A new civil penalty proposal is being considered by the UK Home Office to fine airlines and airports for errors that result in passengers bypassing immigration controls.
Penalties between £2,500 and £50,000 will be given when reasonable measures to prevent the misdirection of passengers have not been taken.
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The total fine will depend on various factors, including the number of passengers bypassing border controls and corrective measures implemented following the incidents.
The Home Office crackdown on immigration controls aims to prevent passengers from entering Britain without going through immigration checks.
According to government data, approximately 1,000 passengers did not undergo immigration checks in 2014 due to airport operator or airline failures.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The security of our border is paramount, which is why 100% of scheduled passengers are checked when arriving in the UK.
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By GlobalData“While the overwhelming majority of arriving passengers are properly presented at border control, there are still a small but unacceptable number of cases each year where passengers are misdirected. These people are identified and the necessary checks carried out but this adds an unnecessary administrative burden.
“We are determined to eradicate these errors and believe a civil penalty is a vital tool in ensuring this happens.”
