PJ2
The system that failed today is nothing to do with passengers. It is a faceless system they never encounter. However, I do understand your comments when applied to Heathrow. As a passenger there myself I can see the concrete shoulder, hard nosed, wish I could have been a policeman crowd rule supreme there.
Infrastructure is rank, knock it all down and start again.
But while we cant do that we have to make what we have work. Some decisions are good, some are bloody terrible.
But be sure, there is a lot of complexity in the baggage systems that is never seen by most on this forum. Everything is done not to ensure baggage loss, but to make sure one of you guys doesn't get a rude awakening in the cockpit one day.
We are not immigrants on low pay (Baggage handlers excepted
), we are highly paid engineers who take pride in our job. But every now and again things go wrong beyond the capacity of the systems. We are not talking about the VP or passenger scanners here, this is some hard nosed sophisticated equipment.
And when it goes wrong, I would rather cancel flights than let them take off with unscreened baggage. Wouldn't you ?
Geez, Just read GG's post number 2.
What's wrong with people reading the labels on the bags and putting them on the correct plane.? Gross incompetence in my opinion not to have a manual back up system in place.
Not a friking clue about the real world.
There is a manual back up system in place, get yourself a £500,000 scanner. Validate it to BAA with at least 10,000 bags that all pass or fail correctly, build a conveyor system around it to handle multiple check ins terminals and airlines and one that accepts transfer baggage from other flights or early flight baggage that needs to sit in the system for 2 or 3 days, then purchase a level 3 and 4 scanner at £1,000,000 each and get that validated in a similar fashion and then convince the government that you are trustworthy and there is your manual system. Eventually I might just come and work for you.
Either that or get a train instead.
I am well paid and love my job, I make sure bombs do not get on planes and spend hours throwing semtex through scanners to make sure the worst never happens.
Manual System, Sheesh, yea right.