This thread has been around for some time now, and most of the comment is valid (Parmmo excepted).
Question really is, can it change. Answer, No.
Why not. Well think about it, why is it happening. I think two main reasons:
Too many people are making money from the circus, and
It's a suitable backside covering exercise for politicians.
You might ask could proffesional aircrew influence a change of goverment stance. Answer no.
Why not, again too many people making money, and importantly, no vehicle from which to launch a suitable cohesive process to achieve any worthwhile result.
What do I mean. Well I used to fly in Europe, and was a Balpa member for some time, even was a company rep for a while. It very soon became apparent that those at the top of the Balpa scheme of things have their own agenda, very much their own. One of them is becomming an MEP.
Therefore rocking the boat by representing pilots views on contentious subjects like security would not be in one's own best interests now would it. Much much better to form a "working group" and waste a bit of time and money. Why ?, we are intelligent, and all know what the damn problem is.
One of these gentlemen went as far as to state in a publication that a relaxation in the current security regime would need a more stringent pre airside ID card issue, security check. This was deemed unacceptable as "some current pilots may lose there employment due to not being able to fulfill the more stringent requirement". So when is a security risk a security risk ??. And what do the vast majority of those being hassled by the current regime think of that ?.
I guess that in many other countries where pilots are represented by "proffesionals", the highest levels ( non pilots ) of those organisations have similar sets of problems.
I am no longer a Balpa member, and I really do not believe that the security hassles we face are ever going to change.
In the last 2 weeks both LHR and LAX have been almost farcical, you can only put up with it and laugh afterwards. It is just not worth getting agitated over.