Can passengers skip the security check for a connecting flight?

Q We have just connected through Dublin airport (Terminal 2) from the UK to a flight to Canada, and were pleased to find that there was no need to go through security again. We’ve also found in some airports in Europe that arriving and departing passengers mingle without further checks. What are the rules on this practice, and does it apply in the UK?

John R

A The airport security check is everyone’s least favourite part of aviation. Anything that reduces the number of occasions on which you must endure the indignity, stress and wasted time of undergoing a search is to be welcomed.

From the aviation industry’s point of view, single-point clearance is a positive idea. If a robust check has been carried out on a passenger and their possessions in airport A, and there has been no opportunity for anyone to acquire anything hazardous on the journey to airport B, then dispensing with a second check frees up resources to tackle potential threats. This is especially common in the US: the fact that you have cleared a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint in one city works at the next hub, too – for example, a recent flight I had from Kansas City to Atlanta and onward to London Heathrow.

Ireland is one of many European countries that recognises the security standards of another nation. But note that if you fly on Ryanair to the Irish capital for a connecting flight, you will exit “landside” and must go through security again before the next departure. And for US destinations, a secondary security check will be carried out before you enter the US departure area.

In continental Europe, the acceptance that passengers have been screened at their airport of origin is widespread, particularly between European Union/Schengen area nations. That explains the mingling of arriving and departing passengers, though all airports reserve the right to require transferring passengers to clear an additional security check.

Such a courtesy does not extend to international flights to and from the UK. Heathrow airport says: “All connecting passengers must go through security again.” It adds: “Any passenger flying from a UK airport must comply with UK security checks.”

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Q I read your article about plans by the European parliament to make it mandatory for airlines to allow passengers to take two pieces of hand luggage without paying extra. On a number of British Airways flights I have taken over the past year, the airline said that the cabin baggage of certain boarding groups must be placed in the hold. How could this new legislation affect that behaviour, if passed?

Paul B

A “Bold” is how I would sum up the European parliament’s plan to mandate a two-pieces-free allowance for all airlines across the EU; if passed, this would inevitably affect UK carriers as well. While some politicians have characterised the plan as protecting “a basic human right”, I think that is a term best applied to concepts such as education, freedom of speech and gender equality rather than the commercial terms applied by airlines to their customers.

I believe that the proposal will ultimately be dropped because, at present, passengers have plenty of choice. On “full-service” airlines such as British Airways and Lufthansa, you can bring two items: one chunky-sized trolley case and a smaller “personal item” such as a modest backpack or laptop bag. Naturally, many passengers make the most of this option. As a result, airlines will often run out of available space in the overhead bins.

Either they offer the chance to check in the larger piece free of charge (as Lufthansa did for my flight from Heathrow to Munich yesterday morning), or they will require some passengers to surrender the bag at the gate and pick it up from the carousel at the other end. They typically select the later boarding groups – who have paid less than other passengers – for this treatment.

Were the parliament’s plan to become law, such palaver would become standard on all airlines. British Airways and Lufthansa have longer “turns” between flights – typically an hour – which means they can accommodate the extra time involved at the gate. Nothing would change. But for budget airlines, which allow as little as 25 minutes between arrival and departure, it would be more of an issue: their schedules would soon unravel.

With low-cost carriers unable to maximise the time their planes, cabin crew and pilots spend flying, options would reduce and fares would rise. Which strikes me as a significant consumer detriment, though not the loss of a basic human right.

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Q We have booked a package holiday including flights, hotels and a cruise departing on 6 August. My husband has received a cancer diagnosis, which means he will be having surgery three weeks earlier, rendering him unable to travel.

We actually wanted to change the dates. The cruise line said that if the travel company would talk to them, they could offer some flexibility. But the travel company insists we can’t do anything except not turn up for the departure and lose all our money.

Is this normal? I have since heard about other travel companies that would have handled this situation with more compassion. We are pursuing a claim with our insurance company but still stand to lose about £3,000. Is there anything else we could do?

Name supplied

A I am sorry to learn of the cancer diagnosis. I hope that the treatment proceeds well, with your husband making a full recovery.

In such circumstances, the last thing you need is a travel firm sticking rigidly to its terms and conditions. Most companies, as you surmise, will be flexible and compassionate. But unfortunately, a firm may choose to make no allowance for such a stressful and concerning turn of events. This can mean that even when the provider of a service such as the cruise company is prepared to postpone a trip, it cannot force the intermediary to make that change. Your contract is strictly with the travel firm with whom you booked the trip.

The obvious answer would be to cancel and claim on travel insurance. But if that still means taking a £3,000 hit, I imagine there are complications such as a very high “excess” on cancellation claims. One other suggestion: that you see if you can transfer the holiday to someone else. Under the package travel regulations, the firm is required to allow you to do this with sufficient notice (typically a week) and a modest fee (about £50).

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