With the Olympics just around the corner, bosses at Heathrow Airport insist they are sufficiently prepared to cope with the huge increase in passengers and baggage.

The airport has invested more than £20 million into the 2012 Games in an effort to make sure athletes and tourists get to where they are going without any problems.

August 13 – the day after the closing ceremony – will be the busiest day in the airport’s history as unprecedented levels of passengers and bags are set to make their way through its terminals. Heathrow expects to process 137,800 people departing on that day, along with 200,000 bags, compared to an average of 150,000 on a normal day.

Nick Cole, head of Olympic and Paralympic planning at Heathrow, dismissed concerns over queues and security. He stated that as the official host airport for the Olympics, around four-fifths of all visitors will pass through in a “unique operational challenge”.

At a briefing in central London to discuss the plans in place, authorities insisted people will not suffer because of UK border problems, also putting to bed any fears surrounding security by declaring that any risk to UK airspace can be detected within minutes.

The London Olympics begin on July 27 and will run until August 12.

Copyright Press Association 2012

New government-approved airport scanners could see the ban on passengers taking liquids on board aeroplanes being lifted.

The Department of Transport has approved the scanners, which should be installed at every British and EU airport by the end of April 2013. Previous technology had been deemed not fit for purpose by a number of EU governments but this latest generation of scanner has already passed rigorous testing. A number of EU airports have acted as test sites as part of trials for the European Commission’s Liquids Working Group.

Proper implementation of the technology will mean that passengers will no longer be banned from carrying 100ml liquid containers on board their flights. However, they will still have to remove bottles from their carry-on luggage for inspection.

Once in use, the scanners mean that passengers will be allowed to bring their own water bottles on board and toiletries will no longer be subject to confiscation by airport security. Security staff at Stansted Airport alone seize enough liquids to fill 20 household waste bins a day and the figure is even greater at busier airports such as London Heathrow and London Gatwick.

Passengers across UK airports have had everything confiscated from jars of marmite to expensive bottles of champagne. A new survey estimates that liquids worth as much as £10 million a day are seized at British airports up and down the country.

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Gatwick Airport called on the people who know best when trying to find a way to keep young passengers happy – children.

It asked pupils from schools near the West Sussex airport to help design a security lane that would be fun and engaging for youngsters.

The result is an ‘adventure walk’ forming part of the airport’s new 19-lane security area.

Instead of joining a long, boring queue with all the adults, families with young children and passengers with reduced mobility now have their own two lanes, with a fun castle theme.

Rather than being faced with hundreds of yards of tape, cordons and winding queues, the youngsters can enter the security area through an eight-foot high castle.

Bosses at Gatwick hope the new lanes will help reduce the stress for families that going through security with children can often create.

Among the youngsters who helped come up with the design for the adventure walk were pupils from Milton Mount Primary School near the airport. They were guests of honour when the project was finally completed.

Geoff Williams, head of security at Gatwick Airport, said: “The input from the school children has been fantastic.

“We have improved every aspect of security – from the preparation area right through to the moment passengers hit the lounge – and are confident that the changes we have made will make a huge difference to all those travelling through the airport.”

The Government has outlined new proposals designed to encourage airports to focus more on the needs of the passengers who travel through them.

The airport legislation included in the coalition’s draft Civil Aviation Bill aims to support passengers with the help of a new single primary duty, which will promote their specific interests.

The draft proposals also call for certain roles fulfilled by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to be amended or expanded.

For instance, under the terms of the Bill, the CAA would be required to encourage investment in airports in order to improve their facilities.

The draft Bill would also require the authority to set performance measures at key airports in a more flexible manner.

While responsibilities for aviation security policies would stay with the Government’s transport secretary, the CAA would be given the power to fine airports 10% of their annual turnover if they were found to have breached their licence conditions.

The formal version of the Bill could now be introduced in Parliament in the early stages of 2012. Originally, ministers had planned to wait until the next Parliamentary session to introduce it.

Among the other reforms which the Bill proposes, the CAA would become responsible for certain security functions, including monitoring and enforcement.

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A new £45 million security area just opened by transport minister Theresa Villiers at Gatwick Airport should allow speedier passage for passengers.

The new area at the south terminal is expected to mean less than five minutes of processing for each passenger, with the 19 new security lanes letting almost 5,000 people per hour to go straight to the departure lounge.

Big screens will deliver instructions in five languages so passengers can understand what they can and cannot take through security. And at security access, passengers can swipe their boarding card or smartphone displaying the card.

Colour-coded lanes have screens showing their queue times.

The lanes include two just for families with young children and passengers with reduced mobility, and two for passengers travelling first class or business class.The opening is part of a £1.2 billion investment in Gatwick, said the airport’s chief executive, Stewart Wingate.

Ms Villiers said the security stage of the travelling can be the worst part for passengers, adding: “That’s why this Government is committed to reforming the way these necessary checks are regulated, enabling airports to come up with more passenger-friendly processes while still maintaining the same high levels of security.”

Mr Wingate said: “We’re committed to making the airport experience an easier, speedier and less stressful experience for our passengers.”

Stansted Airport is at the forefront of two new ventures aimed at improving satisfaction amongst air travellers and encouraging business in the local area.

Last week saw the launch of a new trial that will enable passengers to fast-track their way through security at the airport by purchasing a special ticket for £5.

The fast-track project, in conjunction with hospitality firm No. 1 Traveller, means passengers who buy a ticket no longer have to queue up to get through departures. Until now, the only existing schemes of this nature were only available to frequent flyers or premium travellers.

No. 1 Traveller, chief executive, Phil Cameron, said: “Our aim is to make every step of the journey as enjoyable as possible and this latest offering means that travellers no longer have to waste valuable time queuing to get through to departures.”

Meanwhile, Stansted Airport is also playing host to a highly acclaimed business networking event, which all firms across the East of England have been invited to.

The Meet the Buyers event is taking place at Radisson Blu’s Stansted Airport hotel between 9am and 5pm on September 22. It will provide suppliers based in the area the opportunity to make new contacts and pitch sales to companies based at, or in close proximity, to Stansted.

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People who show very little emotion when they lie could soon be caught out by a new lie detector test which examines changes in facial expressions and blood flow.

The test, which could be piloted at an airport like Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick or Luton, uses cameras and computer software to recognise faces that appear to be untruthful.

Tell-tale signs like lip-biting, slips of the tongue, nose wrinkling and blinking are all registered, while thermal imaging is used to measure flushing and blood-flow patterns around the eyes.

It is hoped that police and border officials could use this technology to detect suspected criminals or terrorists.

Given that the cameras can be positioned out of sight up to three metres away from the person in question, the suspect would not know that they are being monitored by the lie detector.

Despite the UK scientists who created this technology wanting to trial it at an airport in the UK, it has not yet been determined what form of study will be adopted.

In traditional polygraph lie detector tests, subject are wired up to equipment that measures blood pressure, pulse, heart rate, respiration and electrical skin activity.

The system is, however, far from 100% accurate as people can use a range of techniques, such as controlling breathing and heart rate, in order to “beat” the test.

However, subjects would have difficulty manipulating their body responses during the new test as they would not know when they were being scrutinised.

At an airport, the test could be used covertly on passengers at check-in or immigration.

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