180 passengers enter UK unchecked at Bournemouth Airport
11.09.10
‘Urgent investigations’ are being made after an around 180 passengers entered the UK after a flight to Bournemouth Airport without their passports checked, the Echo reports. Passengers contacted the newspaper after they left a Ryanair flight from Malaga at about 14:30 on Wednesday.
One said: ‘The bottom line is that something like 180 people got into England via Bournemouth Airport without any form of identification required. Bournemouth Airport’s security was a farce on that day. I could have had Mickey Mouse on my passport. I could have been a known terrorist going through Bournemouth without being stopped.'
A spokesman for the UK Border Agency said it was the responsibility of the airline or handling company to advise their staff when inbound flights arrive. He said: ‘We were not notified on this occasion until passengers had passed through to the baggage reclaim area. We are concerned that this situation occurred and we are working with the airport to ensure it does not happen again.’
A spokesman for Bournemouth Airport said the situation should not have occurred. He told the newspaper: ‘We are urgently investigating how the airline’s handling agent allowed passengers to enter the arrivals building before UK Border Agency staff were in place to receive them.’
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