News Search Search this site or the web powered by FreeFind Site search Web search Story archive		April 10, 2004, Scotsman SCANDAL OF BA SECURITY LAPSES Gethin Chamberlain BRITISH Airways is at the centre of a security scandal after it admitted that flight-crew members are allowed to fly on board passenger aircraft without the required checks being carried out on their background, The Scotsman can reveal. One new flight attendant had been flying for two weeks before the company asked her to contact former employers on its behalf to ask for references. And a backlog of work means that thousands of airline staff employed by BA and other companies are flying without the appropriate clearance, nine months after the government introduced legislation requiring all airside staff to undergo criminal record checks. The revelations come just weeks after BA was involved in a series of security alerts after the intelligence services received information indicating terrorists wanted to use one of the company's jets to attack the US. The new security breach came to light after the managing director of a Scottish company was contacted by a former employee, who had joined BA as a flight attendant, asking for a reference. When she revealed she had been flying for two weeks, he contacted The Scotsman. He said his former employee told him that BA had a high staff turnover and had such a backlog of paperwork that it had not had time to check out her references. "I fly with British Airways and I could not believe that they were allowing the cabin crew to fly without checking out who they were," he said. "I find it unbelievable that at a time like this, when security is supposed to be so tight and passengers are subjected to such intensive security checks, that people can just walk into such a sensitive job without anyone attempting to verify their background." BA denies that staff have been allowed to take up positions within the company before their references have been checked, but it does admit that many staff are operating on temporary passes, allowing them to fly without checks having been carried out on if they have criminal records. Last year, to increase security, the government introduced legislation requiring all staff to undergo criminal-record checks before the issuing of a pass allowing them airside. The contract for carrying out the checks was given to Disclosure Scotland, part of the Scottish Criminal Records Office, but it has struggled to cope with the demand and is taking from six to nine weeks to process each application. Yesterday, a BA spokesman said: "Due to the time taken by Disclosure Scotland to carry out comprehensive criminal record checks, the Department for Transport is allowing temporary passes to be issued while this process is completed." He said the backlog meant that many staff were flying without checks to see if they have criminal records. "You have got thousands of people still waiting for checks," he said. Patrick Mercer, the Conservatives' shadow homelands security spokesman, said he found the revelations extremely disturbing. "It just strikes me that any aircrew, or indeed any airport staff, have got to have their facts and figures checked beforehand, not after they start work," he said. Gordon White, the national officer for aviation for the union Amicus, said a backlog for criminal record checks was a problem for the whole industry. Disclosure Scotland, which is the only body authorised to carry out the criminal-record checks, has admitted cases are taking up to nine weeks to process. Yesterday, it directed inquiries about the backlog to the Scottish Executive, where a spokeswoman admitted delays had occurred, but said ten extra staff were being trained. US fighter jets forced down a light aircraft that flew too close to president George Bush's Texas ranch yesterday. The unidentified pilot was being questioned in San Marcos, after flying into a restricted area, the US Secret Service said last night.
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