§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the number of instances annually, over the past five years, in which unaccompanied baggage was erroneously carried on flights departing from United Kingdom airports.
§ Mr. NorrisNo such information is available.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it compulsory by law for all aircraft hold baggage to be reconciled with passengers on all flights departing from United Kingdom airports.
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§ Mr. NorrisIt is already a legal requirement for aircraft operators to ensure that all passengers and operating crew, whose hold baggage has been loaded into an aircraft, have boarded and will travel on that aircraft. The baggage of passengers who check in but do not board the aircraft is required to be removed and may not be carried unless it is subjected to security controls. There are circumstances where baggage may be legitimately carried without an accompanying passenger; however, such unaccompanied baggage is not carried unless it is first screened and if necessary hand-searched.
The United Kingdom has always complied with international requirements on passenger baggage. We have even gone further and introduced a recommended practice for airlines to account for and authorise for carriage every item of hold baggage that they carry. This will become a mandatory requirement within a few months.