Just to correct a couple of errors that have crept in from my recollection of those dim and distant days
Following Lockerbie the requirement for a baggage reconciliation check was introduced in the UK - baggage tagged for a flight on which the passenger failed to board was to be offloaded and not carried.
OK .. that was the intent.
This did not require any "screening/x-ray" process to be carried out on that baggage as a matter of course - at the time it was acceptable to forward it onwards either after ageing 24hrs or following the filing of a lost report. The equipment for screening did not exist/was not deployed at that time.
Anyone around the LHR T1/T2/T3 baggage areas in those years will recall the heaps of "ageing" bags that sat around!!
Many airlines in the UK failed to implement any of this at the time and there were years of wrangling which followed with the DFT/DEFTR.
For those of you who like me worked through that period how many of you can recall any widebody a/c offloading ULD's to locate bags.
The safety of bagagge for carriage continued to be based on the presumption that if the passenger travelled (or intended/wished to) then the bag was deemed "safe".
Hold baggage was not being routinely screened at that time - the equipment was not developed/deployed.
Eventually the control authorities did get their act together and started to ensure a process was followed ... this started with trying to strictly enforce the previously patchy "no unacompanied baggage travels unless screened". This is when baggage manifests etc started to appear and actually be used, baggage counts became normal and rush/unaccompanied bag carriage became recorded and x-rayed.
At this point (well before 9/11) the USA did not apply any of these rules. I can recall discussing this at the time with folks from various US carriers & FAA only to be told ... it's not relevent ... no such attacks have been carried out on US a/c within US borders ... it's outside the US that the danger exists and these rules are needed.
Many's the traveller that ended up at regional UK airports having been re-routed ex the States and told their bags would follow the original route and meet them at the final UK destination ... of course they didn't .. the bags reached first point in the UK (typically LHR/LGW) and sat there until PIR taken and followed up.
For a lighter aside I can recall a meeting with various airport/airline folks at a regional UK airport. The meeting was called by a senior UK civil servant who's every other sentance was preceeded by "what the minister requires is ..." .. he even wore a natty spotted bow tie
His best pronouncement of the day came when he told the assembled incredulous humble airline/airport managers present that "the minister requires ....... that each bag is not physically loaded onto an aircraft until the passenger who checked it in has actually boarded the aircraft"
Following the stunned silence it was determined he'd never heard of ULD's or thought that punctuality (in terms of operating with an hour or so of a scheduled time) might be an issue.
I'll stop now ... as my memories flood back it just becomes more frightening......
