In light of recent events, the airlines that we work with have made some significant
changes to their standard practice and safety procedures both at the airport
and in the air.
Update to Current Security Measures in the UK - 6th Nov 2006
The Department for Transport has announced that from Monday 6 November, passengers
may now carry a limited quantity of liquids, ie. gels, lotions, pastes, liquid
cosmetics, foams and foodstuffs in their hand baggage when going through UK
airport security checkpoints.
To avoid any unnecessary delays to your journey we would advise all passengers
to continue to pack permitted liquid items in their checked in baggage. If
you need to carry liquid items on board, please read the following requirements
with care to ensure you arrive at the airport prepared.
Liquid Requirements
- All liquids must be in individual containers not greater than 100ml capacity.
- All containers must be placed in one transparent re-sealable bag (such
as 'ziplock' bags or bags with pressable seals), no larger than 20cm x 20cm
(8" x 8") in size and not larger that one litre in capacity. The
containers must fit comfortably inside the bag so it can be fastened closed.
- Only one transparent re-sealable bag per passenger is allowed. Larger bags
or bags that are non-sealable, such as fold-over sandwich bags are not allowed.
- The one transparent re-sealable bag must fit into your single piece of
hand luggage.
- Each passenger must remove their clear plastic bag from their hand baggage
and place it in on the conveyor belt for X-ray screening.
- Liquids in containers of more than 100ml capacity must be packed in your
checked in baggage.
Remember that 'liquids' include;
- all drinks, including water, soup and syrups
- creams, lotions, oils, perfumes, mascara etc
- sprays and pressurized containers including shaving foam and spray deodorants
- pastes, including toothpastes
- gels, including hair, shower gel and lip gloss
- any other solutions and items of similar consistency.
Essential medicines and baby food may be permitted in larger quantities above
the 100ml limit, but will be subject to the authentication that is already
currently required.
Cabin baggage size remains unchanged - You are restricted to carrying only
one item (in addition to the re-sealable liquids bag) through the airport search
point. Cabin baggage must not exceed a maximum length of 56 cm, width of 36
cm and depth of 23 cm including wheels, handles, side pockets etc.
Duty Free
- You may take on board liquid items of any size that are purchased after
the security check in the Departure lounge (sometimes referred to as 'Airside')
at any EU airport.
- Most duty free or similar purchases will be given to you in a special sealed
bag. Do not open this bag until you have reached your final destination.
You should also retain your proof of purchase throughout your journey. You
will be required to show it at all transfer points.
- Please note restrictions apply to duty free purchases made on return journeys
where passengers change flights at an EU airport. These are explained in
detail in the next section
Security and Safety
Please see below for further details on these security and safety measures.
General
Security at UK airports and on UK airlines has always been very stringent and Virgin Atlantic has an exceptionally robust package of security measures both on the ground and onboard. We believe that we are now in the best possible position to protect our passengers, cabin crew and pilots.
On the ground
Virgin firmly believes that the most effective way to provide safe and secure flights is to prevent those who would threaten our security from boarding. Consequently the airline has introduced a number of covert initiatives that focus on enhancing the screening of passengers and baggage prior to take off.
Baggage
All checked in baggage must have the passengers name, address and contact number clearly marked both on the inside and outside of the baggage. The following items should not be carried in hand baggage. Such items must be packed in hold baggage:
- Toy or replica guns (plastic or metal)
- Catapults
- Household cutlery
- Knives with blades of any length
- Paper knives
- Razor blades
- Tradesmens tools
- Darts
- Scissors (including nail scissors)
- Hypodermic syringes*
- Knitting needles
- Sporting bats
- Billiard, snooker or pool cue
Baggage must not be left unaccompanied at any time while travelling to, and while in, the airport.
Onboard
All metal cutlery has been removed from the aircraft.
Security doors and locks
Virgin Atlantic has strengthened its flight deck doors by reinforcing them with Permaglass X armour plating. Developed by Permali Gloucester for police and military vehicles, Permaglass X is capable of withstanding attacks by knife, hatchet and handgun fire. These reinforced flight deck doors are fitted with a steel and aluminium deadlock security bar to ensure that only authorised staff gain entry to the flight deck. Whenever the deadlock bar is in operation, Virgin Atlantic will have, as an additional safety measure, at least three crew members on the flight deck to ensure it can be easily operated without interrupting usual flying procedures.
Cabin crew training
All our crew are trained to deal with incidents during the flight. The training is comprehensive and undertaken by experienced security experts. So that its effectiveness is not compromised, we don't release details of what the training involves but passengers can be assured that crew are trained to manage any onboard incidents through a combination of psychological, communication and restraint techniques. Virgin Atlantic was the first airline to train all its crew in these techniques and crew must attend regular refresher sessions as part of their on-going training.
* Passengers with medical conditions that require them to inject themselves (e.g. Diabetics) during the flight are permitted to carry syringes in the cabin. They do have to produce medical evidence when they check in and this should be kept with them at all times (a doctors letter will suffice).