BackAfter hundreds of complaints received, the colleagues of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights made several inspections at the airport without prior notice to verify and to control the way of security check conducted in the airport. The inspectors' experiences were not always supported by the information received from the airport manager BA Zrt.. Based on numerous complaints with similar contents, the violation of human dignity and the existence of degrading treatment by the way of the security controls done by the airport could not be excluded.
The examination has resulted in that generally the security check of the passengers and airport employees takes long time and causes significant delays. Furthermore, sometimes, the persons employed have to wait in the outdoor, which infringe the right for human dignity.
Contradicting the official response of the BA Zrt., the Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights still does not find the insurance of fair and appropriate visibility of the security controllers, whom identification should be assured in the same way as the policemen's. Moreover, the screening method of the costumer's satisfaction is not suitable for the social and procedural requirements, which regulatory deficiency Prof. Mate Szabo has already pointed out.
The Ombudsman also found that the employees' entry (at the K-gate) is not adequately developed for any person's security check because a non-authorized person also can follow and see these controls. The inspection has found that in several cases these designated rooms are also used for other purposes such as resting or dressing room.
Prof. Mate Szabo was shocked by the information received from the BA Zrt. concerning the airport management's view on that "during the employee's security check, it is not necessary to ensure the same sex of the controlled person and the controller, and the appropriate circumstances as other person cannot see the checking." However, this view is against the Hungarian regulations and norms; furthermore, it violates the constitutional rights of human dignity of the particular person if the dress control is done by a person with different sex.
For this reason, Prof. Mate Szabo asked the Hungarian Government for considering to initiate the adoption of relevant rules and warranties at the European Union's competent bodies to protect the fundamental rights of passengers and airport employees. Solving the problems identified by the inspections, the Ombudsman has made recommendations to the airport management and the relevant ministers.
