalition government is now reviewing the need for scanners and whether they violate the privacy of passengers. The United Stateshas started to introduce body scanners in some airports.
Mike Carrivick, chief executive of the Board of Airline Representatives, which represents more than 80 airlines, including British Airways, Delta and Continental, joined Broughton’s call for a safety overhaul and said “let’s step back and have a look at the whole situation.”
“Every time there is a new security scare, an extra layer is added on to procedures,” Carrivick said. “Let’s look at technology and see whatwe can do so that passengers don’t have to take off their shoes.”
The Transportation Security Administration said last week in Washington that officials “constantly review and evolve our security measures based on the latest intelligence.” It also said it “works closely with our international partners to ensure the best possible security.”
The British government distanced itself from the debate and said that the additional security rules requested by Washington were a matter for the airlines flying passengers to the United States. But a representative for the Department for Transport in Britain added that the coalition government was reviewing its airport security regulation and considering giving airport operators more flexibility in how they meet certain security goals.
British airport security regulation, like that of other European countries, is based on standards set by the European Union.
“Our security measures go further than the minimum set by the EU, and we have one of the safest systems in the world,” the British airport representative said.
The European Commission also criticized air security measures for entry to the United States, saying that a so-called Electronic System for Travel Authorization was impeding travel, difficult to comply with and raised a possible threat to privacy.
The system requires European passengers to register before traveling to the United States, which “represents a burden for European citizens,” Michele Cercone, a spokesman for the commission, said in a news conference at Brussels. The procedure is also “inconsistent with the commitment by the U.S. to facilitate trans-Atlantic mobility.”
Cercone said commission authorities were examining whether the system was “tantamount” to introducing visas on all European Union citizens. Poles, Bulgarians and Romanians must get visas to travel to the United States. And while citizens from all other EU countries are covered by a visa waiver program, they must still register. An estimated 13 million Europeans traveled to the United States in 2009.
He said that the system had become vulnerable to “scam” websites and “fraudulent operations.” That, he said, should prompt the United States to “give a second thought” to the system.
In addition, it was unclear to the European authorities whether privacy was adequately protected, even when Europeans were able to pay for the registration by credit card. Cercone said the commission wanted to know whether credit card details were retained or used for purposes other than those for which they were collected, and he suggested that there needed to be safeguards.
Information for this article was contributed by James Kanter of The New York Times.
Business, Pages 75 on 10/31/2010