A News Limited exposé on airport security lapses has the airlines and airports in stitches even before its expected publication tomorrow.
Crikey has been shown a list, readily available from the Office of Transport Security, which News is believed to have paid for through the FOI process, of “aviation incidents” at airports in the past 18 months.
It contains at least 122 incidents, including 43 at Sydney Airport, 30 at Perth, 16 at Melbourne’s Tullamarine, and 15 at Brisbane. Sources say these will be used to blast a scandalous lack of security at the major airports.
But this is where the giggles begin.
It is overwhelmingly a list of detected breaches or attempts to breach airport security.
Such as one detection of knitting needles at Hobart Airport, and at least two knitting needle discoveries at Sydney Airport.
It must have been an exciting moment at Melbourne Airport on January 12 last year when a hand grenade was imaged by hand luggage X-rays. It turned out to be a replica. Would have also been a thrill when a bullet was found on a seat of a jet that had arrived at Melbourne Airport on May 16, last year.
However the list does appear to be somewhat anodyne or incomplete in places.
While the bikie murder in Qantas domestic terminal at Sydney Airport on March 22 last year is noted “assault detected at terminal, four males apprehended”, there appears to be no record of passenger disorder at either Sydney nor Perth after well-reported stuff-ups by various carriers that left passengers stranded late at night.
It is also hard to believe that fewer than 10 people were reported as making inappropriate comments about things such as bombs or hijackings to airline or security staff.
The list seems to be an endorsement of security at Australian airports, in that almost all of the incidents involved people getting caught doing potentially illegal things, such as smuggling toothpaste, or reporting themselves when they realised that it was actually a capsicum spray can in their pocket, or a retracted box cutter.
It includes, however, a small number of large scale screw-ups by security. For example, where people entered the airside part of a terminal through doors only intended to be used as exits, resulting in the massive inconvenience of unloading planes ready to depart and emptying the buildings in order to rescreen everyone who had been inside.
And there are a few mysteries, where passengers self-reported carrying a knife, apparently a small one, only to have it returned to them before boarding their flight. This was also the case at Sydney for a passenger who brought a “properly documented” empty rifle into terminal but “forgot” to empty a magazine not attached to it.
He and the rifle continued their journey together, minus the bullets.
And several passengers and at least one airline employee refused screening, or requested an exemption, and were in each case ejected from the terminal.
There may be a case that airport security in Australia is full of holes and a joke. There is definitely a case to be made that security arrangements in this country are in general theatrical or token in nature.
But the list of reported incidents lends no support to the view that there is a wholesale evasion of security protocols by the public.
Rather it seems that we are going along with sensible and nonsensical security measures at airports, and, apart from a murder and the odd bullet, sword, or tube of toothpaste, behaving ourselves.
While being checked through security it’s funny when that person comes up to you and asks if you object to being screened for bomb residue or chemicals before they wave that thing over you.
If you say yes and object then you risk being turfed out of the airport, but it’s a badly kept secret who they profile the most, just sit back and observe.
I once forgot to remove a very small bottle opener from one of my carry bags. This security person held it up in front of everyone like it was a trophy of war, while shrieking about what damage it could do and doing her best to humiliate me in front of all and sundry.
Even the most slightest and insignificant breach of security at airports these days will be seized upon by the officials as a pretext and justification to implement the most rediculous erosion of civil liberties….I guess that’s what you are saying.
I think it is a ‘marketing’ trick to introduce full body scanners. They are very expensive and basically good for nothing. In Amsterdam they had 15 of those ‘wonders’ installed at the airport; none of them detected the Nigerian ‘bomber’ from London.
I witnessed a very old and fragile man on a wheelchair who was forced to leave the wheelchair to get through the security device. I thought it was so stupid. People are forced to take off their clothes in front of other passangers. A friend of mine was stopped by the security as he was (finally) found to have carried milk in the little milk container given to him by an air hostess to have it with coffee. The little container had a lead lid. But it took quite some time to prove the innocence of my friend. Shocking!
I think we have enough brains and money to afford a humane and reliable security system without humiliating, intimidating and ridiculing passengers.
Two security staff members in London have already been sacked for laughing at a passenger’s ‘big tits’ they watched on the full body scanners. I think the whole device has been designed for pervs. And if a menstruating religious Christian woman passenger refuses to be scanned PUBLICLY she may be refused the flight.
They used to strip search people in the Soviet block. But at least they took random passengers to small rooms out of public eye.
It is a very cruel way to get coerce money for a very unreliable business and has nothing to do with security.
Unless they put full body scanners in every train, bus, private car, in front of every shop and supermarket, hospital, maternity ward, school, kindy, bank, post office, church, and all public buildings we should never feel really secure.
What a bizzo! And what a convenience!
The prohibition on knitting needles and crochet hooks was removed on 25 December 2009. More than 200 Australian knitters and crocheters made submissions to the Aviation White Paper and were successful in getting the ban overturned. The campaign received international attention in the knitting world (and don’t laugh – it’s bigger and more organised than you would think).
“…no record of passenger disorder at either Sydney nor Perth after well-reported stuff-ups by various carriers that left passengers stranded late at night.”
“Passenger disorder” has an ominous ring to it. Do you mean passengers who are legitimately seeking advice and assistance from airlines because their schedules have been disrupted?
There were several ‘situations’ at Perth, including an incursion by the proletariat into the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge.
The list also leaves out one at Canberra Airport where Qantas called the police over after a passenger objected loudly to being denied boarding on an overbooked flight. The police told the airline manager to sort it out himself and walked away. (I wasn’t the passenger involved.)
The full list of incidents has now been posted on my Crikey blog Plane Talking.