A friend of mine had a terrible experience at GAtwick airpoort ..what would you have done in her place?

[gypsymummy]

Ok I am going to try and sumamrise the story : a friend of mine travelling yesterday from gatwick airport with her two children experienced first hand the ugly side of the tough security measures that have lately been making a lot of headlines. Her 7 year old son ( who has learning difficulties)was asked to take his shoes off and wouldn't. My friend did her best but the boy would not take his shoes off and flew into a tantrum. So what happens next you ask? The secuirty personnel get all serious and demand the boy takes his shoes off.The mother keeps trying to explain the situation and to her dismay is told: his behaviour is NOT acceptable! They then call a superior security person and then amidst the boy's screaming and howling and kicking and beating four persons pin him down and take the pair of shoes off!!! My poor friend who was also carrying her 4 month old baby was so shocked she just sat and watched. Her son continued to fight and scream and she has bruises all over body because as soon as the shoes came off the boy went ballistic on her. She called me earlier from abroad and is detrmined NEVER to come to the UK again. She has absolutely no problem with security measures she is just horrified at the inhumane, insensitive, harsh and terrorist like behaviour of these airport security personnel. I myself am sizzling. Nothing can excuse this, not even the fact we were just faced with a failed terrorist plot.

It's sad to say, but I think this woman and her family were targetted for being Muslims and living in the Middle East.

And let's not forget that the child who was manhandled like this is a British citizen.

At the opposite end of the scale I had quite a worrying experience at a Spanish airport coming back to the UK 6 years ago.

I was on my own with a toddler. I was keeping the buggy up to the departure gate so it went through the 'personal' security bit with us. As you can imagine it was heavily laden with junk flight essentials. But to my {shock] it didn't go through the metal detectors at all! No-one checked it. It was just wheeled round the side! There was plenty of space to hide guns etc. I then got to wheel it off towards the plane.

I didn't exactly feel very safe on that journey!

Cant there be some hapy medium in all this?

Forever,

Maybe the security guy in Spain made an intelligent assessment of you as a person not being a threat.

Profiling is not just about race, it is about how the ticket was booked, who you are travelling with, your demeanour etc.

I find myself in agreement with Michael O'Leary in relation to the latest incident.

"He railed against ?securicrats? who would try to impose ?some awful new nonsense? which would be ineffective and make flying ?an even more tedious ordeal for the travelling public?. "

Western Govt need to adpt a far more intelligent approach to airport security. Air travel is an essential feature of Western society. I find it astonishing we have people being told to not carry a lipstick on a plane but virtually unchecked packages are being flown in the hold.

I loved flying Virgin last year and DS1 had to hand over some tiny pliers that he had for his art project and we sit down to eat and are given knives and forks. Dh got a steak knife.

I have had sudocrem confiscated which was a bit

Friend who's a flight attendant says the pilots are subject to the same restrictions - which is frankly bizarre as if they wanted to cause a terrorist incident all they need to do is point 'the plane towards terra firma.

Your friend should phone a tabloid - the sun might like it. Or The Mirror.

"make flying ?an even more tedious ordeal for the travelling public?. "" - yeah, Michael O'Leary's all about making flying more pleasant for the travelling public...

I used to work on an aircraft engineering base where most of the engineers had to work airside some of the time.

I remember overhearing two of them talking over an incident the previous day where one of them had been searched on the way into airside and had had the fork from his packed lunch confiscated... while waving through his toolkit full of assorted sharp implements.

Travel business class and you get real glass and proper metal cutlery. Obviously hijackers can't afford the tickets so it's OK.
I think what your friend described is clearly classed as assault. It should be taken up because the airport staff acted beyond their authority.

I don't think it is just because your friend was Muslim.

Last time I flew I think I was one of the few non-Muslim at the airport, seemed that way anyway, there were lots of groups heading to Mecca together.

I was the only one asked to take off my shoes that I saw - they said because they were boots, normal shoes would have been OK.

Unfortunatelty crutches, wheelchairs, nappies, etc, are all known hiding places.

US is not always different. Have had a seven-week old child of mine padded down there. (They did ask gender first to get the right gendered staff member!!)

Security has gone mad right now and I don't think the staff are usually that well trained. Also what they are told to look for changes all the time. They probably all had a "all shoes off, or else" three line whip today.

I think your friend should definitely complain. But I also think she'll need to think of coping strategies with her child, as unfortunately I think airports will continue to be unpredictable and stresful places.

Old thread I know - but pagwatch, noted your comments on Miami airport as I was searching archive threads under 'Miami airport' having recently passed through there and have to concurr they are miserable officious tossers