Airline Security

But I'm sure as heck not staying in the US...

how long?: permanently! at what cost?: were american airports in a total state of bankruptcy befpore tuesday? i think that the cost of bringing security standards up to er....other standards, whatever it may be, is justifiable and unimportant. im sorry but from the sounds of things security is tighter at russian airports than at american on

There's the argument that lightning doesn't strike twice, then there's the counter-argument that every 'successful' crime inspires copycats, especially when all you need is a plastic knife and the desire to be a martyr.

TV worldwide has been showing that an aeroplane can be a devastating weapon, over and over and over and over and over again. Cheap (because you steal it); easy to obtain; easy to use. And pissed-off little rad-pol groups everywhere are thinking i. Why didn't WE think of that? ii. We just did.

Isn't that a reassuing thought, an armed Arabic-speaker on every flight?

*pulls a Tom Servo-style double take* "Well, I can see how that would...huh?"

I've learned that I'm to be sent to Saudi Arabia to serve a case on someone who's stolen lots of money, too. Shiteing it, moi?

Or do I just look like a drug dealer?

All they found in my bag were McVities biscuits anyway.

And Paul - that IS scary. Back at work our security status has now been upgraded but I can't discern any visible changes. Found out Whitehall wasn't evacuated last week although there seemed to be panic amongst City firms. Oh well. Perhaps the Partners just have certain "fetishes".

Not sure what's going on at work. It must all be paranoia. We do a lot of work with Middle Eastern Banks and the like, which may have spooked the firm. It's only partners and senior solicitors getting such, well, frankly odd treatment.

I have been briefed on the Saudi thing though. Got a memo and I have to wear clothes enabling me to 'blend in'! Errrr.

Irish security is fantastic too. Irish security check according to friend from Cork. Drive off ferry. Guard. Where are you going? Friend. Cork. Guard. Good trip! Friend drives off. Guard checks off "Irish accent. Safe".

Can I just say now that chemical and biological warfare scares me more than anything. Even more than nukes, I think. I think of that horrible Japan nerve gas subway attack and it freaks me out totally.

Have put out some feelers (or indeed claws) to find out what's behind the measures here...

You get a taste of what it's like out there right now, without any of the stress of being stuck. You'll be far better informed afterwards than the rest of us, simply through gauging what peoples' feelings are out there. Take a camera for god's sake.

If I was being sent to Afghanistan I'd be terrified. But Saudi Arabia, for a short period, will be fine.

Here's an idea: meet the thief dude, tell him you'll go awol for £2million, which will give him another month or so to move on, knowing they've found him.

Then take his £2 million and come straight back to work as if nothing happened, as if it went to plan. When he's in prison, start spending the cash. Strange Fruit can buy a venue.

Don't think Chris would pass for me, in all honesty. What I find amusing is that I have to 'blend in' and I have bright red hair!!!! :)

Okay, that was sub-standard even by my non-existant standards...

Um, I am not a lawyer. As you can tell.

Scanners that see through clothing installed in US airports

The ACLU said in a statement that passengers expecting privacy underneath their clothing "should not be required to display highly personal details of their bodies such as evidence of mastectomies, colostomy appliances, penile implants, catheter tubes and the size of their breasts or genitals as a pre-requisite to boarding a plane."

Oh good. Though "Your penis is too small, sir, I can't let you board" arguments would have been fun.

But we get to choose between scans and pat-downs! Our freedoms are still protected!

While it allows the security screeners -- looking at the images in a separate room -- to clearly see the passenger's sexual organs as well as other details of their bodies, the passenger's face is blurred, TSA said in a statement on its website.

Why can't they just look at the passenger to get a good view of their face eh?

Because they're too busy staring at their sexual organs.

so awhile back when i was in an airport i found out i had some broken glass in my bag (dont ask), which i really meticulously removed

then it hit me. GLASS. glass can pass thru metal detectors rite?

isnt there a danger of a terrorist substituting the cardboard cutters w/ shards of broken glass? or a regular glass that theyll break when they get on board? ive def never heard of airlines checking people for carrying GLASS in their carry-ons.

