Last night, the government announced that UK airports were stepping up their security measures following a terror warning from the US, potentially causing havoc for passengers over the coming weeks as many start to head overseas for their annual holidays. Number 10 revealed that there was an “evolving threat” to the UK and other countries, although advised that people should continue to travel as normal.
US officials believe that Islamist terrorists – possible Syrian and Yemen al-Qaeda affiliates - are developing bombs that are capable of evading airport’s routine checks, which has obviously led to security measures being tightened for US flights from worldwide destinations. The UK Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, didn’t specify the security measures but he did rule out “significant disruption” for passengers at the moment. Prime Minister David Cameron said: “It’s very important that we always put safety first, and we do.”
Of course, delays at airports, longer queues and waiting times is a pain when all you want to do is get on board your airplane for your annual holiday, or get to the business meeting on time; but countries such as the US and UK who have some of the most stringent security checks worldwide, would not make such an announcement without having cause to believe that there is a potential threat to us, the travellers who pass through the airports. Today’s intelligence is some of the most sophisticated there is and with the improvements in technology over the past few years, there is the capability out there that makes it possible to develop non-metallic, low vapour ‘bombs’ that would be able to pass through security checks – but that doesn’t mean there is any need to make changes to your plans or panic! The respective governments and agencies are doing their duty in advising you of the situation; if they didn’t and we ‘discovered’ the potential threat at a later date, we’d certainly be vocal about it!
As of today, whilst there have been some initial minor delays at some more regional airports, Gatwick and Heathrow airports are reporting that all activities, flights, travel, etc. are running as normal, although they are remaining vigilant. So, the strong message is, carry on as normal and trust our security procedures!
By Oliver Derek