Airport Security TodayAirports were difficult enough to navigate before security measures began to change from one trip—and one airport—to the next. Terror threats may never escape our minds or our headlines, but have they rendered air travel safer than ever or simply more confusing?
August saw some restrictions lifted as lighters and breast milk became permitted in carry-on luggage, and other measures tightened as DVD players and video game consoles became subjected to the same screening processes as laptop computers. Other practices changed, too; while the Transportation Security Administration says it does not conduct ethnic or religious profiling, it now warns that all head coverings face “the possibility of additional security screening.”
Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member World_Explorer
Despite the TSA’s efforts, and a commendable record, it’s hard not to question the agency’s fluctuating measures at times (those 3-ounce containers, for example). I’m the last person to panic in any situation, but when I saw someone alert a TSA employee of an admittedly suspicious backpack left in the middle of the Atlanta airport last year, he told everyone to ignore it and walked away, presumably to screen bags. But then how diligently did the screening go? Überblogger Matt Mullenweg reports he was stopped only one of the four times last month that he traveled with a two-inch blade in his carry-on bag.
TSA head Kip Hawley echoes many travelers’ sentiments when he jokingly concedes in one enlightening interview that “screening ideas are indeed thought up by the Office for Annoying Air Travelers and vetted through the Directorate for Confusion and Complexity.” He goes on to explain the actual thought behind certain security regulations, but to what extent do you agree with his original statement? Which of today’s measures make perfect sense, and which are a waste of time?
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Comments
While I wouldn't go so far as to call it a waste of time, I've always been hazy on the liquid ban/policies. What automatically renders something safe just because it is three ounces or less? The conspiracy theorist in me thinks this was a scheme cooked up by the trial-size industry to get us to buy all their little samples and containers.
I completely agree that the rules for liquids are suspect. I recently ran out of quart-size plastic bags and put my one 2-ounce liquid product into a gallon-size plastic bag instead--and was told at the security checkpoint that I absolutely had to find a quart-size bag for it or I couldn't carry it on. My one item! I realize how difficult it must be to regulate these things, but really...
The other day, my boyfriend had his contact lens drops confiscated at security in Ecuador -- and they were in a 1oz bottle!
No rhyme or reason, as far as I can tell. But god knows, I'm sure you could do some serious damage on board with a trial-size bottle of eye drops. Um, NOT.