The pitfalls of airline security

Airline security seems to become more irrational every day. After 9/11, a lot of new rules were introduced.

For instance, consider the security check before boarding. It is adamant and removes all nail scissors regardless of size, but as soon as you board the aircraft, the steward gives you a breakable glass bottle with a smile and offer you to buy more in the tax-free. A Molotov cocktail kit can be yours for a few bucks. In fact, there are often sharper plastic knives in the air than there are penknives on the ground.

They are also very suspicious about any liquids brought on board, unless you place it in a bottle and say it’s for your little child. For some reason they seem to believe that people with children are incapable of performing bad things.

Some airlines has removed row 13 since it means bad luck, but they seem to follow some rules that are worse than superstition.

Arm slides, cross check and report.

The flight crew has also been affected by the enforced rules. After 9/11, the pilots were locked into their flight decks and the stewards have to remember odd passwords to enter.

Passengers can of course be equally irrational. I read recently about an American architect going to a plane at JFK, who had to change t-shirt prior to boarding because it contained Arabic text which supposedly frightened passengers.

On another flight going from Spain to England, passengers were requesting the removal of a passenger since he kept looking at his watch.

Down the drain at Singapore Changi.

I understand the very real threat, but I believe it would be wise to beat the bad guys by applying smart security instead of panic-enforcing yet another restriction.