Airport Security, Immigration & Border Control

[wawkrk]

I considered paying 3 quid for the Fast Track immigration line last night as it was very busy.
However, because of the narrow doorway, the curved walkway and the slow moving crowd, the ticket machine does not come into view or is accessible until it's all a bit too late really.
And, as it turned out the Fast Track desk was busy with disabled passengers.
The immigration staff worked well so there was not a long wait as it turned out.
Also, I think the ticket machine is on the blink as a note was stuck on it saying sorry, cash only or correct amount only, not sure.Anyway some problem.

I never realised before just how much the curvature of the building masks your view ahead so no chance gauge the length of the queue.

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Man caught with air pistol in luggage at Leeds Bradford Airport

A man sparked a security alert at Leeds Bradford Airport after being caught carrying an air pistol in his luggage.

Tahir Mahmood, 35, was arrested at the airport in May this year after staff spotted the weapon in his luggage shortly before it was to be loaded onto a flight to Islamabad.

Mahmood told police he had bought the air pistol at a car boot sale in the UK and planned to take it to Pakistan with him as it was not possible to buy the weapons there. He said his planned to use the pistol to shoot pigeons with his friends.

Mahmood, of Kensington Street, Bradford, plead guilty to having a dangerous article in an aerodrome. Leeds Crown Court heard the offence comes under the Aviation Security Act.

Judge Tom Bayliss QC gave Mahmood a conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £1,200 court costs.

The judge told Mahmood he would have been facing a more serious sentence if he had been carrying the weapon in his hand luggage. He said: “The public are rightly concerned with the dangers of anyone boarding an aircraft with such an article in their possession, even in their hold luggage.

Source: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... -1-5187156[/textarea]

 

[Tarn Spotter]

Is all hold luggage scanned at LBA or just specific flights like Islamabad?

 

[radar]

Anyone who knows about these things would probably be reluctant to discuss them on a public forum, and for good reason.

 

[Seasider]

I don't think that it is any secret to say that all hold baggage is screened.

 

[Aviador]

I don't think that it is any secret to say that all hold baggage is screened.

All airports throughout the world with domestic or international flights must have full hold baggage screening in accordance with ICAO rules. (International Civil Aviation Organisation)

Here's the website if you are interested ICAO

 

[lbaspotter]

Oh my Some people do try doing silly things. This lad has just recived 16 years in jail for trying to smuggle £700,000 worth of Heorin in to the country using the PIA service from Islamabad into Leeds/Bradford...

Source: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co....2m-leeds-bradford-airport-drug-ring-1-5208429

Smuggler is jailed over £2m Leeds Bradford Airport drug ring

Mohammed Naveed.

Published on Saturday 8 December 2012 10:00

A drug smuggler caught bringing almost £700,000 of heroin through Leeds Bradford Airport has been jailed for 16 years.

Mohammed Naveed was intercepted at the airport in Yeadon on June 27 after abandoning a shoulder bag in the luggage collection area when he realised he was to be searched after he got off a flight from 
Islamabad. Inside customs officers found a stash of 2.92 kilogrammes of heroin concealed inside cigarette sleeves.

Naveed’s fingerprint was found inside the bag.

That heroin had a street value of around £650,000 but he was also already wanted for questioning about two earlier illegal importations by other couriers into Manchester Airport.

The estimated street value of the three hauls seized was over £2.1m, David Hall prosecuting told Leeds Crown Court.

Naveed, 36 of Whetley Lane, Girlington, who is also known as Mohammed Ahmed Ismail, was
 convicted by a jury last week of two charges of conspiracy to import heroin and illegal importation.

Sentencing him yesterday Judge Guy Kearl QC said from his contacts he must have known of the extensive nature of the operation.

It was possible two couriers having been caught that they had simply run out of couriers and Naveed himself had to carry drugs.

The judge said it appeared Naveed got “cold feet” when he landed in June and put the shoulder bag on a conveyer belt where it was found by a Servisair employee who handed it to customs officers.

In January Naveed was on the same flight from Manchester Airport to Pakistan as Mohammed Siddique who subsequently returned alone using a ticket bought for him by Naveed.

Siddique was arrested at Manchester Airport with 5.23 kilogrammes of heroin hidden in cigarette sleeves in exactly the same way as it was found in June.

That had a street value of more than £200,000.

On May 17 another courier, Sharaz Khan was arrested at Manchester Airport he was carrying heroin with a street value of more than £1.3m.

Tina Landale for Khan said there was no lavish lifestyle.

Pete Avery, of Border Force, said: “The sentence handed out sends a strong message to anyone thinking of smuggling drugs into the UK.

“We have robost controls in place at all our ports and airports.

“We will catch you and you will pay with your liberty.”

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Airport security cops snatch toy from five-year-old

A MUM has slammed airport security staff who confiscated her five-year-old’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys claiming they were “imitation weapons”.

Alfie Waine, who lives in Tingley with his mum Emma Hardy, was travelling to Dublin from Leeds Bradford International Airport to see his aunt when workers seized his Leonardo plastic sword, a silver light-up laser gun and a Raphael staff last Tuesday.

Miss Hardy, a customer service manager, claims airport security staff took the toys when her hand luggage was searched after airport scanners picked up a potted candle inside her bags. At first the 31-year-old thought airport security workers were joking.

