Traveling in the 21st century - what a pain in the ass, thanks to terrorists and government authorities who are either overzealous, clueless or knowingly trying to confuse the masses with the illusion of security. Airport security is a farce, and to add insult to injury, damn inconvenient to travelers as well. Yes I realize that there are many ‘experts’ on the subject who will say that I (and others) can’t possibly understand the situation or the measures in place without the appropriate background, but we have and can apply common sense to what we see, and what we see is a joke. It’s a joke that costs money in lost time and productivity as well as incredible frustration.
On a more specific note, heading back from London to the US recently, I found their security measures to be even more draconian than flying within the US or even out of it. I have flown from Trinidad back to the States as well as gone from Mexico back to the States multiple times in the past 6 years and never encountered the extent and number of security checks that I did at Heathrow International. I literally had to show my passport and/or boarding pass 6 times before I got on the plane. There were also the laughable random shoe checks: the first one was one step past the bag and X-ray checks where if you got into the ‘right’ line, you went straight past it without a soul checking your shoes. How hard is it for a would-be attacker to game that system? At least we have it right in the States - everyone’s shoes are checked. Next up was the random pat-down at the gate where a screener picked up my shoes and just looked at them. Seriously? That is what you would inconvenience me for? Oh yes, the screener that picked me to get a pat-down and additional bag check had nothing to go on except for my appearance. I’m not against security measures - I am against stupidity.
I do realize that the US probably brought pressure to bear on the British government to ensure this level of security (if you can call it that), but the difference between that and travel security within Europe is stark. Going from one country to another was sometimes as simple as presenting your passport and answering a question or 2. Sure, there were bag and X-ray machine checks, but they were fast and efficient. The case can be made that they were in fact not efficient at all, but let’s face it - unless transportation nodes hire a hell of a lot more staff and in most cases physically expanding, there will always be cases of bad guys slipping through.
There is also the case of travel from other countries. I would hate to think what it’s like to travel from anywhere in the Middle East, North Africa or parts of Asia to the States. As much as I would like to see the rest of the world, I need to think carefully about my next international destinations.
I know you’re chomping at the bit to rant about this, so have your say in the comments.
