Sir, Last week I arrived back at Heathrow from Toronto en route to Edinburgh. Thanks to the T5 problems, flights from Toronto arrive at T4 and flights for Edinburgh leave from T5. I had one hour and 25 minutes. First BAA could not connect its air bridge to the plane — loss of 25 minutes. Then there was a queue for the transfer bus — ten minutes. Then passport control at T5; then biometrics. They take your photo and link it to your boarding card in their computers just so you can cross T5. (Don’t ask why this is better than a passport.)

I got to the gate, breathless and heart racing, 20 minutes before departure; the flight had not closed and others were stuck behind me in the system. But my “biometrics were faulty”, ie, the BAA system of taking a photo and linking it to my boarding card had not worked properly. The BA employees at the gate said they could not let me on to my flight. I protested. I am a British citizen, I have a valid passport, it has my photograph, I have a valid boarding card, I am at the gate for a domestic flight within Britain. But to no avail. They said: “BAA Security are only a few paces away, they should be here in 2 or 3 minutes.” “What would they do?” “Just check your passport.” “You could do that.” “We used to but now we aren’t allowed to.” Security did not come — for 35 minutes; I was denied boarding; the plane and my colleague left without me. I spent much of my Sunday at Heathrow.

What have we come to if a British citizen with a valid passport and a valid boarding card presents himself, on time, at the gate for a British domestic flight and can be thrown off because BAA’s biometrics don’t work?

Malcolm Windsor

Edinburgh

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