Airport
insecurity rant: why is it worse than ever before
Friday, October 12.
Pre-9/11, I could get into RDU and onto a flight to LGA within 45 minutes. On 10/12, when the new, "increased" security measures were in place, including the national guard presence, I flew again from RDU to LGA for a 7 a.m. flight. I arrived 3 hours ahead, anticipating long processing at the ticket counter and security (and every minute was needed).
The distressing thing was, after waiting on the long security line to get to the x-ray machines with the low-paid, undertrained screeners on the job, my small shoulder satchel sailed through, barely spending 7-10 seconds tops on the belt through the machine and out to the other side.
No one asked me to empty my bag or asked about anything. I expected, actually wanted them to do so because it was stuffed to gills, and contained the following:
* wallet
* cell phone and charger
* pda (palm pilot)
* palm pilot keyboard
* mp3 player
* 35 mm camera
* digital camera
* batteries
* pills/medicines not in the original containers
* insulin pen preloaded (i'm diabetic)
* syringes
That the last two items weren't scrutinized is frightening. I could have gotten aboard my flight and used the syringe to disable the flight attendant, a pilot, etc. It could have been filled with a poison or something. I thought patients with such devices had to provide confirmation or prescriptions or something. even show a medicalert ID. _anything, something_.
Never mind the jumble of electronic devices that could have had dubious uses. the security person "scanning" the bag had no time to really identify what what in there.
I got the feeling they just wanted to herd as many people onto the planes as quickly as possible and "security" was just the presence of the national guard brandishing weapons and barking for folks to put their coats, jackets and laptops on the belt.
I'd like to blame this on RDU's lack of security, but on my return flight from LGA on the 14th, the same bag sailed through unquestioned on the screener's xray belt again.
The bottom line is I don't mind the extra time, if it's actually representing extra security. It currently isn't and they aren't screening what's going into the belly of the plane (and haven't done background checks on workers with access to the plane), so god knows what could be put on board.
It'll be some time before I can feel safe flying under those conditions. I just want the truth.
What a Photoshop hoax. Materialized on the Web in record time after 9/11.
Back to the second operation.