“Post ” I have flown within Australia several times and internationally three times. Internationally, I’ve been to airports in the UK, Switzerland, Italy, China and Vietnam and have had various levels of security checks at various airports. Within Australia I’ve flown through Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice Springs and Canberra. At only one place have I ever had any hassles, that is Canberra airport. It doesn’t seem to be a one-off either, it seems that every time I fly through Canberra airport the security staff are the rudest, most obnoxious, most determined to puff up their chests and egos and find some trivial item that must be confiscated because it’s in the rules. When questioned, we get the stock answer: “We’re just following orders…”
Today was no exception; Canberra airport check-in, for the first time in five years I’ve had to take off my belt — the same belt I’ve worn every time at every airport. Yet again I was chosen for a random explosives test — three trips out of Canberra airport, three selections for the bomb-wipe. This time they decided to confiscate Jo’s nail-file! The damn thing was 8cm long and she’s had it for twenty years, its been in her toiletry bag for twenty years, it’s been through the metal detectors any number of times. It was allowed through onto the aircraft leaving New York a week after September 11! But no, mister puffed-up shirt Canberra airport security thug must confiscate this deadly implement.
Perhaps these idiots should walk ten metres past their all-powerful metal detectors and have a look in the airport bar — the airport bar that sells glass bottles of beer that you can take onto the aircraft. Perhaps the security thugs should check up on how many people in the world have been assaulted, threatened and injured with broken bottles versus how many are attacked with nail files. If the nail file is a weapon then so is the headphone cable for an iPod, the nice pointy steel pen and pencil that everyone carries, or the battery in everything from phones to MP3 players to laptop computers….
Perhaps the idiots need to step down their attitude and ridiculous theatrics.
