Aviation Security

[airbusthreetwenty]

Like many travellers I've sometimes been subjected to the third degree at Australian airports, had my bags opened and searched then scanned for traces of explosive, my pockets turned inside out and my shoes X-rayed. Yet on more than one occasion I've seen my bags pass through X-ray with the official on duty not even watching the monitor. Security can depend on whim at the best of times.

As aviation experts held a big security pow wow in Sydney last week, up popped news about a straw poll suggesting Australians are divided on the effectiveness of measures taken at our airports. How do your thoughts compare? Security screening is surely a thankless and repetitive task, prone to isolated moments of boredom and distraction. But there is no foolproof alternative, just a process that gets ever more complicated.

Keynote speaker at the AVSEC conference was Kip Hawley of the US Department of Homeland Security, who later gave this interview in which he talks about the need for airport security to be at once "pro-active" and "flexible" yet, at the same time, not impinge unduly on the privacy of travellers. This sounds an extremely difficult formula to balance with any success, especially with the advent of intrusive fingerprint and eyeball ID, face-recognition techniques and the contentious no-fly watch list. Hawley also mentions that, from next month, EU countries will join the UK, US and Canada and impose a partial liquids ban on air passengers.

# Sydney Airport has been ranked in the Top Ten international airports for business travel. Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Aiport ranked highest in terms of perceived security and safety.

http://blogs.smh.com.au/lostintransit/archives/2006/10/security_1.html


Be sure to leave comments on this blog letting them know our feelings on aviation security in our airports.

[J430]

I am glad to see another thread on this topic, because its been quiet of late.

I have posted before about our friends in the USA who have more security than PAX at times, so bored as batsh!t that they are standing around talking, best time to slip through something.

I also love the way you check in and they give you your bad back to send through security. Now just imagine if you are able to snek a bomb into a suitcase, well check in, take a fraudulent baggage slip out of your pocket that you prepared earlier, send your bag off on another flight, and then go catch the one you are booked on.

The yanks think they are secure but me a simple minded traveller spotted loopholes just in the time I was standing waiting to take my shoes off.

You hear about airside security where crims are working in "secure" areas, and plenty of other loopholes exist there too from what you read on here.

So what are these so called experts doing. All this after 5 years of time to get it better.:eek:

J:ok:

[SkySista]

Security is a joke, especially when they're so busy confiscating your nail clippers, they let everything else in the average woman's beauty bag through, including things that could do a heck of a lot more damage than bloody nail clippers!!! (Obviously I won't say what, but it's not too hard to see how 'tunnel-visioned' these 'procedures' are)...

Again, I'm afraid it's more for show for the travelling public than any 'real' method of preventing 'dangerous' objects onto aircraft... unless of course, they are playing us all and they really get into stuff behind the scenes... maybe it is all just a ploy to make everyone think airport security is crap..?

Now, where's that article about the captain and the crash axe vs airport security...? :} :E

[HZ123]

Being involved in UK and EEC security you are correct to not place to great a store to aussie rules if you get a guest from OHS as they know jack. That said please be aware that what you see is merely the surface. What other suport is there Government,Police,Secret service,security services, other world wide agencies. Just because it may not look effective is not always the case, it has worked up to now.

[pakeha-boy]

Quote:J430

"The yanks think they are secure but me a simple minded traveller spotted loopholes just in the time I was standing waiting to take my shoes off."

J430...hate to be the bearer of bad news ,but that is simply not the case.As you pointed out ,there are so many loopholes.Simple-minded travellers,Pilots,inflight etc spot these problems everyday,I live in Airports,they are far from secure,you know,I know it and they know it.....

Co-operate and graduate and do your part in making them secure.....if we constantly keep pushing the loopholes and telling security services of the loopholes we can only make it safer for ourselves....what other direction do we really have????..PB

[SkySista]

Just because it may not look effective is not always the case, it has worked up to now.

That's exactly my point in the last of my post... maybe they just want us all to THINK security is crap, so they can see which areas or 'weaknesses' people try to push...?