Mayan/Aztec warriors with obsidian machetes are the next 9-11

you can buy glass bottles in the shops once you pass through security, so even if you do get it taken off you, you just need to buy some duty-free vodka or whatever, and you're sorted.

we were talking about this last time we flew - airport security is very reactive rather than proactive. when was the last time you got on a plane with a cigarette lighter being checked? they check liquids in bottles because that was the last specific threat, but lighter fluid is still OK?

did the soles of shoes get checked before the failed shoe-bomber guy? i can't remember.

I think the problem with lighters is that they're banned from hold luggage, for fear of combustion, and stopping people travelling with them altogether would be unworkable.

did the soles of shoes get checked before the failed shoe-bomber guy? i can't remember.

not in the US. There are so many holes in the system, and you're right that it's completely reactive. I'm still non-plussed that you couldn't bring an eyelash curler onboard for nearly a year. I don't own one, but damn wouldn't you have to really be determined to hurt someone with one of those?

i think lighters are now allowed, actually.

i remember because the sign was so ludicrous.

http://www.onedigitallife.com/images/lighters-breastmilk.jpg

Lighters and Breast Milk! Far better than Guns n Roses.

lighters are allowed as well, yeah

in fact you cd probably make some kinda lighter-grenade pretty easily & security wd just be like hey its a lighter fuckit let'im thru

ty tobacco industry!

I also really like the flames on those lighters. They appear to be made of crayon wax.

loooool that sign

to clarify, lighters are not only not banned from hold luggage but allowed on-board iirc

haha yeah I remember posting that from the TSA website last year!! NEW POLICIES FOR LIGHTERS AND BREAST MILK ARE NOW IN EFFECT. you can't make this shit up ppl

It's all such a scam, isn't it? "We can't do anything to ACTUALLY keep you safe, so we'll make everybody take their shoes off and dump their shampoo."

See, this is why they should make IUDs that look like 45 adapters. Now someone would be able to see them!

Lighters have always been allowed - that was my point, they banned liquids because some guy talking about using liquids to blow up planes, but lighters, a nice easy portable vehicle for liquids, never got stopped, in this country (the UK) at least. or, if they were banned at any point, no-one tried very hard to find them in hand luggage/jacket pockets etc.

portable vehicle for liquids and WAY TO SET FIRE TO THINGS, that should say.

Ahh they were banned here. But yeah I guess prventing fire-setting devices isn't a priority? Clearly the metal underwires of my bra demand more attention.

That US policy on lighters in full:

Lighter Timeline

When dealing with security issues, threats evolve. In aviation, terrorists hijacking and diverting planes was the threat for decades. On 9/11, aircraft were used as weapons, and recent plots have included liquid explosives. Below is a timeline of the evolution of the lighter ban.

* December 21, 2001 - Richard Reid made a failed attempt to detonate an improvised explosive device in his shoe onboard a Paris to Miami flight. His shoe-bomb device malfunctioned and he was overpowered by cabin crew and passengers. He was using matches as an ignition source.
* In an effort to address this threat, TSA soon required travelers to remove their shoes for security screening.
* December 17, 2004 – The President signs into law the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 which, among other measures, requires TSA to add "butane lighters" to its prohibited items list. (Torch lighters have long been prohibited for hazmat reasons.)
* March 31, 2005 – TSA recognizes Congressional intent and adds all common lighters to the prohibited items List.
* The United States becomes the only nation in the world to prohibit lighters from carry-on luggage.
* April, 2005 – Lighters immediately become the number one prohibited item surrendered at checkpoints across the country – at times, almost 39,000 a day.
* October 4, 2006 -- Congress passes the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act which gives the TSA administrator the discretion NOT to enforce the lighter ban.
* August 4, 2007 -- Common lighters are no longer banned from carry-ons.

to clarify, lighters are not only not banned from hold luggage but allowed on-board iirc

Unless they're empty, or held in a special protectiv case then they are banned from hold luggage, if not globally then widely. It's just not much enforced. From the TSA again:

Common Lighters - Lighters without fuel are permitted in checked baggage. Lighters with fuel are prohibited in checked baggage, unless they adhere to the Department of Transportation (DOT) exemption, which allows up to two fueled lighters if properly enclosed in a DOT approved case. If you are uncertain as to whether your lighter is prohibited, please leave it at home.

