An investigation is underway after dozens of security staff at Birmingham Airport were found to have failed in critical training.
At least two managers at contractor Mitie were fired for allowing untrained staff to search luggage before it was loaded onto aircraft.
Managers were accused of falsifying training records and failing to supervise exams, with one manager telling the BBC he had been made a scapegoat.
Mithi said the workers had been retrained.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is said to be investigating allegations involving about 40 of Mitie's 120 employees.
Ground security personnel who screen passengers' checked baggage did not participate in refresher training, which is required every 13 months.
The BBC has seen internal emails showing that concerns were raised about training requirements by Mitie's supervisors as of May 2022.
The CAA conducted an unplanned airport inspection in January 2023 and removed the files.
A few days later, Birmingham Airport instructed Mitty to carry out a complete retraining of agents, supervisors and shift managers.
Emails seen by the BBC show managers discussing the rapid training of 30 people at a time, as well as concerns about rogue officers impacting airport security operations. .
Last August, two of Mitie's duty managers were fired for gross misconduct.
In the letter, employees accused the company of “non-compliant and fraudulent” processes that were part of a “plan” that was “considered standard.”
One former manager, who worked at the airport for 13 years, told the BBC he denied any wrongdoing.
“As shift managers, our job is to get the job done,” said a former employee who requested anonymity.
“It has nothing to do with training. All training is done by senior management.”
He claimed he was made a scapegoat for the problems that arose in Mythiye during the pandemic.
“High-profile breach”
Paul Charles, former head of communications at Virgin Atlantic and an aviation expert, agreed that UK airports and their contractors have been scrambling to fill staffing gaps since Covid-19.
But he said Mitie's training mistakes were, in his opinion, a “serious violation”.
“For it to qualify as a major incident, all it takes to pass one item during the review process is one determined terrorist or person attempting to carry out some kind of attack,” Charles said. That’s fine,” he said.
Salil Bhargab Kolge, an aviation lecturer at University College Birmingham, added that the situation was serious for Mithi's reputation and called into question the airport's internal processes.
Birmingham Airport said customer safety was its top priority and that it alerted the CAA to the issue as soon as it came to light through compliance monitoring.
The statement claimed that all passengers will be screened and searched by their own security personnel and that Mitie will only be responsible for checking checked baggage.
“At no time did our third-party security contractors screen or search our customers,” an airport spokesperson said.
Mitie, which has provided security services at airports for more than 10 years, announced that it had conducted an investigation and had all its employees re-complete a full five-day training course.
“We have rigorous professional standards, including ensuring that all colleagues have the correct training and certifications necessary to carry out their roles safely,” it said in a statement.
“Coworkers who do not uphold these standards have no place in our business.”
A spokeswoman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said it could not comment on individual cases.
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