The Joke that is Security

[Flock1]

This monday just gone, my wife an I were flying out of Manchester to Cork. We were travelling light, with only hand luggage on our person. As we joined the line for our bags to be scanned, my wife realised that she had a small pair of scissors in her toiletries bag. I told her they wouldn't pass through. My wife said she'd try anyway. She left them in her bag.

They got through. And they weren't that small either. Could have easily taken out a few people. But that's not all. A corkscrew got through as well - one with a large, sharp metal spiky bit AND a blade attachement! And that's not all. Her bottle of water - 250ml was left untouched as well.

I couldn't believe it!

Security at Cork today were much more vigilent. The woman looking at the screen actually laughed when my wife's bag went past. Her male colleague soon found the corkscrew and scissors and told me that he couldn't believe they got through at Manchester.

I wonder what else got through Manchester that day.

[Getoutofmygalley]

Unfortunately, security uses humans and humans are not infallible. The security staff are sat there looking at the screen for unspecified periods of time and they literally only have a few seconds to scan your bags image, so things will occasionally get through.

I am crew with a London based low cost airline and I was recently on a scheduled night stop. By mistake I had forgotten to remove my large toiletry bottles from my crew bag and I only realised when I got to my hotel down route. I chanced my luck the next door on returning to London on getting my large bottles back through to the UK - surprise surprise my large bottles were not picked up.

It might have something to do with the fact that I had taken out my regulation 100ml bottles and kept them in their 20cm x 20cm plastic bag which made security miss my larger bottles :\

[BaronChotzinoff]

I agree Flock. I was trying to take some bike chains and sprockets through at Berlin SFX a few weeks ago - having previously taken just one of each through, just to make sure it was OK.

They found them and no, I wasn't allowed to take them through ... except the pillocks didn't take them all so I was left with the inconvenience of arranging for them to post some of them on to me while the rest remained in my luggage ... :ugh::{:confused:

[SXB]

Getoutofmygalley is right, these are humans and they will make mistakes, we all do. That said the people on security have as long as they like to look at your bags, these images are queued and a staff member can look at them as long as need be, it's not a case of them only having the three seconds it takes to pass through the machine. Also, security staff are rotated between the various tasks (search, image check, etc) in fairly short time to keep their awareness at a fairly high level....

[isi3000]

I once accidentally brought a few large bottles and got past security. Also had some bottles of nail varnish in a jacket pocket i.e. 'dangerous' amounts of liquid through Gatwick on the departure and return :rolleyes: