Airport security check gone wrong

[meg_tdj]

Hi, all

Comments

[longlivehumour]

If he can get his co-workers to cooperate (what's the protocol when your colleague says "I think I heard this man mention bombs"?) there's quite a lot he could do without patting him down himself. It's likely B isn't aware he could ask to change line, or simply doesn't want the hassle. Think of all the little things that make you tense at airport security, and then imagine all of them happening together:
- ordered to repack tray because electronics aren't fully displayed / carry-on bag should be in a tray
- asked to remove shoes / belt / jacket
- randomly selected for full-body scanner (stand in yet another queue)
- full-body scanner doesn't like you, selected for pat-down (more waiting)
- luggage extensively searched (from the ages of 10 to 13 my rucksack was completely dismantled, usually because of pens with metal caps)

I'm not sure how much wiggle room there is for irregularity, but I suspect it's quite a lot. Personal anecdote time: my disabled mother had her stick taken away from her, was made to remove her shoes, and was made to stand first on one leg, then the other. She told them flatly that she couldn't. Regulations state she should have been allowed a substitute walking stick, so she got a plastic stick half a metre long.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/Airport-security-campaign-The-high-price-of-safety/ (scroll to the end for passenger comments)
http://listentothepeople.co.uk/airline-complaints/london-heathrow-lhr-complaints.html

Full-body scanners might give you some play:
http://www.civilrightsmovement.co.uk/consequences-for-refusing-full-airport-body-scan.html
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/mar/24/airport-worker-warned-body-scanner

[bopeepsheep]

At Heathrow I've been allowed to hang on to the side of the scanner, have my stick put through the x-ray, and then either a security guard offers an arm for me to go through or they hold my stick so that I can grab it through the scanner and walk through (the stick staying on the scanned side). This works because I don't need my stick right by my hip in order to move, so isn't a solution for everyone. But Heathrow is particularly good for disability awareness/assistance in my personal experience.

[meg_tdj]

Thanks, that's incredibly helpful!