I'm confused about whether UK airports ever banned lighters from hand luggage. This, from Edinburgh Airport, claims that they still are!

Christmas crackers, party poppers, cigarette lighters and non-safety matches may not be carried in either cabin or hold baggage.

No, you can still take a disposable with you, but you have to have it on you rather than in your bag or whatever. Madness!

However one disposable butane fuelled lighter can be carried on your person.

You mean I can't have my washbag in hand luggage because it contains such lethal items as TOOTHPASTE and TWEEZERS but I could go onboard with the broken lighter I threw out last month because it was permanently set to disturbing 6" high fireball mode?

yep, because no-one tried to blow a plane up with one yet.

permanently set to disturbing 6" high fireball mode

haha i used to do that to other people's lighters all the time

I think the problem with lighters is that they're banned from hold luggage, for fear of combustion, and stopping people travelling with them altogether would be unworkable.

I made the stupid mistake of telling security we had some lighter liquid in our luggage. I started freaking out: thinking the plane would explode. *sigh*

Did someone try to tweeze the captain to death once?

I wouldn't mind except now easyjet charge you for bringing hold luggage, but there are useful things that can only be in hold luggage even if you're just going for a rucksackable length of time. S'pose you're meant to re-buy everything in the airport Boots/Superdrug and then abandon it at the other end.

also weird, different UK airports allow different sizes of cosmeticy liquidy things - when we flew Glasgow - London City last year my husband was allowed his can of deodorant through security in Glasgow but wasn't allowed to take it back home through LCY.

I have a clear plastic one-liter container with a zip thing and when departing Berlin I got opprobrium from the security officer of the 'in Germany we use plastic bags LIKE THIS, on your next visit blah blah blah' so I hit him back with 'thank you for the kind advice, who knew varieties of clear one-liter PVC containers were such a rivetting subject for discussion?'

as well you should as the rule is for a bag not bigger than 15cm square.

My bag was well within the guidelines, which is why I felt aggrieved enough to mention it now. Strangely, other security bods have actually complimented me on THE SAME BAG so I'll go with one-off dude being all happy about his small position of authority. Also smiley passive aggression, it does not work on the Minnesotans for some strange reason. I wonder why that is?

In a major change of policy, the Transportation Security Administration has announced that passengers refusing to show ID will no longer be able to fly. The policy change, announced on Thursday afternoon, will go into force on June 21, and will only affect passengers who refuse to produce ID. Passengers who claim to have lost or forgotten their proof of identity will still be able to fly.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13739_3-9962760-46.html?tag=nefd.top

Ha - that's hilarious.

I just flew twice with expired ID. The first time, they made step aside for a stricter search, wanding with the detector thing, hand-search of my carry-on. The second time the guy said, "Naw, no problem. We don't do anything if it's within a year of expiration."

Do you really not need ID to fly within the US? That's just bizarre.

I mean, over here you need photographic ID (drivers' licence or passport) for any flight at all.

Oh boy, I get to go through all this today.

Just say you forgot it!

i've always wanted to go by ship. and if a passenger ship wasn't available for my budget, i'd "work my way" over. i'm not sure what skills i have that would be useful on a cargo ship but i'm sure i could think of something. i know all the words to "long black veil" for instance.

i've heard varying reports of how easy or difficult this is to do. it sounds like if you're not a sailor or engineer or something, then you're probably an insurance liability, but if you know some sketchy dudes or old salts they might hook you up.

My dad is currently working on a ship on the New York-Southampton route.

One of the old NYC crew took a freighter from the West Coast of the US to Australia, Nick. I think it took about 5 weeks? It wasn't exactly cheap once she threw in the cost of Amtrak from NYC to LA, I don't think, but I guess it's normal to reserve a few passenger cabins on freighters for less than a cruise ship passage.

i know all the words to "long black veil" for instance.

Congratulations you have won an entertainer's job on a low budget country and western cruise.

