Staff says Gatwick airport fails bomb test

LONDON, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Airport staff at Britain's second busiest airport say they failed a security test because they rush to keep queues of passengers to a minimum.

The staff at Gatwick failed to identify fake explosives carried by undercover inspectors from Brussels, The Sunday Times of London reported.

"Staff are under massive pressure to get people through queues and can easily miss things," an airport source told the Times.

Government rules introduced in March require BAA, Gatwick's owner, to be fined up to $34 million a year if passengers are consistently delayed more than five minutes for security checks, the Times reported.

Explosives are difficult to detect because the timer, wire and detonator can be small and easily overlooked in X-rays, said Norman Shanks, a former BAA head of security.

"We really need to be looking at a new generation of X-rays to help check for explosive devices," Shanks told the Times.