I'm probably about to get shot down in flames but I simply don't recognise the difficulties with security which upset so many posters. I and mine have made perhaps thirty to forty journeys each year, for almost thirty years, to and from PMI. The main destination is LGW but quite a few trips have been to and from GLA, EXT, BRS, STN, LTN, EDI, AMS, BCN and MAD - and there will have been a few more airports besides those, but less used, too. I can't remember having the slightest issue with any individual security officer anywhere, ever. We have lots of guests coming to visit us each year and, while I have never specifically asked, none has complained about their experience with security staff - ever. I suspect that we are obviously polite and happy sorts who recognise that the security rigmarole is a fact of life and that the details of how it all works are beyond our ken. I'm grateful that these people do that work and am delighted that I am not in their shoes (sorry!). By and large I'm struck by how polite and reasonable they are while doing an unattractive and, perhaps, under-appreciated job. Perhaps some passengers take a clear attitude and some may even set out to rub them up the wrong way and if they do that then it seems reasonable to say that they deserve what they get.
I know, I know, I'm in for it now but that's the way I see it. Flying can be a frustrating affair and I admire the professionals who put up with the worst aspects of it - not to mention regular jet lag. I confess that I have never flown into the USA and I know that many see American destinations as particularly difficult from the security experience point of view but I have no experience of them at all.
Last edited by Cameronian; 4th Jul 2014 at 17:48.