I was reading a post of Dennis’ recently about the stupidity of airport security regulations and their inconsistent implementation recently and I got to thinking.
First you couldn’t bring guns on a plane, so the terrorists innovated,
Then you couldn’t bring box cutters, nail clippers, scissors on planes, so the terrorists innovated
Then you had to take off your belt and have your shoes scanned, so the terrorists innovated again
Now you can’t bring liquids on a plane.
I really can’t wait to see what airport security does when the terrorists start using boarding cards as weapons!
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Strip us naked, x-ray us, shoot us up with tranquillizers, rack us up in bunks and don’t wake us up untill we arrive, then give us back our cloths at our arrival.
I was in Turkey some years ago and when I arrived for my departure flight instead of getting straight on the plane the officals walked us out onto the tarmac in single file. In front of us was 2 groups of trolleys. ‘Right’ said the official looking person ‘find your suitcases and take them off the trollies here and put them on the trollies over there’.The idea is to make sure no case gets on the plane that is not with an owner…mmmmm. So only suicide bombers allowed on this flight thinks me. Basically we the passengers did their security checks for them. But just to make things worse a circle of armed soldiers surrounded us wearing shades.If disturbance broke out that needed the services of Turkeys finest they would have shot themselves. Strangely enough I sweated like a terrorist.
So tired of this. All of Bush’s mangled rhetoric in the aftermath of 9/11 was directed at getting a shellshocked America back to normalcy – working, commuting, shopping, going to the movies. In the one vital area of air travel it is, very definitely, NOT business as usual. Ergo the terrorists have won that battle. QED.
There is no question but that people who are so committed to the cause they are willing to blow themselves up will be able to get weaponry past airport security if they really want to, so really, what’s the point of all these stupid holdups? I flew to Cork a while back and I’m sure I could have driven or got the train there quicker what with having to arrive 2 hours before check-in, plus waiting for bags.
Furthermore, I understand that most airlines have improved onboard security so that accessing the cockpit is now nigh-on impossible, so, once again, what’s the point?
A client of mine was head of security for BAA at a major airport and told me that the only real threats are (a) local loonies and (b) tabloid reporters smuggling Play-Doh ‘bombs’ onto flights. “No terrorist, sane or insane, is going to try a 9/11 again,” he said. “The liquid bomb thing is a media creation and without cockpit access, all they can do is blow a plane up in mid-air.”
I find myself travelling less and less and charging clients more and more when I have to – to make up for the inconvenience factor. Thank God for video-conferencing!
The weird thing is how they move on. Flying through Heathrow December 2005 I had to take my shoes off to be scanned. December 2006 at Heathrow I was wearing big hiking boots and was about to take them off when the chap said “No need for that, just no liquids, shoes are fine.”
So suddenly liquids are the threat and shoes have been forgotten about.
Reminds me of the time I landed in Cape Town after flying from Heathrow. I opened the side-pocket of my carry-on to get my passport out and found my Swiss Army knife. It is the “sea mariner” one which has a three inch serrated blade and a sail-mending tool that can take a jugular out from ten feet.
They did check my shoes on the flight.
Bruce Schneier has a very apt description for it: Security Theatre.
adam