Airport Security liquids Bag
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Thanks Westie! Back now. 
Radeng,
As westie said, having read the report, my managers have said that the company will back me all the way if it happens again. The problem is, it's not just me and the company that will be affected if I decide to stand my ground. It's also the passengers that could be delayed and subsequently miss meetings, connections etc. And possibly the next lot of passengers waiting for that aircraft. And the crews, both those flying with me and those that are again, waiting for the aircraft.
In all honesty, I'm not sure I could do that to so many people. No doubt, that is exactly what these idiots bank on.
Radeng,
As westie said, having read the report, my managers have said that the company will back me all the way if it happens again. The problem is, it's not just me and the company that will be affected if I decide to stand my ground. It's also the passengers that could be delayed and subsequently miss meetings, connections etc. And possibly the next lot of passengers waiting for that aircraft. And the crews, both those flying with me and those that are again, waiting for the aircraft.
In all honesty, I'm not sure I could do that to so many people. No doubt, that is exactly what these idiots bank on.
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In all honesty, I'm not sure I could do that to so many people. No doubt, that is exactly what these idiots bank on.
I don't think that you should make an issue of it, as it stresses you out (and this type of pond life may 'retaliate' by being even more difficult next time.)
Someone at management level needs to start keeping an incident log and when there are sufficient entries, come down on the airport management like a ton of bricks.
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F3G, are you suggesting that a Manager should keep (or require someone to keep) a permenant record that would show a deficiency that they would then need to resolve? Without legislation to require it?
That would be a bit too much like effective management, surely!
That would be a bit too much like effective management, surely!
Join Date: Feb 2010
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LHR and bags
Terminal One on Thursday with a longer than usual queue before the boarding card & photo security check, reason being that the bag-checking personnel were being very picky. A number of travellers were made to re-pack their liquids into clear plastic re-sealable bags because they had their liquids packed in, er, clear plastic re-sealable bags.
From my viewpoint the bags they were using were fine. Perhaps it was the wrong type of clear plastic?
From my viewpoint the bags they were using were fine. Perhaps it was the wrong type of clear plastic?
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Belts?
Digressing slightly, but still on security, we know why we have random checks of our footware, but why belts?
Is it to prevent false alerts from the metal buckle or do they suspect more clandestine uses from a belt? If they suspect that I have razor blades, a gigli saw, or Kruger Rands concealed then fair dinkum. If it is just the metal buckle then my plastic buckle should be OK.
Going through Luton I was also asked to remove my watch. When I assured them that the watch would not initiate the alarm they let me through with a 'let's see' and possibly hoping for an 'I told you so.' My watch is titanium and does not set off the alarms
Is it to prevent false alerts from the metal buckle or do they suspect more clandestine uses from a belt? If they suspect that I have razor blades, a gigli saw, or Kruger Rands concealed then fair dinkum. If it is just the metal buckle then my plastic buckle should be OK.
Going through Luton I was also asked to remove my watch. When I assured them that the watch would not initiate the alarm they let me through with a 'let's see' and possibly hoping for an 'I told you so.' My watch is titanium and does not set off the alarms
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Yesterday at STN, I was in the security queue (just behind a nice Irish lady who had a 90ml drum of expensive face cream confiscated by the female tray-loader, for no obvious reason other than that she was in a hurry to get to the gate and was unlikely to object) when I committed a major terrorist attack by putting:
- one roller deodorant
- one tube of toothpaste
- one small non-pressurised aerosol spray
- one spare contact lens
through the machine in a plastic bag measuring 27x28cm.
After these items had been through the scanner, I was hauled off for a "frank chat". The security person informed me of my choices:
- go back and buy the right size of bag
- abandon my items
The security queue was 20 minutes long and I would have risked missing my flight. I asked if I could keep the contact lens, which is in a tiny glass bottle about 2x1cm, containing about 1ml of liquid. I was told that this was not possible. I offered to prise the lid open and drink the liquid, but apparently if you drink 1ml of saline solution which has been scanned you can make the plane explode. I then offered to take a tissue, absorb the 1ml of liquid onto it, then wait the couple of minutes which it would take for said liquid to evaporate. At this point, perhaps because I had been polite and non-sarcastic throughout the entire conversation, Mr. Jobsworth relented and allowed me to take the contact lens, but the lethal toothpaste, deodorant, and aftershave had to go, because they had already been scanned inside a bag which was too big.
My question is: Do these people actually think that their inflexibility on meaningless points of minor details actually contributes to security? Or, do they do it for kicks? Or, are they so aware that the whole procedure is meaningless that they're in fact taking the mick out of the system as much as out of the pax?
- one roller deodorant
- one tube of toothpaste
- one small non-pressurised aerosol spray
- one spare contact lens
through the machine in a plastic bag measuring 27x28cm.
