So on Friday my family and I boarded a plane to go to Denver, Colorado (and then drive to Boulder, Colorado) and went through the whole, you gotta strip to socks, pants, and shirt, and they X-Ray all bags, shoes, vests/jackets/etc. Then you pass through the metal detector, and then they pat you down, make you throw away all liquids, blah blah blah. We got to Boulder, Dad opens his laptop bag (laptop and bag were passed through the X-Ray machine seperatly btw) and he suddenly realizes that he had left, a long philips screwdriver, large metal plyers, and one of those sliding blade thingies for cutting tape and what-not, in the laptop bag, which went through the X-Ray, and security didn't notice, say, or do anything. The laptop bag WAS carry-on as well, Dad had it at his feet during the whole flight. (also, bag only contained said items, the power brick, and a mini-mouse) So they confiscate our water bottle, but let us carry on tools that can be easily used to kill, or severely injure, people. Security checks are a complete joke and waste of time.. Lol. Does make you really wonder how safe you are on a plane though, when my Dad, not even trying to smuggle anything onboard, didn't even raise questions from security.
really, even normal things brought on a plane can be weapons anyways... ever been hit by a laptop power brick? stabbed with plastic knitting needles? strangled with a bag strap... it's not like security is really protecting us if anyone really wanted to do something.
That's a good one My 70 something year old grandmother, who has been in a wheel chair since she was 19, had all of her tools taken away from her when she boarded to go to Las Vegas, tools she needed in case her wheel chair broke down. Yea she could have found other tools but that's not the point. If she were to stab someone they would have to come to her for her to do it, such BS
That sucks.. wow. You'd think they make some sort of exception, or maybe let the aircraft personel carry the tools.. Oh, I also forgot to mention we flew out of the Miami International Airport.. so it's not like it's a small airport.
The airlines are luck she didn't break down, she's nice to everyone but she can raise hell if she needs too
Yeah, but what if you had run maniacally into the cockpit with your water bottle, and splashed it all over the control panel?! What if it was a bomb?!!?! A screwdriver is just a bit of metal made into a stick! Cannot do anything with that! But water... big bag 'o beans there! I'm amazed they even let you buy such hazardous weapons of mass moistening before you were allowed to buy plane tickets. Obviously big-brother is letting his guard down... Shame really, as I'm fairly certain we will all be dead within the week. Al-Qaeda will be going on terrorist splashing-sprees non-stop now with this bit of news.
I know that security at TPA (Tampa International) and DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) is pretty much a joke too. My mom walked through security with a knife in her pocket at Tampa. Not on purpose mind you. And at Dallas you can pretty much just walk through security and take anything with you.
The so called security checks that have occured, especially in the US, do not seem based on any factual evidence. The binary liquid bomb for example..... I believe the phrase "Those that give freedom for security deserve neither" (misquoted I know) seems apt.
The liquids thing is a joke. Nitroglycerin is volatile and would blow up in a water bottle with a slight bump The illusion of security just hinders the common citizens’ travels.
That's when you then get suicide granny's. A line has to be drawn somewhere it's just unfortunate that certain people have to suffer because of others, though I do agree that the crew of the aircraft could have looked after the tools. At some point common sense has to take over, but not in our lifetime I expect.
Bah, there should be no rules regarding what you could bring on an airplane. In the end I am more for the "Free for all" shootout :-/
now replace your dad with a black guy or arab guy.. he'd be in the backroom full body cavity search.. it is a joke really my mom came down couple years back and she brought some filipino food in her purse (she hates airplane food).. they made her throw it out and had these special expensive teas on her they sell up there.. the guy opened up the container and dumped it all out on a table- my mom was furious when she got here she left it all there to throw away and was hungry on the flight in.. they also detained one of her co-workers because he was carrying thousands of dollars on him.. the guy doesn't even speak english and my mom had to translate he was flying back to seattle to deposit it (he's a seasonal cannery worker), they almost missed the plane but yeah let's let the white guy through with the pliers.. it is a joke man we never had a issue flying here except one time.. had license expire and they use this kit on your shoes to detect explosives and go through your stuff.. even then, if I was hidng stuff in my underwear.. what are they going to do
I have a metal plate/pin in each wrist, so going through security is funn.. Last time I was in the US (NY) I had been diving in Egypt a few weeks before, and got pulled aside, put in an interrorgation room, kept there for 6 hours, asked some reaaaaaaly screwed up questions, before they got a doctor to prode and poke my wrist to make sure the huge form at the back of my passport which has 4 different doctors signratures on (certifying the legitimacy of the metal) was true before they would let me go. No drinks, no food, 1 loo break. Just me and blank room and six hours of waiting..
Oh man that really BLOWS. Those checks are annoying enough without having any special needs/things. Really just wait for another couple of years and it will be faster to take a ****ing ocean liner across the Atlantic than to fly, including the security checks... EDIT: Additionally, what kind of security hazards do pieces of metals in your wrists actually pose? That's just so FUBB.
Last time i took a flight, it was from Nottingham to Scotland... Had laptop as carry on, and as such had my metal security cable thing to stop it being pikey'd when I was at a desk.. Needless to say they tried to confiscate it saying they didn't think it was actually for securing a laptop and that it was purely for strangling someone on the flight... To which I quipped (and immediately regretted) "I can see more of a use for it right now...." After ten minutes of pleading, having to go to the terribly expensive airside WHSmiths to buy stamps and a jiffy bag, they agreed to send it back to my home address... With no less than 5 1st class stamps on it. Irony is, if I'd left the laptop connected to it i'd have probably been fine... More irony, there was 2 swiss army knives, and a leatherman wave in the bags too... along with a multiheaded screwdriver and other pointy objects... they didn't even comment on them...
When this happens where do you stand with just putting the offending item into a piece of luggage which is not carry on?
