[RichHI1]

Don’t tell me the Maltese are bringing illegal cats into Britain…
Still cannot see any reason why you cannot ask people wanting to enter who they are and where they come from. But then I think you have to be a Euro fanatic to get worked up about Schengen Treaty.
Never understood the Schengen fixation on checking you out. Maybe it is the start of charging for a visa to leave?
Saw they were checking passports on exit in T3 last week. Obviously trying to justify UKBA staff numbers or something…

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

Rich

The idea is that you can track people and make sure they leave.

So checking in and out is a good idea.

[RichHI1]

Whereas the other approach keeps out people you do not want there in the first place.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

Would you say that the UK has a good track record in keeping out undesirables?

[RichHI1]

No I do not think UKBA does a good job but from what I have read about Italy and other states in Schengen the situation there is certainly no better.

I think it is right and proper that any citizen from a friendly nation should be allowed in and out but that they should be required to identify themselves and disclose the purpose of their visit.

I believe that in many cases the UKBA make arduous the admission of non Europeans unnecessarily particularly from those parts of the world where tthe UK used to have an empire.

I do not see why people who happen to live in one of the countries in the geographical continent of Europe should be given any special treatment over and above any other nations, subject to the current visa legislation.

[Bucksnet]

We need to check people in and out, I agree. However, in Schengen we would do neither and have worse problems than we do now.

Any way back on topic, FRA now has 4 runways but LHR only has 2, and our German masters won’t allow us to do what is right for our country/economy, but do whatever benefits them.

[millionsofmiles]

@Bucksnet

Of course they do waht benefits them, your German masters, indeed.
Why should they behave like the UK where Hethrow airport is close to falling apart?

[Bucksnet]

Of course they do what benefits them, and so should we!

[transtraxman]

I agree with Krisflyer on the question of foreign border controls inside the UK. It is a question of sovereignty on which the UK Gov. should not budge an inch. No stars and stripes and no US border controls.

Schengen is a different question and has brought great benefits(as well as problems) to the countries involved. Ask anyone who lives in the region of Aachen or Maastricht where border crossing is a daily occurrance. In fact anyone who lives near a border(all land borders) can see very possitive benefits.

Looking at the British Isles is a different thing. Firstly, the UK and The Republic of Ireland have no land borders except with themselves, thus making it easier to control access. Secondly, Schengen only works because of Identity Cards which are an obligation for everybody to carry. The UK (and Ireland) have decided against ID cards, so no Schengen. Even if ID cards were introduced in one form or another (passports, social security cards, or driving licenses) it does not necessarily mean joining Schengen.

Keep the status quo.

[watersz]

personally I dont see it as a problem, if the agreement is reciprocal

As we have these agreements already in place with the french regarding Eurostar and uk customs already operating in calais

I remeber the tabloids creating sensationlist headlines at the time about “Armed french coppers on uk soil” that didnt last long

[Bucksnet]

We don’t need to be worried about armed French coppers on UK soil, as the EU Gendarmerie Force (which can be heavily armed) can go anywhere in the EU including the UK, and there is nothing we can do about it.

[transtraxman]

Good luck to Frankfurt on the opening of their fourth runway – but not at the expense of London(or the rest of the UK).
Germany already has a second hub at Munich and a third will be opened at Berlin Brandenburg (in 2012 I believe). But the question of “How many hubs should a country have?” is a subject to be looked at in greater detail.

London already has 5 airports (6 if you include Southend)with 6 runways. The basic problem is the UK Gov. has no aviation policy and no idea how to tackle the problems – the Conservatives have always been especially inept in this.

Now the talk is about the lost opportunity of a third runway at Heathrow (which hopefully will still be built). Then they come up with the idea of the ridiculously sounding Heathwick. They think that by providing a fast rail link between LHR and Gatwick the runway and two terminals can be incorporated into LHR. With this idea and the supposed High Speed 2 spur into LHR the Gov. hopes to solve capacity problems while what they are doing will only exaccerbate them. This is sheer madness.

What is needed are…
a) a third runway and sixth terminal at LHR
b) a second runway with room for two more terminals at Gatwick
c) two long runways with room for expansion at Luton
…. and let the market decide for the need of them or not. Also they should be paid for by the airport owners(thus the users – airlines and their passengers) and not the taxpayer.

Some lateral thinking is called for. The political parties should not be prisoners of their policies, painting themselves into a corner. they should think of doing some good for the country for a change.

[Bucksnet]

What is needed is for LHR to be totally flattened and a new 4 runway airport built in its place. I’m not advocating massive expansion in flights, but just the right facilities to handle existing traffic.

Expansion at other London airports can happen when and if the demand requires it.

[watersz]

Bucksnet

why no worry with armed french coppers how about armed american coppers then

[CallMeIshmael]

TranstraxMan There is little to gain by comparing the number of hubs a country may have without understanding their relative population density & distribution.

Germany has a far wider and flatter population density & distribution with 12 cities over half a million, the largest being Berlin with 3.3m; Hamburg 1.6m; Munich 1.2m; Koln 1m – as such it needs and can support a number of hubs.

UK has only 5 cities over half a million. With a huge 7.2m, London dominates with a populace 7 times greater than the next Birmingham (1m).

[Author]

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