I think I know the answer to this question, but I'm going to ask it anyway.
Why, on (some) domestic flights, do security insist on taking a picture of you and attach a bar code to your boarding card?
I flew from Manchester to Glasgow recently and this took place. I think it also happened when I flew from Bristol to a domestic airport. But, to the best of my knowledge, I didn't have to smile for Candid Camera when I went to Edinburgh from LHR.
What is the purpose of this? Is it a security feature? Surely, if I wanted to hijack a plane, I wouldn't care about my face being recorded as I would either be dead or spending a long time at Her Majesty's Pleasure.
On the flight from Man to Gla, I saw signs saying that you weren't allowed razor blades in carry on. Does this mean razor blades as in cut throat razors, or safety razors a la Gillette etc? If the sign refers to the latter, and if security is really doing their job properly, then there are going to be one hell of a lot of p!ssed off travellers who now can't take carry on on, and will have to stow it instead. The popularity of designer stubble may increase...
In light of the El Al incident, it just shows that despite (possibly) the best security of all airlines, determined potential hijackers can - and do - manage to get their weapons on board. Despite not being a regular flyer like many people who visit this site, my impression is that "publicity" security (ie the stuff which can be seen by all - xray etc) has increased but the effectiveness has yet to be proved.