The Airport Operator | Summer 2026
26 June 2026
Phil Douglas CB, Director General of Border Force, outlines the changes that Border Force and the Home Office are delivering before and at the arrivals hall.
British airports and UK Border Force are at our best when we work in partnership. Across the UK, our teams have strong, constructive relationships with colleagues in airports, and that collaboration is fundamental to our shared success. We recognise the operational pressures airports are managing, particularly rising passenger volumes and the need to maintain flow, and we see that firsthand in our day-to-day work together. We rely on one another not just to keep the border secure, but to improve how it works in practice. Our close working helps to drive the kind of innovation passengers increasingly expect.
The border today is already very different from where we were a few years ago. We have modernised systems and make far greater use of data, laying the groundwork for the next phase of change. Over the next 12 months, passengers and airports will start to see that difference more clearly in how the border operates day to day. This time next year the border will feel even more streamlined, bringing real benefits to both passengers and for those running airports...