After these items had been through the scanner, I was hauled off for a "frank chat". The security person informed me of my choices:
- go back and buy the right size of bag
- abandon my items
The security queue was 20 minutes long and I would have risked missing my flight. I asked if I could keep the contact lens, which is in a tiny glass bottle about 2x1cm, containing about 1ml of liquid. I was told that this was not possible. I offered to prise the lid open and drink the liquid, but apparently if you drink 1ml of saline solution which has been scanned you can make the plane explode. I then offered to take a tissue, absorb the 1ml of liquid onto it, then wait the couple of minutes which it would take for said liquid to evaporate. At this point, perhaps because I had been polite and non-sarcastic throughout the entire conversation, Mr. Jobsworth relented and allowed me to take the contact lens, but the lethal toothpaste, deodorant, and aftershave had to go, because they had already been scanned inside a bag which was too big.
My question is: Do these people actually think that their inflexibility on meaningless points of minor details actually contributes to security? Or, do they do it for kicks? Or, are they so aware that the whole procedure is meaningless that they're in fact taking the mick out of the system as much as out of the pax?
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Do these people actually think that their inflexibility on meaningless points of minor details actually contributes to security
The message is simple. Stick to the rules no matter how silly or unimportant they may seem to you and you will have an easier passage through security.
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Q : Would the member of staff be sacked for not following the company rules and / or DFT Guidelines if they decided to start making these decisions themselves?
A : Quite likely
Q : Is the liquid ban a new thing?
A : No
Q : How long have these bags been given out at major airports?
A : 4 1/2 years
Q : Is there a website you can check before you fly?
A : Usually
Q : Would I tolerate the grief I personally inflict on security staff, glowers, evil eyes, muttering and whispering in my own work environment?
Last week I went through the body scanner at MAN as I pinged the arch on the way through and by my body language alone I made it clear I wished the man was dead.
A : NEVER, I would dismiss anyone who approached that sport of nonsense.
Q : Do I fly more than once a year?
A : Yes
Q : Ever thought of hanging onto the approved bag you got at the airport rather than risking something I bought in a supermarket?
A : Yes I have a small pile at home I lifted from Heathrow. I appear to be a thief as well as an arrogant swine when I pass through security.
Taking all that into account, I have never had an issue with my liquids aside from some silly woman ( again with the attitude problem ) checking I didn't have the limited edition special exploding toothpaste. In around a hundred flights since the ban was introduced, I have not had a major issue. If you find yourself arguing with anyone at security, you have already been awarded the coveted "EPIC FAIL" award of the day as the above hassle and stress is all completely avoidable for travelling passengers. At some point, we as a society need to stop blaming "everyone else" when frankly a little more planning on our own parts and we could all avoid an awful lot of grief.
Pilots are another story, God help them, I don't know how they manage!
A : Quite likely
Q : Is the liquid ban a new thing?
A : No
Q : How long have these bags been given out at major airports?
A : 4 1/2 years
Q : Is there a website you can check before you fly?
A : Usually
Q : Would I tolerate the grief I personally inflict on security staff, glowers, evil eyes, muttering and whispering in my own work environment?
Last week I went through the body scanner at MAN as I pinged the arch on the way through and by my body language alone I made it clear I wished the man was dead.
A : NEVER, I would dismiss anyone who approached that sport of nonsense.
Q : Do I fly more than once a year?
A : Yes
Q : Ever thought of hanging onto the approved bag you got at the airport rather than risking something I bought in a supermarket?
A : Yes I have a small pile at home I lifted from Heathrow. I appear to be a thief as well as an arrogant swine when I pass through security.
Taking all that into account, I have never had an issue with my liquids aside from some silly woman ( again with the attitude problem ) checking I didn't have the limited edition special exploding toothpaste. In around a hundred flights since the ban was introduced, I have not had a major issue. If you find yourself arguing with anyone at security, you have already been awarded the coveted "EPIC FAIL" award of the day as the above hassle and stress is all completely avoidable for travelling passengers. At some point, we as a society need to stop blaming "everyone else" when frankly a little more planning on our own parts and we could all avoid an awful lot of grief.
Pilots are another story, God help them, I don't know how they manage!
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At some point, we as a society need to stop blaming "everyone else" when frankly a little more planning on our own parts and we could all avoid an awful lot of grief.
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"Stick to the rules no matter how silly or unimportant they may seem to you"
What if we are following the rules? I take a bag that was perfectly acceptable in ten airports but on the eleventh it's suddenly not compliant. I have to take my shoes off at the security in BRU but the rest of Europe doesn't give a rats arse about shoes, you just go through the detector. More often than not I see people going through with empty bottles of water, but if you have 10 drops left in it, it goes in the bin. Years ago, some airports were demanding you would turn on your laptop at security (because if it's a bomb, it's better to kill people at the airport than on the airplane, right?), and my boyfriend almost didn't fly one day because his battery was not working, and the laptop wouldn't turn on without the electrical cord...
