Out Of Trim
Yes I am serious. It wasn't a hoax. He didn't attempt to deceive the security officer into believing he had a gun. He made a flippant remark, possibly under provocation. He didn't expect to be taken seriously.
We won't combat the hijack menace by cowing the passengers before they get on the aeroplane. We might even make it easier for the hijackers. Our best defence against the sort of hijacks we have seen recently is the passenger who is prepared to speak up and if necessary take action to help us. So in the unlikely event I find myself in the dire position the pilots found themselves in on 11th, the more passengers like Mr Orr down the back the better.
I am not saying we should tolerate disruptive behaviour. I would like to see the courts deal far more severely with it than they do. But I hope I have enough common sense to distinguish between real disruption and an unfortunate remark born of frustration.
And if some bright spark at DTLR thinks he's improving security by confiscating nail files from pilots, he's taking his salary under false pretences.