The idea of travelling to the states by freighter has always appealed but research shows that as a passenger on a freighter it is quite expensive. You can get to Reikjavik by rail ferry and road but making the bridge to greenalnd or newfoundland is difficult.

by "expensive" you mean actual money being paid?

several times more than the cost of flying but you get two weeks full board on a container ship.

http://www.freighterworld.com/places/transatl.html

o_o

TALL SHIP DO YOU SEE

no ID required to travel domestically in the US

I must say I like the idea of Duluth to Europe:

http://www.freighterworld.com/places/greateur.html

yeah you can travel as a passenger on a lot of freight ships, for pay

actually working yr way over isnt very feasible

weren't the 9/11 flights domestic? that policy is sorta cray-zay.

I am actually going to be looking for tall ship jobs in the fall. I don't have impressive amounts of sailing experience, and applying in the low season may be unlucky, but wouldn't it be totally amazing if it worked out? (Not for Atlantic crossings though, that's pretty uncommon for tall ships)

no ID required to travel domestically in the US

I've been asked to show govt issued photo ID for every domestic flight I've taken since 9/11. Granted, I've always had it with me and never refused to give it to them, but the airline checks it at the counter and the TSA checks it prior to heading into the baggage scanner/metal detector area.

Do you choose blue, green or EXTREME BLACK DIAMOND security

http://media.idahostatesman.com/smedia/2008/05/30/14/835-0530_online_airport.standalone.prod_affiliate.36.jpg

Expert Traveller woman looks seriously pissed-off.

Expert traveller woman is probably pissed off at the person in front of her unable to do the shoes jacket laptop carryon dance in double quick time

wtf, anyway? Casual Traveller, does that mean "happy to stand in looong queues and get pissed about by airport security because I'm not Ms Arms Akimbo Hissy Fit Expert Traveller"?

i think she looks very proud of herself

expert travellers don't need luggage, obviously, unlike losers who take their family on holiday, or bother to pack stuff.

Familes aka Mr & Mrs "It Is So Important That We Take Our 3-Month-Old Baby On This Long-Haul Flight".

Ban air travel for kids under 4 8 18

great numbers to pick for strike-thru there mister.

so FIVE people were detained in two separate plane incidents for taking too long in the lav yesterday?

FREEDOM

Fighter jets! Making out!

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29151212/detail.html

that's a lot of boxes checked off the purity test all at once

so FIVE people were detained in two separate plane incidents for taking too long in the lav yesterday?

teenaged me would have been locked up for years if this were probable cause

I assume the story that two "people" were making out means they were men, or that TSA was unable to determine their gender.

"making out" was what was in quotes. i was assuming that meant at least a bj.

Swimmer with broken jet-ski walks undetected into JFK, crosses two runways.

http://www.wjno.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=104668&article=10338959

Our long national nightmare is over, etc.:

T.S.A. to Let Travelers Keep Their Shoes On, Ending Hated Rule
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/travel/tsa-shoes-removal-airport-security.html

I just went thru security at DCA 20 min ago with a stainless steel frying pan in my bag. Needless to say the x-ray picked it up. They let it go but said other airports might not be so forgiving.

PreCheck made life easier.

We missed a connection in Amsterdam. We had two full hours and it wasn't enough. About 90% of the blame I lay at passport control, with Schiphol staff abandoning all idea of their usually efficient short connection track + the fact that two of us couldn't go through the automated control. 10% was security, where the new machines are so good that any liquid or small electronic device gets picked up and they are very zealous at opening one bag after the other to show you what you forgot at the start the line when you were busy juggling bags and emptying your pockets. Don't think a single passenger in front of us didn't see their bags opened, and we fared no better.

I just went thru security at DCA 20 min ago with a stainless steel frying pan in my bag. Needless to say the x-ray picked it up. They let it go but said other airports might not be so forgiving.

I'm enjoying the thought of someone hijacking a plane wielding a frying pan, Looney Tunes style. Probably wouldn't be so amusing in reality.

Modern-day Ned Kelly.

“They should feel relieved knowing that technology has advanced so significantly that T.S.A. officers can detect threats while wearing shoes,” he added. “In the old days, this wasn’t the case.”

TSA were barefoot yokels you heard it from him

But how are the officers going to count past 10 now?