With travelling still reasonably fresh in my mind, a quick rant about a tangential issue.
I’ve travelled by aeroplane more than ten times since 11 September 2001. The tragedy of that day should have engendered massive changes in the way airline security is viewed. I can’t say I’ve noticed any differences whatsoever.
At check-in desks, we’re told not to pack knives, chemicals or pressurised containers in hand luggage. Now wasn’t that the case before 9/11? And isn’t hand luggage the main area for airline security concerns? By definition, a person’s hand luggage contains items to which they have instant access throughout the flight. Usually that means a book, a pack of cards or one of those inflatable pillows, but it could contain a weapon or explosives.
So it’s reasonable that all of our hand luggage should be carefully checked in those x-ray machines. But look at what constitutes “hand luggage” to some people. I must be over-cautious in my desire not to overstep airline regulations, because my hand luggage only ever contains the few things I actually *need* for a flight, held in a mini-rucksack or a little canvas bag. And yet, looking around at my fellow passengers in the departure lounge queue, I see 50-litre rucksacks, large sports holdalls and the ubiquitous wheeled Samsonite cases. I know I still have something of the student backpacker mentality, but to me, those items are not hand luggage. They’re not even overnight bags… I could fit enough for a *week* in there. Surely bags of such size must make it far more difficult for the people operating the x-ray machines to check properly for concealed explosives, chemicals or weapons?
What’s going on here? Do airlines associate oversized hand baggage with businessmen, who must therefore be appeased at all costs, in return for their overpriced expense account tickets? Or is airport security really so primitive that no one has actually noticed? If aircraft cabins are really to be safeguarded against acts of terrorism, surely the most sensible (and efficient) approach would be to allow open plastic carrier bags only. They’ll hold your book, jumper, iPod and bottle of water, they can be visually checked (in addition to being x-rayed) and you’d have trouble attaching any kind of concealed pockets or false lining to them. Sure, it’d be inconvenient for all of us, but just how badly do we want to feel safe and secure?