The economics of airport security


Around 235 million passengers passed through Britain’s airports in 2009. Most of those – both arriving and departing – will have experienced significant delays due to security checks. While estimating the value of travellers’ time is an inexact science, the cost is likely to run into several billion pounds annually, particularly given the disproportionate number of high-earners who fly frequently.

Richard Wellings was formerly Deputy Research Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs. He was educated at Oxford and the London School of Economics, completing a PhD on transport and environmental policy at the latter in 2004. He joined the Institute in 2006 as Deputy Editorial Director. Richard is the author, co-author or editor of several papers, books and reports, including Towards Better Transport (Policy Exchange, 2008), A Beginner’s Guide to Liberty (Adam Smith Institute, 2009), High Speed 2: The Next Government Project Disaster? (IEA , 2011) and Which Road Ahead - Government or Market? (IEA, 2012). He is a Senior Fellow of the Cobden Centre and the Economic Policy Centre.



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