Air passengers could face delays at UK airports this summer, following the introduction of new passport checks.
Airports and airlines are worried that holidaymakers returning to the UK could face huge queues, due to the implementation of passport laser-scanning technology by the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA).
Aimed at preventing criminals and illegal immigrants entering the country, the new system requires security staff to use equipment that can read e-Passports' security holograms and other digital data designed to prevent forgeries .
However there are "concerns" about the efficiency of the new equipment and of immigration staffing levels, according to airport operator BAA, whose UK airports include Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted .
John Tincey of the Immigration Service Union said, "It used to take between three to four seconds to process a passenger. Now you are looking at eight to ten seconds, so it has more than doubled."
"At busy times this makes the situation impossible," he added.
The ISU warned that the long queues that are already hitting some airports would get worse as the summer went on.
Reports suggest Stansted Airport is already struggling to cope with a growing number of passengers at its terminals even though the new measures have yet to be introduced.
Similar passenger bottlenecks could start to appear at Gatwick, Luton and Birmingham, where the new security equipment is set to be installed.
A spokesman for the BIA said that there was a record number of border control staff at work to ease the problem.
"While allowing most passengers into the UK quickly, thorough checks are necessary to identify criminals, prevent illegal immigration and protect the public," said the spokesman.
"We make no apologies for enforcing our borders."
The new biometric ePassport is harder to forge and includes features showing whether or not it has been tampered with. Since its launch last year, over four million have been issued to UK citizens .
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