Recruiters working in the aviation sector say it's too early to tell what the ultimate impact will be of the 10 August revelation of an alleged UK terror plot involving airliners en route to the US.

However, Steve Doherty, resource manager for the aviation support department of Wynnwith, says his company was already having to turn away candidates for pilots' jobs before the latest crisis because of the lengthy process of conducting background checks and difficulty in obtaining references.

Anyone working in an "airside" capacity — meaning anyone who passes a security checkpoint to go to their workplace at an airport — must be able to account for their whereabouts at any point during the last five years. A 14-day gap in a person's whereabouts, such as a holiday, means a reference must be obtained to ensure a person's location for that time period.

"Every holiday for the past five years means five different references," says Doherty.

He gave an example of a candidate applying for a baggage handling position who filled out forms detailing his whereabouts for the required five years, up to the date he filled out the form. His background took so long to check that by the time his completed forms reached the airport ID centre, they were six weeks out of date.

Even candidates who already work for companies at an airport must undergo all-new background checks before they can be cleared to take up roles with new employers there, Doherty told Recruiter.

Simon Houlton, of the Essex-based Referencing Agency, says that recruitment season for businesses operating at UK airports has begun earlier and earlier in recent years to accommodate lengthy background checks.