Recommendation 27

To help airports and airlines manage the sudden increase in demand for aviation, the Government should: • prioritise the timely processing of checks for applicants for positions at airports; • allow applicants for airport positions to start supervised classroom training, when their initial security checks are complete; • review whether the number of trainees compared with supervising security officers can be increased from the current 3:1 ratio; • instruct HM Revenue & Customs to provide applicants with personal statements to enable applicants to cover any gaps in their tax and employment status caused by their employers going out of business due to coronavirus; and • ensure that Border Force uses all the means at its disposal to minimise queues at airports, including deploying onsite engineers to maintain e-gates in real time and allowing under-12s to use e-gates. Any such changes should not decrease security standards at airports. Some of those recommendations may require the Government to deviate from legislation introduced when the UK was an EU Member State. Such changes could be quickly introduced under the negative Statutory Instrument procedure. (Paragraph 138) UK aviation: reform for take-off 51