With the debate still raging over Jack Straw’s veil comments, Anila Baig, a Muslim columnist for The Sun, complains about her experience with airport security when she tried to board a plane wearing a veil.
You see, it was all too easy.
I breezed through airport security in a veil that left just my eyes on view.It beggars belief no one checked my face.No one tried to properly identify me at Leeds-Bradford airport.It was only in France that I was asked to lift the veil and have my face checked against my passport photo.What if I wasn’t who I said I was?Home Office rules say the eyes, nose and mouth must be clearly visible in passports and that ALL travellers will be asked to lift their veils — if they wish in a private room in front of a female official.But that wasn’t the case on my trip.I wore a niqab — with just a slit for my eyes — to test security when I flew from Britain to Paris.I used to wear a scarf covering my hair but I’d never worn the niqab.I trooped to the local Islamic shop and bought one.They are meant to be a symbol of modesty but the only one I could find bore a designer logo — oh well!At the airport I held open my passport and the man looked at the picture (no veil in sight and I was lipsticked with hair tied back) and handed it back to me smiling.I joined the line dreading my turn at the security check. My ten-year-old son went first and I followed.A female security official patted me. I asked her if I needed to take my veil off but she said it was fine.I was free to board a plane to Paris.The final hurdle was the gate before boarding the BMI flight to Charles de Gaulle airport. I was still not asked to lift the veil.At first I felt pleased airport officials had been so considerate. They’d obviously had their diversity training. But then I thought: “What if someone had stolen my passport?”Paris was a different story. After a night in the romantic capital, I returned to the airport. I approached the BMI desk and a very courteous woman told me she would have to check my face against my passport.She asked if I minded going to a more private place with her, the toilets — and I agreed.At the next set of security checks another policewoman asked me to again quickly lift my veil. I did not feel threatened — only vastly reassured.I had no objections to being checked in Paris and I would feel much happier if Bradford did the same.Last night aviation expert David Learmount said: “This is an area that can be exploited and has been in the past. In 1994 two Chechen women wearing full Muslim dress were able to board planes out of Moscow with bombs strapped under their clothing. I am sure airport staff in the UK don’t want to wait until two planes are blown out of the sky to get over their embarrassment.”Tory MP Mike Penning said: “I hope this is an oversight rather than political correctness.”
