Thank you Pprune
 

A couple of years ago I was subject to unessesery questions from security at Manchester Airport. Thanks to Pprune I managed to be able to answer back yesterday.

I went through the arch without setting it off but was stopped by the security man who asked what was in my pocket. Money I said. He asked my to show him which I did. "how much is there" said he, "nothing to do with you, your job is security not counting money" said I.

As I had plenty of time I took a stance and again refused to tell him. His called his supervisor over who told me I must tell him or would be denied boarding. Thanks to Pprune I told her it was a matter for Customs and not them and if I had to count it I would have no problem counting it for Customs. Now I'm not sure if the supervisor went to Customs or not, but after a few minutes she came back and told me it was OK to proceed.

I have to say, except for these two occasions, and security at Manchester have been fine and courteous.

Great story robtheblade and not one that I knew. Thanks.

Was that bills or coins?
Manchester Security had me recheck for "smuggling" 2g of lipbalm in my jacket :-P.

Would it not have been quicker to just take the money and put it in a tray? I feel sorry for the security people when confronted with people like you making 'a stand'.

What did it achieve? Wasted some of your time, the people behind you's time, the security screener's time and the managers time too.

For what?

HeartyMeatballs. Yes, of course it would have saved everyone's time to have told him,but that is not the point.

I have no problem in complying with their rules however unfathomable they may seem. I wasn't wasting his time, he was wasting mine. I showed him the cash but that wasn't enough for him. Now I'm not sure if it is possible to get 10,000 euros into an ordinary wallet or not, but it was obvious there was nothing like that amount in there.

So what did it acheive. Absolutely nothing, as I suppose the next person he stops with the same problem will be causing an even bigger queue while they count out a couple of thousand pounds in view of other travelers.

You'd be the first person to whinge if you were short of time and some else decides to waste everyone's time when you're stuck behind them waiting for your turn.

To teach those jumped up, power hungry, little morons that there are limits to what they can and can not do.

You mean those people who just do their jobs to keep the flying public and those of us who work on the aircraft safe? Believe me there's a lot worse around the world than Manchester airport.

Besides the way people like you lot on here treat them is there any wonder they're 'jumped up'.

I see the 'don't you know I'm a regular flyer' crowd making a scene at least once a week. If it makes you all feel better then great, but you achieve nothing apart from showing the world that actually you're a bit of an arse.

Perhaps you should all try FlyerTlk and regail one another with stories of when you 'won', or reduced a crew member to tears.

If they just did their jobs and didn't try to unofficially expand their remit then I'd agree with you.

If the airport security was actually effective and not just window dressing to appease the public then I'd agree with you.

As someone who goes through security everyday you do get one or two miseries or bad apples but to be honest, if I had to put up with guys like this, I guess I would be too. Just comply and move on.

They're way undervalued and vastly underpaid for the morons that they have to put up with. Bit like cabin crew.

And chesty - given that there's been no serious incident involving a weapon on a UK departure I'd say they're doing a good job. Everyone has gotten safely to their destination. Job done.

Oh - I didn't appreciate they were pilots...

;)

Let them do their job. That doesn't involve counting out money. This nonsense that somehow they are hard done by? Give me a break. They have absolutely no business, no more than anyone else in any job, exceeding their brief. The amount of money anyone has on them is not an issue for airport security. End of.

I am polite and courteous to anyone who offers the same in return. But if some guy or girl is going to pick on me for whatever reason and in a way he or she has no right to then damn skippy I'm going to stand up to them.

Good for you robtheblade, too many people in this industry take their roles far beyond what is required.

It wasn't the poster causing a delay by standing up for his rights, it was the security officer investigating a non event that had nothing to do with him.

Far too many men and women in this industry take their jobs (and themselves) too seriously. Security who think they're special branch, cabin crew who act like riot police and pilots who think they're on a mission to the Moon.

With all due respect, if passengers behaved like they did in the 1950s then so would everyone else involved in the aviation industry. But they don't. The public have no respect for aircrew, ground crew, procedures, rules, regulations...well pretty much anything as soon as they step into the airport. If they gave more respect then they would get it back in return.

And I don't apologise for generalising as many here seem to be doing exactly the same for staff.

Whats that got to do with a security guard asking him why/how much money he was carrying?

Frequent flyers should know how to get through security without any hassles.

If I'd been the security man I'd be looking at your bag with extra care.

Erm, nope, does not compute. To make that statement you'd have to prove that someone had tried to get a weapon through security but was prevented by security from succeeding. Can you?

I'm sure you wouldn't be first on the list to be informed if that had happened either.

I was going thru DUS Airport a number of years back, in my wallet not only did I have my own money but I had company funds, which needed to be fully accounted for, and in all my wallet was bulging with some three different currencies.

Security demanded that I hand over my wallet to them for it to go thru the x-ray, I duly removed all the monies from it and went to hand over my, by them empty, wallet. ... Security insisted that all my paper notes go thru the x-ray also, I questioned "you need to x-ray paper now?", they insisted, whilst behind me a queue was now forming, so I insisted that we shall sit down, we shall count all the monies in their different currencies, security shall issue me with a receipt accordingly, at at the other end of the x-ray we shall count all the monies again etc.

Security replied "You're joking?", I replied "You're the one that's f***ing joking mate", with that security called over an airport policeman who merely took a look at my loaded wallet and dictated that I should be allowed to pass thru without further argument.

An interesting thread, but the replies reveal much more about the posters!
I had a similar situation in LAX with a moneybelt - I don't trust myself not to lose a wallet from handbaggage or pocket.

The security operative stopped me after xray arch and asked what I was wearing under my shirt. I revealed the money belt and I insisted that I watch it go into the xray machine and out of the other end. No problem at all. No interest in content as long as it was safe.

I wonder what the reaction of a US citizen would be to being asked how much money he was carrying in a wallet by someone whose job it was to check for arms, dangerous goods etc/ They would not tolerate it and they would be right. Might even resort to law!

The OP was dead right to refuse on the grounds that the demand was entirely outwith the brief of the person asking, as proven subsequently.

The more people comply with such excesses of authority the broader and more intrusive they will become.

Well done robtheblade!