Did you pack this bag yourself sir? erm no

[L'aviateur]

What actually happens if you deviate from the standard response to 'Did you pack this bag yourself sir?' and say no? Are you made to open your bags and check them completely?

Occasionally my wife packs my bags and prepares everything because I only have a short amount of time back home. I don't check it, because she knows how I want the bag preparing and it's all set to go. For me, this seems harmless enough. But regardless I always answer the question at checkin 'No' because I don't fancy being arrested under the terrorism act or some other common senseless regulation.

[TFlyguy]

Its similar to "has your bag been left unattended?"

Well, technically, yes. Its been in the spare room since I packed it all alone all night ........

[MathFox]

I have tested: you can get away with carrying a company mobile phone. ;)
However, there are some answers that can seriously confuse the interviewers:
Is that laptop yours or from the company?
Both
... pause ...
Could you explain?
I am self emplyed, owning my own business.

[PaperTiger]

Where do they still ask that question ? I haven't heard it in years, like "smoking or non-smoking?"

[JEM60]

L'Aviateur.
I sometimes carry a bag for a friend, who has a great deal of photography equipment, so I help him out with some of the carry on. Like you, my answer is 'No' for precisely the same reasons as you gave. Inevitably, the bag is then emptied and checked. So it's a tiny inconvenience, but I like you, prefer not to lie.
PT. It's asked everytime I fly, and that's reasonably frequently!!

[Rush2112]

I say "well, the wife packed it for me so..." and let it tail off. Never yet been opened after that.

[Rwy in Sight]

Then the next important question is how is your relation with your wife?

Rwy in Sight

[PaperTiger]

PT. It's asked everytime I flyInteresting. It's been a while since I flew anything but NA domestic and TATL, but it must be several years since I was asked.

Never did make sense to me anyway; like terrorists won't lie :rolleyes: .

[Rush2112]

Then the next important question is how is your relation with your wife?

Rwy in Sight

Don't forget, I live in Asia - they'd be very surprised if I admitted to packing it myself, and probably would check it then(!) Quite a lot of locals bring their maids on holiday with them, and they would have been the ones doing the packing!

[eastern wiseguy]

It's a UK thing. As ever we get asked the silliest questions. I was asked if I had let the bag out of my sight since packing whilst transferring at Stansted. I said yes as it had been in the care of their airline since I placed it on the scales at Dortmund. No reaction.....bag checked in and on my way.

Never been asked in the US. Never understood the point of it...but as an air traffic controller I am well used to having "dangerous" articles taken from me as I go through security...that yoghurt could devastate the tower...:ugh::ugh:

[AlpineSkier]

@PaperTiger

Never did make sense to me anyway; like terrorists won't lie .

Presumably you don't know the incident that gave rise to this.

About 20 years ago an Irish woman was flying somewhere, from London I believe , and her Jordanian boy-friend packed her bag/gave her a "surprise present" which was a bomb and was discovered at the airport,

She was unaware of his plans and therefore no terrorist/no suicide-bomber

Hence the question.

[Signalman]

Did you pack your own Bag sir :- Yes
Has it been out of you possession :- Yes
How long has it been out of your possession:- About 14 hours ?:eek:
Could anyone have interfered with the contents :- Yes Numerous People ?:eek::eek:
How is this Sir:- This is the Flight transfer desk isn't it :D

:=:=:=:=:=:=

[WHBM]

I am always amused to see a whole busload of passengers arrive outside the terminal, wait to have their luggage handed to them by the driver from the vehicle's underfloor baggage lockers, then 10 steps forward to check-in, all are asked "have you had your baggage with you at all times", and all reply "Yes".

[robtheblade]

I have just returned from Guatemala. I was not asked if I had packed the bag myself or had left it unattended. Went through security and my carry on was pulled. The lady went through it and gave it back.

At the departure gate it was checked again, no problem. While on the plane I opened my bag to get out my headphones. Horror... I had been given, two weeks before, a freezer bag and inside were two large gel packs, maybe half a kilo each. What do you do? Report it to the cc and risk being escorted into Miami with a fighter aircraft on each wing tip or ignore the fact and hope it will be ok? Decided on the latter, got to Miami, went through immigration and dumped them in a trash bin outside the airport.

[Load Toad]

Dumb question innit? The Strife occasionally 'helps' t' pack my bag - it gets left unattended if it's half packed and I'm not ready for the off - it sits in the boot of the taxi etc etc.

P'raps terrorists crap it when asked if their mum has helped pack their bags though and start sweating profusely and stammering?

[Pax Vobiscum]

Of course not, my butler packed it.
:E

[wizo]

I regularly fly Norway to UK, always asked the question in UK, never in Norway.

[Businesstraveller]

The standard check-in securityquestions are about as effective/sensible as the US visa waiver program questions about being a Nazi or involvement in espionage.

[ExXB]

... don't forget moral turpitude!

[PaperTiger]

Presumably you don't know the incident that gave rise to this.I am well acquainted with that occurrence, her name was Anne-Marie Murphy.
The passenger, a 32 year old Irish woman named Anne-Marie Murphy, who was six months pregnant, arrived at the check-in desk some forty minutes before it closed. She was approached and questioned by the deputy security officer as part of routine passenger security checks.

No suspicious signs were revealed during her questioning. The passenger, who gave the impression of being a simple woman, responded in the negative when asked if she had been given anything to bring to Israel. During the questioning she was calm, and revealed no sign of nervousness. In the check of her baggage, suspicious signs came to light: a Commodore scientific calculator with an electric cable was found; the bag raised suspicion due to its unexpectedly heavy weight. The security officer’s examination of the bag revealed explosives concealed in the bottom of the bag, under a double panel. He called the police, and the passenger was arrested.Bolding mine. So a fat lot of good the question was in the single time it might have been.

[frontcheck]

The questions are currently MANDATORY anywhere in the UK that a customer checks-in, whether or not they are in transit, are they effective - debatable , however the DfT will soon be on your back if you fail to ask them when required.:=