Polish Aviation Security
Another day, another dollar, another Ryanair experience from Modlin. I approached security with care, remembering the way in which a new iPhone disappeared there, 6 months ago, from the tray while the owner (me) was bring distracted by a unnecessarily aggressive body search. Now I stow such things firmly concealed inside the bag.
I took out my laptop, emptied my pockets, jacket off, belt off, etc etc, and stepped through the archway. No alarm bleeping, but an immediate aggressive body search, which found only a handkerchief and my passport in a pocket. These items were accusingly placed in a tray and sent to be re-examined by the X-ray scanner to make sure they were not deadly weapons.
My hand baggage came through the scanner, and was immediately seized on by an unsmiling, wordless female, who delved into it and removed various chargers and connectors, a camera, two books and a pen and placed them into a tray, pointed at them and screeched "electronic things" before sending them back to be re-examined in the scanner, presumably to confirm that they were "electronic things".
I invariably travel with this stuff in my hand luggage; never before has it caused a scanner operator to be suspicious.
She missed the plastic bag with liquids and toothpaste I had forgotten to remove with the laptop, and the Sony smartphone that was also in the bottom of the bag.
The whole pointless performance was done with no other words or even eye contact. While it was going on a consignment of bottles of water, perhaps 300 - 400 on several pallets, destined for the departure lounge shop, was waved through without a second glance. Neither the bottles nor the workers taking them through were checked in any way.
I have seen good, mediocre and bad security all over the world, but nowhere does the combination of stupidity, bad training and rudeness come together quite as powerfully as it does in Poland (at any airport), a country where people are otherwise welcoming, generous, friendly and charming. I wonder why?