This is purely my own opinion and may in fact be totally incorrect but here goes...
It's hard to imagine any criminal record that doesn't say something negative about you. Either you've got some serious blight on your integrity or trustworthiness or you've been incredibly careless at some stage. Not exactly qualities a cc manager would be looking for.
Even if it didn't pose a threat to airport security, it might still pose a problem to a recruiter wondering about your character. You'd have to put forward a really convincing case as to what happened and why it's never going to happen again.
This is a toughie, but I think if you do have one (or know someone who does) all you can do is apply and see how you go. You may be pleasantly surprised or you might be no worse off than you are right now. It can't hurt.