As the Royal Terminal prepares to open at Heathrow Airport in June, Procius’ Commercial Director Nick Trollope has some advice for companies with staff working airside:
“If you haven’t got your flight crew, IT and engineers, baggage handlers, retail and catering staff approved, then now is the time to act. A lot of companies got into difficulties when Heathrow’s Terminal 5 opened in 2008 as their employers had left it too late to get approval with serious and costly consequences,” he said.
“It is also extremely important to select a reputable company who are specialists in the field and 100pc in tune with the ever changing requirements in airport security regulations. Each UK international airport has its own variation of these, for example, Heathrow Airport has recently tightened its regulations for existing airside pass holders who change employer, so it is imperative that a background checking company is fully aware of this. At Procius, we have these details factored into our industry pioneering MyCheck system, which enables us to respond immediately to ensure the best possible pass rate in a timely fashion.”
Procius, the Hampshire-based Procius offers background service checks for airside employees, and is marking its 10th anniversary. The firm’s MyCheck system was designed and developed to process airside passes and typically handles 1000 to 2000 people being checked at any time. It manages workflow in terms of timing and priorities and is adjusted to cater for any new regulations.
Procius was set up by Nick Trollope and Julian Parker in 2004 in the wake of 9/11 when the UK Government introduced new rules for background checking aviation workers. Procius signed its first customer, DHL Aviation in 2004 followed by its first major airline customer, BMI the same year. Procius’ clients include Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Monarch Airlines, Titan, Jet2 and United Airlines’ ground handling. Procius has processed over 300,000 individual checks forover 50,000 airside pass applications (with a current run-rate of BOUT 8,000 airside ID applications a year).
