Using airline staff as immigration officers is nothing new | Letter

In response to the report about airline staff being trained to prevent passengers without visas from boarding flights to the UK, it is important to highlight that this practice is not new. According to a former chief immigration officer, Peter Hillman, this initiative has been in place for over three decades. Immigration officers have historically traveled abroad at the request of airlines to educate check-in staff on visa requirements and to help them identify forged passports. Hillman recalls his experiences during the 1990s, when he was stationed at Gatwick Airport and traveled to various countries, including Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Tanzania, Egypt, Iraq, and Thailand, to conduct such training. He emphasizes that airlines requested these sessions and covered the costs of flights and accommodations, ensuring that the public did not bear any financial burden for this training program.

One particularly memorable experience for Hillman occurred during a training session in Cairo, where he and his team brought along a briefcase filled with forged passports to demonstrate to airline staff. Interestingly, upon their departure, the briefcase was inspected by airport security, yet there was little interest shown in the contents. Despite carrying official documentation explaining the presence of the forged passports, Hillman notes that no one inquired about them. This anecdote illustrates not only the challenges faced in enforcing visa regulations but also the longstanding collaboration between airline staff and immigration officers in addressing issues of passenger verification and border security. Overall, Hillman’s letter sheds light on the historical context of this training initiative, reinforcing that the involvement of airline personnel in immigration processes has been a long-established practice aimed at enhancing travel security.