The chairman of British Airways has criticised some airport checks as redundant and says Britain should stop "kowtowing" to US demands for increased security.
He was quoted by the Financial Times newspaper saying the practice of forcing people to take off their shoes and have their laptops checked separately in security lines should be ditched.
Martin Broughton says passengers should not need to take their shoes off when going through airport security.
He said there was no need to "kowtow to the Americans every time they wanted something done" to beef up security on US-bound flights, especially when this involved checks the United States did not impose on its own domestic routes.
The newspaper said Mr Broughton's comments reflected broader industry and passenger frustration over the steady accumulation of rules on everything from onboard liquids to hand baggage that had been adopted since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
