Is this a potential security hole?
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Join Date: Dec 2011
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Is this a potential security hole?
Just asking out of curiosity really. Flying FR out of BRU yesterday. Printed pdf boarding pass. Scanned my boarding pass at the entrance to airside. Went through security (scanned boarding pass again at x-ray). Got airside and realised I'd left something in the rental car. Quick call to Hertz established they had found it. I had plenty of time before boarding so headed up to baggage reclaim and back out the airport to collect said item. Upon returning to departures I scanned my boarding pass at the entrance to airside for the second time and to my surprise it let me straight through. Same again at security. I was half expecting it to throw up an error and have to go to the supervisor to explain the situation. So my question is; what's to stop me printing off 5 or more boarding passes and using them to get other people airside? I appreciate they would have all gone through security and they would have never go on the plane (at least I hope not!) but, it still seems like a fairly big hole in security to allow you to potentially get people who are not flying and have no business being there airside.
Think about it. You on your own with your boarding pass might equally have no intention of flying, but be using it to get airside with evil intent.
That's why you and your bags get searched and x-rayed.
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... In a word, no.
And before you ask, if someone tried to use multi-printed boarding cards to get on an aeroplane the second, and subsequent, would be rejected.
There are lots of people, other than passengers, airside.
And before you ask, if someone tried to use multi-printed boarding cards to get on an aeroplane the second, and subsequent, would be rejected.
There are lots of people, other than passengers, airside.
Join Date: Jul 2011
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What's to stop a normal passenger pickpocketing? There is no need to create elaborate scheme to get airside in order to pickpocket someone.
I've heard of first hand accounts from ground staff (not in UK) about people who were caught booking low cost tickets and actually taking a flight purely to steal random bags and leave the airport with them. The only way to mitigate that is to force everyone leaving a bag reclaim hall to produce thier claim tag and match it up with the bag they have in hand, yet the only airports I've ever seen that practice adopted were Pyongyang, Havana and Santiago de Cuba.
I've heard of first hand accounts from ground staff (not in UK) about people who were caught booking low cost tickets and actually taking a flight purely to steal random bags and leave the airport with them. The only way to mitigate that is to force everyone leaving a bag reclaim hall to produce thier claim tag and match it up with the bag they have in hand, yet the only airports I've ever seen that practice adopted were Pyongyang, Havana and Santiago de Cuba.
In Frankfurt int’l you can walk from the curb side right into the baggage claim, pick anyones bag, and walk off again.
And regarding your bar code, what stops me from making a photo of that and boarding the flight using the photo of it on my phone ahead of you?
And regarding your bar code, what stops me from making a photo of that and boarding the flight using the photo of it on my phone ahead of you?
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Your cabin bag isn't even secure in the bin above you. I was quite shocked and surprised to discover how many items are stolen in flight, especially in a dark cabin on long flights as the owner sleeps!
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I think there is a trusting faith in the airline booking and ticketing systems that may be misplaced.
This doesn't happen - or at least it didn't for me a few years ago when the airline screwed up on ticketing and provided me with tickets for transatlantic then onward flight. I had boarded the onward flight using my boarding pass from check in in Europe and was approached by another pax saying 'you are sitting in my seat' whereupon we both showed valid boarding passes for the same seat on the same flight only difference was the name.
I think there is a trusting faith in the airline booking and ticketing systems that may be misplaced.
I think there is a trusting faith in the airline booking and ticketing systems that may be misplaced.
we both showed valid boarding passes for the same seat on the same flight only difference was the name
So I see no reason to change my view that two passengers using the same boarding card wouldn't both get past the boarding card scan.
Of course if anyone want to prove me wrong, please feel free to try - next time you're travelling with a companion print out two copies of the same boarding card instead and let us know how you get on.
Just don't try it on a flight that you really have to make, as you might have a bit of explaining to do.
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I don't know about BRU, but generally, at the point you scan your boarding pass, there's also an employee who compares your face to the photo on your passport or ID card, and the name on your passport or ID card to the name on your boarding pass....
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In Frankfurt int’l you can walk from the curb side right into the baggage claim, pick anyones bag, and walk off again.
And on this topic, always intrigued me whether in fact, baggage reclaim is actually 'airside'. As pax have checked in baggage landside at check in, but they are now receiving it back airside... At least at all UK airports, baggage reclaim is very much airside as there is no public access. Yet pax could retrieve prohibited items from their checked bags...
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In Frankfurt int’l you can walk from the curb side right into the baggage claim, pick anyones bag, and walk off again.
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And on this topic, always intrigued me whether in fact, baggage reclaim is actually 'airside'. As pax have checked in baggage landside at check in, but they are now receiving it back airside... At least at all UK airports, baggage reclaim is very much airside as there is no public access. Yet pax could retrieve prohibited items from their checked bags...
You 'can' do it in Geneva, but you have a security checkpoint to get through.
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No, even for international. There is a sign that non-passengers are not allowed to enter (its one way gates) and to exit you need to go through customs. A few years back there might hv been the loophole that if you only travel with handluggage you never go through customs. I had thr impression when I started to pay attention to that that there was a small change: on the way out (but before reentering baggage zone) there is a custom desk installed. I am not 100% certain about if the desk has not always been there.