Airport security workers - is anyone actually trying to bring anything dangerous through airports these days??

[CassandraBarrett]

Perhaps I have the job title wrong - I mean the people that check your hand luggage to make sure there's no contraband.

I can understand scanning for knives/guns. Though from reading Jack Reacher I think ceramic weapons are a thing and won't set off the beeper?

But to have so many people wait for so long while customs checks the half centimetre of warm water that lies forgotten in a bottle. Or re-scans the lip balm in a hand bag (not a liquid, a solid!) Or the last little inch of nappy cream in a banjaxed tube.

What's the point?? Are these things genuinely potentially dangerous (or could dangerous things be disguised thus)?

How many attempts have airport security fended off in the last 20+ years?

I would love to know if it's a massive waste of time or if there have been more terrorist attempts that the general public are blissfully unaware of....

Toy guns aren't allowed at all so the other water pistol probably was missed.

I had stuff missed the last time I went through - it was the way back and I was tired and forgot to re-pack the nose drops, lip balm and nappy cream into the clear bag, none of it got flagged up.

My dad took us to Spain in probably 2000 I think and he took an airbed pump in a case, this was before they separated electronics. They took him aside and asked him to explain what it was and he was struggling with Spanish so started to mime and said "To blow up?" His face and the security person's face when he realised what he had said but luckily they understood that he meant inflate rather than explode!

I'm quoting myself now but the "Ha! Gotcha!" attitude from the security guy really annoyed me when I was recently flying when he discovered the half inch of tepid water in the bottle in the side of DC rucksack... Like, sorry dude, I didn't realize we had half an inch of tepid water. You haven't foiled the crime of the century. You haven't caught me in a massive lie. I'm juggling kids, coats, bags, buggies. It's a dribble of water. There's no need to be a dick.

(I'm sure he thought the same about me 🤣)

I flew through Munich airport a couple of weeks ago and they wanted all phone charges and power banks out of the bag and in a plastic bag in the tray!

I hike a lot and it turned out I had a penknife in an infrequently used pocket in my rucksack. It must have been there for a few years at least. It had flown in and out of various airports in the UK and Europe until it was eventually spotted and confiscated in Zurich.

On a related but slightly different topic, I've done three trips recently within Schengen. Checked in online, straight to security (bar code on boarding pass scanned) then on to the gate. There were automated gates at the gate to scan the boarding pass. Obviously it's Schengen so there's no passport control BUT I was wondering when it became possible to travel all over the place without showing any ID whatsoever. Pre-pandemic they checked your passport against the name on the boarding card.
I could have been absolutely anyone - could have been someone on the no-fly list who got a friend to book in their name. Or I could have made up a name.
I thought the whole thing was a bit odd to be honest!

You can carry cigarettes and a lighter through security, is that right? Can you buy cigarettes and a lighter beyond security? You can also buy alcohol beyond security. One could probably do some damage with a bottle of alcohol and a lighter if they so wished.

@ilukp I specifically asked if I needed to take out my charger and showed the guy and he said no!! (Not Munich)

I didn't realize passports were no longer needed in Schengen areas

@DPN I'm not sure if you're allowed lighters through but my mate had 2 and only got one taken off him. Oh and at one airport there was a smoking area right before boarding the plane. So people definitely have lighters. Molotov cocktail anyone?!

Or a lighter and hairspray/deodorant like in my school gym changing rooms when I was a teenager and the cool girls nearly set us all ablaze

I used to work in an airport and the things some people tried to take on planes was ridiculous.

We ceased so many known dangerous objects and weapons. You have to work there to believe it to be honest.

Also you might not think it but things like motor scooter batteries etc are really high fire risk if they are not disconnected and stored correctly on planes.

Given the world we live in these days, I would much rather airport security be over thorough than not thorough enough! Sadly dangerous things can be hidden in everyday items which is why things are so strict.

Also the things people think they need with them on a 2 hour plane journey is ludicrous!

I flew from Shannon in the summer and I didn’t have a limit on water in my hand luggage. Brilliant.

@VeronicaFranklin so interesting! I didn't realize about fire risk things.

Would you have found weapons every day/hour/week?
I know every tenth person probably had an accidental hidden pen knife, but were there many deliberately dodgy weapons?

What was the craziest thing you ever found?

Have you ever found a run of the mill family (like mine with the accidental inch of water) to be a cover for a serious attempt at damage? Or is it easy to see that a frazzled mum with 3 kids is genuine?

In the United States the checks pick up a lot of guns, many loaded. From January to 3 October 2021 4495 passengers were stopped carrying guns is hand luggage.

TSA press release
(US government department for transport safety )

Oh yes this was amazing when you'd just had a very messy weekend in the dam!

I don't get the liquids thing. They confiscated my lip balm but didn't even swab my insulin bottles. I felt safest in Australia where they swabbed my insulin pump for explosives and asked to see where the pump was connected to my body. I always comply to any request because a. It gets me through quicker and b. I actually feel safer if they check people like me.

This has just reminded me... flying to Mexico from Manchester and in my ds hand luggage I packed his little water pistol, looked like a gun on the scanner, I got a right bollocking absolute prat

In 2008-ish despite our pleas Gatwick Airport said we had to bin the only zinc and castor oil cream that didn't give DD a rash. Ironically. We had to spend a small fortune in Paphos to get something that wouldn't irritate.

I once got stopped in Venice airport and discovered my metal medical bracelet was setting off the arch thingy. Same airport, DH had to virtually undress before being allowed to proceed! (Belt buckle)

But we've carried too much fags and booze all the time...waved through.

I'm meant the risk that a broken bottole poses. no tweezers but here's your own maiming device...

If they didn't check anything, there would be more attempts to bring actual weapons through wouldn't there. Its a deterrent. And if they're not picking up actual weapons then it's still working to stop people.

Airport security is annoying

Because there is no one in the hold to mix two liquids together or add a powder to a liquid.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines_Flight_63_(2001)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Northwest_Airlines_Flight_253_bombing_attempt#Preparation

Flying back from the Middle East in a RAF transport plane, one of our pilots was stopped by the RAF Police (who did the air transport security) and had his nail file confiscated. 24 hours earlier, not only had he been flying his own aircraft whilst carrying a loaded pistol, but the plane itself had several large bombs attached to it.

Totally this

Um...but that day he was a passenger so what would he expect.... and TBH the rules on the surface can appear much dafter than that.

Operating crew get screened before going airside to operate their own flights...ever asked your self why?

One reason given by some who haven't thought it through is it is done to ensure that the crew don't have anything on them that could allow them to take control of the flight..........now think about that, especially in the context of the pilots.

( There are some actually some sensible reasons that I won't list)

I have to say that since crew (and many ground staff) have to put up with screening every working day some might have limited sympathy with some of the grumbles being listed upthread, whilst also recognising that the process is a PITA... the new scanners are very welcome.

He expected exactly that to happen, and didn’t complain about it at all. I just enjoyed the irony. But I hope you had a lot of fun too typing your long reply.

I'm sure he enjoyed the irony but TBF others here probably won't have understood and perhaps though the Police were being overly picky... and I know some passengers don't realise that crew get screened at all, hence the length of the reply.

Once you're in the air there are no police. No paramedics. There's nowhere to run. If they stopped searching people's bags thoroughly then the chances of something awful happening will increase. Most people looking to cause a lot of damage do it on land because airport security is so tight. Remove that strict security and that might change.

I got stopped for a corkscrew I forgot was in my bag, had meant to put it in my checked luggage