Hiking staffs and swiss army knives . . .

[pax domina]

Not the first time, and perhaps not the last . . .

I often carry a hiking staff (or two) strapped to my carry-on "bag" (a Dana Designs Hoodoo Spire daypack - didn't know this had been specially designed to fit in overhead compartments when I bought it, but it was and it does). The first time I felt a bit silly, but I've seen enough golfers carrying prized putters on to a/c to not care.

They must have been training a new guy at the X-Ray machine in MKE a couple of weeks ago. He stopped my bag on the conveyor, asked the supervisor behind him about what he saw, and the supervisor said, "Let's roll it out and take a look at it."

So they did. The supervisor's comment, "Oh, they're ski poles" (which they can be), and then "and they're rubber tipped." (But the rubber tips are easily removed - I've lost them before. But I don't want any hassle, so I don't say anything.) They let me through.

*At the same time* I had quite accidentally forgotten to remove my Swiss Army Knife (blade length approximately 3 in/75 mm) from the small lumbar pack I was carrying over my shoulder as a purse - they let this pass unchallenged!

To be honest, about half of the time I forget to put my knife in my checked baggage, and no one has ever stopped me.

I can take double pointed knitting needles and a small folding scissors on international flights, yet cannot take double pointed *bamboo* knitting needles (length of needle part approximately 3-1/2 in) in to the County Courthouse when I am called for jury duty. They probably would confiscate my 2 inch long wooden glove needles as well.

On a somewhat related note - SFB Guv? Hopefully not too many passengers with "souvenir" AK-47s in their luggage on the flight home to the UK. http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/eek.gif (Yes, there was some coverage in our local press - but I gather nothing like the amount of coverage in the UK tabloids.)

[Self Loading Freight]

I read an interesting article recently (forget where) about security checks and X-ray machines. It seems that due to the mind-numbing nature of the job, a huge number of mistakes are made -- no surprises there -- and that's before you start to think about guns designed to have the X-ray profile of a bunch of keys... I'm not surprised that a closed Swiss Army knife gets through.

To sort this out, the next generation of machines can superimpose images of known bad objects onto the shadows of pax baggage on the screen. The operator then presses the "Is it real?" button and decides whether or not to pull the bag for a search. If the operator misses the false object, then this is recorded and if too high an error rate is observed for a particular operator action can be taken.

Which should make things better, although I doubt that the range of knitting impedimenta allowed in the cabin will increase significantly...

R

[mik]

Swiss Army Knives are available to buy at several "Duty Free" shops at LHR and other airports.

Since seeing them there, I've never bothered to put mine in checked in luggage, now I always leave it in my laptop case (which is where it lives). Security in the UK, Germany, France, and the US have all seen it and ignored it.

And let's be honest, a broken bottle would be a much more dangerous weapon.

Mik

[Mycroft]

I must confess to an incident whilst visiting the White House (no, I'm not that important - just the normal public tour). After passing through the X-Ray I was asked whether I had a pair of scissors in my bag. I replied negatively and the woman behind me was promptly surrounded by Secret Service agents and it wasn't until much later that I discovered that my first aid kit included a pair or scissors. I also tend to carry unusual objects in my hand baggage, and I can usually guess what item security pull me over for - with security it is rarely a random check; there is usually some item they cannot identify on the X-Ray.

[Cyrano]

Consistency would be a fine thing! My Swiss Army knife travels with me and has never caused any trouble at security checks, except on one occasion at CDG: "I'm sorry, you can't carry that in your pocket, sir. Please put it in your carry-on bag." There may have been some inscrutable Gallic logic at work there but it has escaped me to this day... :)

[ExSimGuy]

Very valid point about the bottles! I made it out last weekend on BA (RUH-LHR) and was rather surprised that the bottle of Scotch I bought for my "DF" was made of glass!

I thought all of the airlines had now switched to the plastic bottles which are a) more resilient to baggage-hall damage, b) lighter, and c) cannot be "weapons or items that can be used as weapons" (perhaps next time I'm asked that question at check-in I'll say "Yes, I have a glass Scotch bottle!!)

Perhaps the "frequent flyer" would think it less impressive if his booze cupboard was filled with plstic Scotch & Gin bottles, what the hell, it would give away that he was a cheapskate and only bought booze if he could get it cheap!

------------------
Ah, the VC-10, Wasn't she lovely!

[The Sleeping Pax]

I recently had my Gerber pocket Multi-tool taken out of my briefcase after the security scan. I think it was on a BA Flight. I was assured that I'd be given back my Multi-tool on arrival in BKK. I was given it back as I boarded the aircraft. Enough said!

[Pom Pax]

Interesting reading at http://www.mapquest.com/cgi-bin/ia_find?link=bmmq/mmq-newsletter-a4page
and some of the links are worth following

[RiverCity]

I always thought it was odd (humorous, really) that I could be stopped for having something that could penetrate between the ribs. BUT when I get a meal, there is a nice, heavy metal knife and fork.

Go figure...