There is no consistency in security checks, and this leaves passengers with the constant worry that something will go awry despite best compliance and preparation. How do you prepare for randomness?...
What if we are following the rules? I take a bag that was perfectly acceptable in ten airports but on the eleventh it's suddenly not compliant. I have to take my shoes off at the security in BRU but the rest of Europe doesn't give a rats arse about shoes, you just go through the detector. More often than not I see people going through with empty bottles of water, but if you have 10 drops left in it, it goes in the bin. Years ago, some airports were demanding you would turn on your laptop at security (because if it's a bomb, it's better to kill people at the airport than on the airplane, right?), and my boyfriend almost didn't fly one day because his battery was not working, and the laptop wouldn't turn on without the electrical cord...
There is no consistency in security checks, and this leaves passengers with the constant worry that something will go awry despite best compliance and preparation. How do you prepare for randomness?...
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What if we are following the rules? I take a bag that was perfectly acceptable in ten airports but on the eleventh it's suddenly not compliant.
A couple of years ago I saw an American pax having a penknife with a 2cm blade removed from him at SXB (where all the staff, not just security, are humourless Rottweilers). He was protesting that he had flown all over the world with it since 9/11. At STN there are notices stating that blades <6cm are OK (but nothing about the size of the bag, saying "seriously, if you're over 20x20cm, buy one of these now, we're not kidding).
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A straightforward question (from a newbie)
Is there the slightest chance that someone, somewhere, in authority reads these remarks?
If yes, what are the chances that some action might be taken to rectify matters?
If yes, what are the chances that some action might be taken to rectify matters?
Join Date: Aug 2002
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I was stopped at STN for a too-big ziploc bag that had been no problem at FKB 24 hours earlier. Had the people at FKB queried it, I would have gone to the back of the security queue (length: 1 minute) and got a smaller one from the pile of free bags there.
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The threat level is a little higher over here
The answer is that you do not, as Germany does not publish it's security levels, like other countries.
However, my recent visits there suggest that it is higher than before, with armed police patrolling stations and airports.
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I once got 'pulled' by security at Manchester with a small metal key safe that looked like a hand grenade on the X ray machine! Opened up and the nice security man let me take it through ok.
The man on security in the sand pit was on the phone instead of watching the screen as I watched it pass through on the X ray machine screen.
Nuff said. And it did look a bit like a hand grenade.
The man on security in the sand pit was on the phone instead of watching the screen as I watched it pass through on the X ray machine screen.
Nuff said. And it did look a bit like a hand grenade.
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With the greatest of respect, how do you know that?
The community's very strong links with "home" allow an easy conduit for terror into the UK itself with men and women marrying on direction allowing our enemies British passports over time. Roughly, that is why I think the ongoing terror threat is greater.
Which country's citizens hatched the bomb plot that gave us the liquid ban?
Which country was Richard Reid the shoe bomber from?
Which country was the underwear bomber on the AMS-DTW NW A330 radicalised?
Sometimes I think the UK is a danger to the world, and that's without mentioning Simon Cowell. ooops too late, just did!
If the muppets have any sense, why did I have a spanner (US: wrench) 2 inches long confiscated at Frankfurt - being 4BA and 6 BA, what could I atke apart with it?
They have a problem know as my travelling trousers have the belt sewed onto the back of the trousers........they don't like it, but other than having me remove trousers, there's not much they can do. Luxembourg were really pi**ed off with this - so were Copenhagen.
But for crew to object and then eventually have the airline announce
"XYZ airlines apologise for the delay in departure of flight ABC 1234. This is beacause the incompetant airport security staff were totally unreasonable in harassing and delaying the access of the flight crew the aircraft to the stage where the crew no longer felt safe to fly."
have such an announcement four or five times an hour and something will happen.....
They have a problem know as my travelling trousers have the belt sewed onto the back of the trousers........they don't like it, but other than having me remove trousers, there's not much they can do. Luxembourg were really pi**ed off with this - so were Copenhagen.
But for crew to object and then eventually have the airline announce
"XYZ airlines apologise for the delay in departure of flight ABC 1234. This is beacause the incompetant airport security staff were totally unreasonable in harassing and delaying the access of the flight crew the aircraft to the stage where the crew no longer felt safe to fly."
have such an announcement four or five times an hour and something will happen.....
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Last week my Muji pouch ("Pouches designed to airport regulations, perfect for carrying your liquids through security") was rejected by Gatwick security, and I had to transfer the contents into one of their plastic bags.
Reason given because it has a zip rather than an airtight seal
Reason given because it has a zip rather than an airtight seal