The whole issue is a joke so long as security only applies to the crew and passengers while the rest of the airport gets a free pass. Like paying for security service on your home and they put a detector on the front door only, leaving the back door and windows unguarded. What amuses me is that so many people buy the whole TSA garbage, even pilots.
Boofhead, You nailed the situation, in a nutshell............
Screening flight crews in ineffective eyewash. It serves no security purpose whatsoever. We are subject to passenger screening to harbor the illusion of security (to alleve the fears of the flying public). We are screened for weapons that might allow us to take over an airplane, right before we do just that. We are
there to take over an airplane, armed or not! Regardless of the screening performed prior to getting in the cockpit, I still have complete control of a potential WMD when I get there, so either I am trusted, or I am not. If I am NOT trusted, then I shouldn't be sitting in the cockpit.... If I am trusted, then I shouldn't have to undress before going to work. Which is it?
I can't speak for other countries, but here in the states, the only major employee groups (at most airports) that are required to be screened as passengers are flight crew, who, ironically, are the only employees that don't need to bring a weapon aboard to take over an airplane.
To answer the "terrorist take a pilots family hostage" scenario...... Why would they go to the bother? Their chances of getting caught go up immeasurably as more people get involved..... It's the same thing with them trying to impersonate a pilot. It would be a lot harder for the run of the mill bad guy to pretend to be a pilot, than say a bag handler.... They can simply get a job as a "trusted employee" (provisioner., fueler, bag thrower, cleaner etc.......) and waltz in the back door UNCHECKED!!!! It doesn't take a PhD to figure out the easily achieved possibilites due to this well known loophole.
What's worse is that the head of the tsA says that ALL employees are screened now...... He is either wrong, misinformed or just plain lying! I vote for the latter.......
It's surreal......... 9/11 should have been a wake up call..... What will it take to make my industry more secure?
That said, there is NOTHING to be gained by making a stand center stage at the security show......... Just cooperate and hope that the guy in front of you gets their attention so you can get to work without further hassle.......
This nonsense is nothing new....... prior to 12/7/87, flightcrew entered the "sterile area" like all the other employees, but due to the actions of a disgruntled former ramper (mass murder), flight crew are now subject to pax screening......but rampers are not.
A SOS should have been done right at the beginning, but, the politicians and bureaucrats kept appeasing ALPA by saying that we were going to get super duper universal SIDA access badges. Then we could be as trusted as a provisioner!!!!! I am still waiting for mine!
