Airport Security!!! It is obvious to the majority of us that that have airports as our work place that the security sought for the general public's comfort is unobtainable. The authorities MUST be aware of this or are they so far down the evolutionary chain, yet we give them credit for their efforts out of pity.. . It may be possible to make a city office or bank with one or two doors almost completely secure from walk in intruders but what we're talking about is something 5 miles long and 5 miles wide. I've been around airports all my long working life from an airport employee to one who puts up with the hassles so that I can fly to the other side of the globe to endure someone else's brand of "total security".. . I have seen security evolve from nil, when I could happily park my car near a hangar step over the fence and walk unchallenged across the apron to the Control Tower, to today’s farce. Recently I've spent many hours trying to stay awake on a trans-Pacific flights discussing how ”ïf we were terrorists" could we breach the system. Every flight yields a new way. Terrorists I am sure spend many hours in a dark cave doing the same but not for just amusement. If we had National Guardsmen shoulder to shoulder around the perimeter it still would not be completely secure for reasons other contributors have made clear . .Whilst the majority may happily accept the inconveniences of airport "Security", I do not happily accept it because I have to endure it on a daily basis and I am aware that it is a waste of my time. Without knowing the full details I tend to sympathise with the unfortunate Southwest Airlines Pilot. How many days of your life have you wasted on security being searched and questioned when as a pilot the weapon is in your “hands”.. . Do we want to progress to strip searches and flying in aircraft with cabins devoid of breakable or removable objects which could potentially be used as weapons with cabin trim riveted to the fuselage and the coffee maker only producing cold coffee.. Where an armed security officer sits with us in the cockpit incase we may ourselves endanger our aircraft. Of course he would be suitably trained by the authorities to fly the plane after he had to shoot the pilots.. .Airport security for the most part does a good job in restricting the lunatics ( mentally challenged for PC lovers) who would otherwise board our aircraft. Keeping out professional terrorists? No way!. .What about ID cards? How often do you check every ID card on everyone boarding your aircraft during a turn around and could you recognise a forged or altered ID.. . I remember them being introduced to make airports secure. In my opinion their true value is to get a hotel or hire car discount and in some parts of the world a free entry to a night club with the girls. Either we again restore the value to an ID card so that we may have quick and frustration free entry to our work place or hand them out like credit cards to the general public, as at present they can be a liability trying to make the "security passport", secure. Has anyone ever lost an ID card? . .Until the security experts understand how airports work, talk to people who work there and political input is minimised, airport security will be no more than window dressing , The politicians should spend their time solving the root cause of why one group of people want to cause so much harm to other groups. Now if I were a Palestinian…………
Dwaincleana