Security at airports

[Billy The Squid]

So as we awake this morning yet another story breaks in the UK national press lambasting airport security.

Evidently a Daily Express journalist managed to smuggle a series of sharp impliments airside at LHR on 12 separate occasions, whilst posing as a baggage handler.

I can see the obvious implications and public interest in such a story and in a way applaud the press for exposing the woeful lack of adequate security checks.

However I can't help feeling that these stories a counter-productive to an industry already reeling from 9/11, the war on terrorism, SARS and various other setbacks.

[PaperTiger]

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/wabc_081103_jfk.html

Good grief :uhoh:

[GrandPrix]

"Suck-urity" is the same on both sides of the Atlantic.
An ops worker was arrested in LAS for killing and stuffing his wife in a box. The irony is that this creep got to bypass suck-urity everyday because he was a "trusted" employee.
Obviously, pilots are not trustworthy.

[martinidoc]

At NCL, the cost concsious CEO has actually reduced the number of security staff. This means lengthening delays for PAX already paying a "security supplement" and access gates unmanned(and locked) for considerable periods of the day, causing disruption for deliveries etc.

At LHR, about 4 weeks ago, I turned up as usual about 1700 for a 1800 departurel, and was amazed to find no queues at the domestic security. A girl stuck an orange sticker on my jacket, and a bloke the other side removed it. Apparently this was a survey of time taken to get through security. It only took about 2 minutes on this occassion, Needless to say this impressive performance has not been repeated since, and we are back to the usual long delays. Strange that when monitoring the queues go away??
Could someones bonus rely on a target??

And finally airconditioning in the BA exec lounge at domestic T1 has been U/S for the past 2 weeks or so. On Monday temp exceeded 100F (Sounds better than Centigrade!) This is probably the greatest threat to LHR security at the moment, Mad dogs and BA passengers!!

A shame that airports do not seem to be more accountable.

[AdamCG]

You guys will love this story....

A man ducked a security check after setting off a metal detector Sunday night, forcing the evacuation of 1,800 passengers from two terminals at Philadelphia International Airport.

The man, who had just arrived from overseas and was connecting to a domestic flight, was never found, federal officials said yesterday.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/6511334.htm

[NoMuff2Tuff]

Trust me, like many of us I work at LHR and the security sucks, BAA are only interested in making a profit from retailers.

Security always suffers. Too many old dinosaurs running the show.

[Globaliser]

martinidoc: And finally airconditioning in the BA exec lounge at domestic T1 has been U/S for the past 2 weeks or so. On Monday temp exceeded 100F (Sounds better than Centigrade!)And there I was thinking that it was just that standard English air cooling systems couldn't cope with the heat.

[Airbubba]

Here's the classic journalist trying to test airport security story. If he doesn't get caught, he trumpets how weak the security system is. If he gets caught, he cries freedom of the press and demands immunity from prosecution.

'Scary' Mary Schiavo, often used by CNN as an aviation 'expert', pulled a stunt like this with a phony bomb in Ohio a while back. She claimed that since she was doing undercover investigative reporting for a local TV station she was a journalist and exempt from the rules (and prison term) pax and crews would face in such a situation.

This guy will cry First Amendment and cop a walk...

_________________________________________________


N.Y. Times Reporter Held Near Airport

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 7:33 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York Times reporter and photographer who were following up on a story about lost boaters at Kennedy International Airport were themselves picked up by police near the airport Wednesday.

An airport spokesman said reporter Corey Kilgannon and photographer Librado Romero were in a small boat that breached a security zone established by the Coast Guard.

The Port Authority police marine unit picked up Kilgannon, Romero and boat operator Lawrence Seaman in Jamaica Bay off runway 4R, said Pasquale DiFulco, a spokesman for the Port Authority, which runs the airport.

Police released Romero, but held Kilgannon after finding an outstanding warrant charging him with riding a bicycle on a sidewalk in 2002. Kilgannon was taken to Manhattan criminal court for an appearance.

The Coast Guard said it was considering charges against Seaman. Violating a security zone carries a maximum five years in prison.

The Times was cooperating with authorities, newspaper spokesman Toby Usnik said in an e-mail.

Airport security was breached Sunday when three lost fishermen washed ashore and walked undetected for about a mile near a runway. The incident embarrassed the Port Authority, which vowed to increase security.

[Tripower455]

An airport spokesman said reporter Corey Kilgannon and photographer Librado Romero were in a small boat that breached a security zone established by the Coast Guard.


That is TOO funny! I grew up with the Kilgannons, as a matter of fact, Corey's brother, Keith, was one of my closest friends as a kid.

I hope that their not too hard on old Corey, he actually is a good guy!

[cwatters]

I assume there are companies that specialise in testing security at sensitive installations and that airports hire such companies to test their security... so how come we never hear about them getting fired after events like this? Do you think airports rely on security companies evaluating their own security? That would be very bad practice. How would the airport know that the security company was meeting it's contract? Perhaps airports rely on newspapers to do the testing for them for free?

[HZ123]

If passengers do not wish to fly then I know that security can be maintained at a level that will not permit anything of any concern to get through. We can ground all the aircraft in the process too.

The same old dripping tap routine. Anyone working at the major airports knows how to get stuff through, surely that is a fact not disputed by anyone. Security is just a means of attempting to prevent the mad person / idiot getting on an a/c. Futhermore I fail to see how cutting up your wife and placing her in the fridge poses a security threat. There are many contributors to this website that have no doubt considered such options in the past.

There were indeed UK Transec Inspectors plus some others that did testing but I believe one of the problems was they used to give notice of a test so it came as no surprise that security under test was usually effective therefore not worth reporting on.