Security or inconvience that is the question…

Posted by admin on 04/02/2010 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

A few years ago,especially before 9/11 none of us would have considered the most important possession to have when travelling through an airport was the “little clear bag”. Oh yes the scoorge of the airline passenger traveller.

For the record I have no issue with the liquid security requirement. I have two pragmatic approaches: 1 pack the minimum -deoderant, aftershave and shaving foam -all at 100mls or less or, 2: buy at destination. The latter usually as a consequence of a touch of personal disorganisation.

My issue is the applicabilty and obsessive behaviour of some airport staff about “the little clear bag”. Now I suspect the reason for it is that it restricts most people to 5-8 items. It doesn’t change the contents of each product, as such a touch of minor chaos happens at different airports. People rooting through washbags for their branded ablusion materials and “war paint” my label for makeup.

My other beef is the inconsistent way the bag is handled at airports. Some wants it on top of your contents; some are OK with it with a laptop; some want it on their own as I it were a vial of Ebola. Then there is the ruthless capitalisation of the “bag”.

Some airports CHARGE for it – Luton for example have installed machine providing not one but 2 ( you are only allowed one) for £1 or €1.16 so they make money if you come ill prepared.
However my real beef is the inconsistency in the way liquids and in fact passport control is handled between transportation systems. By this I mean rail and air.

I recently went from London to Paris by rail. Security appears the same; luggage scanning execept no issues with liquids at all, no issues with coins in pockets; no removal or belts, shoes, underwire bra issues. A far more pleasent and organised system.

I carried onto Geneva and never had any passport checks. I’m aware across Schengen states passport control is almost non-existant, however this who system or perceived risk and threat by and to travellers makes one question why some parts of the system more intense than others.

My final point is that our so-called UK border being so tight: did you know that depending where you come from means you either go through UK Border checks or not in some airports… that seems very secure indeed!