Read more: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... -1-5906224[/textarea]

 

[White Heather]

The YEP taking another opportunity to take a swipe at LBA. It is amazing to think they used to be seriously supportive of the airport in the past, but the YEP was a Leeds newspaper then and proud of it, not just part of a larger company based in the Midlands.

This woman complains that airport staff should be more sensible. I would suggest that she should be more sensible and not pack things which are banned in the first place. How 'realistic' does a toy or imitation gun need to be to be before it is not allowed on board? Since that is a matter for debate, the obvious solution is that none are allowed on board, and I am pretty sure that is made clear on the airline's websites. It is so typical that she is stupid enough to try and take such items on an aircraft and then manages to get the YEP to publish something that suggests it is all the fault of LBA.

 

[Aviador]

I agree White Heather. The fact that the woman is stupid doesn't really matter to the YEP because it's sensationalism that sells newspapers. In any case, a gun of any shape or form could be upsetting to a passenger who is scared of flying.

 

[rmac]

White Heather I totally agree. The paper should have praised the security staff for being diligent and highlighted the stupidity of the woman thinking she could bring onboard such things. My sister-in-law prior to a flight from California was made to remove her luggage from the hold and empty the contents so that her imitation toy gun she was bringing back could be identified for what it was. The Security staff are to be praised for their good work. Of course my sister-in-law had a red face as the flight departure was delayed but no doubt her fellow passengers appreciated the reasons why.
What is wrong with the YEP? Our local papers here in central Scotland are always supportive of Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.

 

[752]

looks like we are getting full body scanners
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25036113#? ... um=twitter

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Pilot Irfan Faiz jailed for drinking before flight

A pilot who admitted being over the legal alcohol limit to fly after being arrested in the cockpit has been jailed for nine months.

Irfan Faiz, 55, from Pakistan, who gave his address in court as Oxford Street, Oldham, was held at Leeds Bradford Airport on 18 September.

The Pakistan International Airlines pilot was about to fly to Islamabad.

Sentencing him at Leeds Crown Court, Mr Justice Coulson QC said Faiz had committed a "very serious offence".

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-25052665[/textarea]

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Pakistan flight attendant jailed for heroin smuggling at Leeds Bradford Airport

A FLIGHT attendant has been jailed for five years after he tried to smuggle £600,000 worth of heroin into the UK through Leeds Bradford airport.

Syed Shah, 31, had 2kg of the drug hidden in his cabin bag and flight case when officers searched them shortly after he got off a Pakistan International Airlines flight.

Leeds Crown Court heard Shah had been part of the cabin crew during a flight from Islamabad to the Yorkshire airport on November 20 last year.

Officers searched his baggage and discovered four transparent sealed packages containing heroin.

Read more: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/mai ... -1-6410532[/textarea]

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Drugs, weapons ... and fighting birds – the battle against smugglers at Leeds Bradford Airport

Weapons disguised as ornaments, drugs inside toolkits, cigarettes concealed in specially-adapted waistcoats and even fighting birds hidden inside a suitcase.

They’re all items that were seized from passengers at Leeds Bradford Airport last year and it’s an eclectic list that lends weight to Kevin Parsons’ assertion that smugglers are going to ever-more imaginative lengths to sneak illicit goods into the UK.

Link includes video:

Read more: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/mai ... -1-6449194[/textarea]

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Drunken louts caused nightmare for passengers of Leeds-bound flight

A PAIR of drunk louts caused a nightmare journey for passengers and crew on board a Leeds-bound flight.

A court heard Barry Hogan and Colin Courtney hurled foul-mouthed abuse and made crude sexual remarks as they returned home with 11 members of a stag party.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... -1-6788802[/textarea]

 

[Tarn Spotter]

Why did the gate staff not prohibit boarding, leaving the problem to cabin crew is unfair.
All the time you see gate staff refusing to confront passengers who have oversized luggage, drunk etc, easy for gate staff to call for back up, if the passenger gets aggressive. Not so easy to tackle in a narrow crowded cabin.

 

[Aviador]

Why did the gate staff not prohibit boarding, leaving the problem to cabin crew is unfair.
All the time you see gate staff refusing to confront passengers who have oversized luggage, drunk etc, easy for gate staff to call for back up, if the passenger gets aggressive. Not so easy to tackle in a narrow crowded cabin.

There is the possibility the passengers were behaving themselves at the Budapest end. Altitude and alcohol don't mix very well and the extra couple of drinks on-board will have made them worse. I've watched numerous stag and hen parties pass through the airport over the years and it's amazing how bad the behaviour of large groups of men and women become, even without a drink. Usually information is passed down the line when a person is thought to be behaving badly. Ultimately it will be the captains decision and I imagine on most occasions these large groups behave themselves sufficiently to travel event free.

 

[Aviador]

Leeds and Bradford Airport security officer jailed for sexual assaults

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I agree with some of the comments on the Daily Mail site, it seems strange for a male to be searching females.

Or a female searching males although in some countries both are common place I believe but I've not experienced it myself.

When this scanner was originally put into the public domain it was said that at UK airports the person watching the screen would be situated away from the person being scanned so would not be able to see his/her identity. That always seemed to me to be a bit complicated.