Congratulations to BAA (Britsh Airports Authority) for out "Nannying" Nanny.
How has this historic achievement been effectuated? (Can I say effectuated on a public website?)
I shall tell you...
When Terminal 5 at Heathrow opens on 27th March, all passengers passing through its portals (including British citizens flying on domestic flights) will be fingerprinted and photographed.
For why?
BAA claim that it's because the design of the building mixes transit, international and domestic travellers all in one huge shopping mall.
BAA also claim that the photos and prints will be destroyed after 24 hours, and will not be given to the security services.
Well, here's why this is a load of old bollocks:
- BAA are shite, and regularly manage to screw up simple tasks such as baggage handling. The effective, efficient and secure control of personal data such as prints is way beyond their capabilities
- BAA are on the point of bankruptcy, what happens to this system when they collapse?
- The security services will of course take these details, no matter what BAA say
- This will add to the delays and frustrations of the hapless passengers who have to endure Heathrow's primitive facilities (note Terminal 5's design was buggered about and ruined, because BAA couldn't afford to build the original design)
- There is no need to fingerprint domestic passengers, this could be done purely for international and transit passengers at their point of arrival (even if there really is a security need for prints...which I doubt)
- The UK is the only country in the world that is going to fingerprint domestic passengers. Why?
All in all BAA are taking actions way above their lowly station in life.
I suggest that people bugger up their new system by spraying plastic skin on their fingers, thus making the system inoperable.
Vent your spleen on BAA via this link corporateresponsibility@baa.com
That is indeed pretty darned nasty.
ReplyDeleteFortunately though, there may be a workable solution in the form of free-market choice.
If Terminal 5 is for the exclusive use of British Airways then the problem is solved by flying, where possible, with some other carrier than BA. To be honest I went off BA years ago.
I doubt that Nanny will be unable to resist "checking" this data....Will the BAA send this data to the USA for security reasons?
ReplyDeleteI too will not use terminal five and thus not BA....even though "I have nothing to hide."
Lokking for an alternative to BA?
ReplyDeleteLet me strongly recommend THY (Turkish Airways) brilliant!
I hear this morning that Nanny is trying to stop BAA fingerprinting passengers by saying it contrevenes the data protection act.....Good....but I still will boycot T5 and thus BA.
ReplyDelete