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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To have reported this in the airport

109 replies

TheHyacinthGirl · 01/07/2017 19:02

Waiting in the departure lounge at the airport yesterday and a man sat a few seats down from us repeatedly got up and left his rucksack. He did it the first time and walked over to the toilets, I thought ok fair enough, not something I would do though.
Then he did it a second time a few minutes later, but just walked off out of sight. Nerves started to kick in so I moved DCs away and found a member of staff to report it to, who removed it.
DP said I was over reacting, but I think leaving your bag unattended repeatedly in an airport is totally inappropriate! WIBU for reporting it?

OP posts:

AndTakeYourHorseWithYou · 01/07/2017 21:03

It was a tiny non-European island airport. Not the BA Lounge in Heathrow

So a very low risk for terrorist threat?

sparechange · 01/07/2017 21:05

Petal
It is the same set up in Istanbul, Lagos, Jakarta...

And the left luggage lockers are landslide, but certainly in t5, you can leave your bags unattended n lots of different places - restaurants have cloakrooms, the personal shopping bit has a left luggage bay, you can pay to go into a lounge and leave your bags there...

PetalsOnPearls · 01/07/2017 21:08

Sparechange - I think it was correct to report the unattended luggage as per current security guidelines; if you prefer to ignore potential security threats that's up to you.

PetalsOnPearls · 01/07/2017 21:10

"so a very low risk for terrorist threat?"

Because Europe is the only place that terrorist's have targeted in the last 20 years.

Relating non-european island to a very low risk of terrorism is bloody naive.

AndTakeYourHorseWithYou · 01/07/2017 21:11

No, because tiny non european islands aren't the best target for their purposes.

sparechange · 01/07/2017 21:11

But what about, as fakename said, that luggage is on a shelf?
Or behind the front desk at an airport?

You can surely acknowledge that airpots don't consider screened luggage to be that much of a threat when they build in lots of places to leave it when they design airports

abbsisspartacus · 01/07/2017 21:12

They are if there are Europeans on an airplane

PetalsOnPearls · 01/07/2017 21:14

Not entirely sure why everyone thinks Europeans are the biggest targets of terrorists.

Do you not realise how many people are killed in the Middle East and Africa by terrorists?

willescapesoon · 01/07/2017 21:15

Guitargirl
Put your fucking 'race' card back in your goady pocket eh 👍🏻

Allthebestnamesareused · 01/07/2017 21:20

Tell all the people in the Bali nightclub bombing that a nonEuropean island is a low terrorist risk

AndTakeYourHorseWithYou · 01/07/2017 21:21

Not entirely sure why everyone thinks Europeans are the biggest targets of terrorists

i don't think anyone said they were. The point was more "tiny island" than non european, and earlier comments were regarding the security of airports in Europe vs those elsewhere.

Of course Europeans are not the biggest targets, anyone could tell you that.

FortunaMajor · 01/07/2017 21:32

I work in an airport and regularly call people back to their luggage if I see them walking away from it and explain they can't leave it behind.

I also call the unattended bags number - yes we have an internal hotline for it, so it can be dealt with appropriately if there is no owner in sight.

The risk is minimal after screening, but there is still enough of a risk for it to be taken seriously. You absolutely did the right thing. Many of the recent terrorist incidents in airports were thought to be unlikely until they happened. Security is not infallible.

GabsAlot · 01/07/2017 21:41

dont blam you op espcially after everything thats happened lately

was recently at a concert whre there was an unattended rucksack lft by a seat-they moved us and got the sniffer dog in to verify it was ok then removed it

hope the idiot got bollocked-a few people didnt come back they were too scared

LilQueenie · 01/07/2017 21:44

yanbu. even when laden with shopping clearly marked as such on the bags, I still lug it about at the train station if moving to check a clock or something.

Guitargirl · 01/07/2017 21:46

willescapesoon - I work with victims of racial harassment. Some of them report so-called 'low level' incidents as part of their daily lives for years. Racial profiling is a part of life for many. I asked the question as I was curious if anything like that had played a part here. I also said that I thought the OP had done the right thing in reporting. That apparently makes me 'goady' or 'playing the race card' in your opinion. Ok .

Acornantics · 01/07/2017 21:48

Entirely right to report it. What sort of idiot leaves a bag unattended in any public place these days?
Apart from the potential risk element, what would his reaction been to someone stealing his stuff?

TheFairyCaravan · 01/07/2017 21:54

DH is in the military. I've just asked him and he said he'd have reported it.

When we go anywhere, especially airports, he's on high alert for unattended bags. When he boards the aircraft he checks under my seat, his seat and if the seat next to us if it's still empty, for anything suspicious.

Nowhere is safe from terrorism.

willescapesoon · 01/07/2017 22:02

Guitargirl my family is a mix of white and black skin, several nationalities.
All of us as adults would SHIT themselves at this situation in an airport. Fear due to the risk of terrorism is NOT racism

Guitargirl · 01/07/2017 22:05

Fear due to the risk of terrorism is NOT racism

Um, where did I say this? You seem determined to read something into my posts which is just not there. I said I thought the OP had done the right thing

TrollMummy · 01/07/2017 22:10

YANBU OP, airport security is not infallible. I have mistakenly had liquids and sharp items in hand luggage that have not been picked up. If something doesn't look right, report it and we will all be a lot safer.

willescapesoon · 01/07/2017 22:26

You asked whether the OP was worried by this man because he was Muslim. She was worried about him suspiciously leaving his luggage when it's a worldwide thing NOT to do that in airports.

Guitargirl · 01/07/2017 22:28

you asked whether the OP was worried by this man because he was a Muslim

No I absolutely did not . Please tell me where I said that?

willescapesoon · 01/07/2017 22:50

Am a bit interested though OP in how the man looked? Did that have any effect on you reporting or not?

I stand corrected someone asked you if that's what you meant. Which let's be honest you meant was he Muslim or brown skinned

Guitargirl · 01/07/2017 22:58

Thank you for telling me what I meant. I hadn't realised . I am going to leave this discussion now as it's Saturday night, am tired and I have no interest in arguing further with a stranger on the Internet who for some reason seems determined to make me out to be someone or something am not.

pigsDOfly · 01/07/2017 23:08

Obviously it's right to report luggage that has been left alone but don't suicide bombers tend to stay with their bombs and blow themselves up with them?

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