Security Jobsworth @ LHR T2

Coming through LHR T2 yesterday (btw, no fast-track at T2), I'd done my usual trick to save time of already putting all my wallet and metal gubbins in my carry-on, and taking out my laptop (but keeping it in it's foam "sleeve").

I've been through T3 twice in the past month with my laptop "unpacked" like this, and no-one has batted an eyelid.

Yesterday, some jobsworth at the entrance to the security line - the one who tries to "pre-screen" for dangerous half-empty tubes of gel and liquid - asked me the usual questions about the banned items, and then stopped me and said I couldn't have my laptop out as it counted as "two items of hand luggage".

I was pretty shocked by this, becuase it hadn't been a problem through T3 (well through T3 fast-track anyway) on two occasions in the past month.

I did explain that I was doing it to save time for them, me, and for everyone behind in the line, but apparently, that wasn't good enough.

So, I had to repack my carry on bag, taking my jacket out (because I'd popped it into the laptop "slot"), only to get the sodding laptop out again 30 seconds later.

How stupid can you get?

The interesting thing leaving T3 & T1 is that we were asked to take shoes off, whereas leaving T2 yesterday, we weren't.

So, of course, the real problem is that while there are rules, they are either different from place to place, or not even applied consistently in the same place.

It just goes to show that it's mostly "security theatre". Just how much of it is really just for show in order to make us feel safe/scared (delete as applicable, depending on how cynical you feel).

Cheers,
Mike

[RichardMannion]

Mike,

We know the score - BAA wouldn't know consistency if it ran them over. What they do know though is stupidity. WHen we were travelling last month, I admired the stupidity and wondered if the ring master was ill as we were told not to partake in the shoe carnival, and witnessed stupidity such as you reported. It then dawned on me what qualifications one would need to puruse a career in security at a UK airport as a solitary GCSE would be distinct overkill. I can imagine the posting now:

Have you never travelled anywhere before?
Common Sense not so common to you?
Empathy and courtesy - what ever would those posh words mean?
Relish in rudeness?
Then we'd love to talk to you - BAA.

Thanks,
Richard

Doesn't it rather remind you of the question: Are you or have you ever been a member of the Nazi party?

That's madness. No-wonder they are in susch a mess.

Originally posted by RichardMannion
Have you never travelled anywhere before?
Common Sense not so common to you?
Empathy and courtesy - what ever would those posh words mean?
Relish in rudeness?
Then we'd love to talk to you - BAA

Or, there's the American version for our Terminally Senseless A*:

Have you never traveled anywhere before, not even out of your home town?
Common sense not something your ancestral line ever heard of?
Empathy, courtesy, and speed mean nothing to you (or perhaps you have heard of the drug 'speed' but have never availed of it)?
Have taken every course there is on rudeness? Scored straight A's?
Then we have a pre-approved job waiting for you at TSA!
IQs over 50 declined as a matter of policy...

I love to travel. I detest many of the TSA workers at my usual airports. But I think that's obvious...[:w]

'Skyport' has been running job adverts recently for security positions at Heathrow. What is particularly annoying for me is that they earn more than me!

While I'm outside in all weathers, they're inside, in the warm. And better paid!

However, I should point out that it is the DfT who make the rules, not the BAA. It is the BAA who enforce the rules, and they probably (?) hate them as much as we do.

Within the last three weeks I have flown from Hethrow T3 (please take shoes off) - JFK (leave on) - Gatwick ("no sir those shoes are OK" - note the same shoes I was wearing at Heathrow)- Krakow where i could leave my shoes on but had to have my laptop scanned twice - two separate machines switch it on to show it really was a lap top and it worked, Bristol no need to remove shoes, Brussels no need to remove shoes.

i know these are not all BAA but surely there should be some consistency?

BAA actively change security policy at the checks, they do this deliberately... their argument is that inconsistency is actually of benefit to them in keeping the terrorists on their toes.

And the passengers are left not knowing what to do!

Originally posted by V-Ben
BAA actively change security policy at the checks, they do this deliberately... their argument is that inconsistency is actually of benefit to them in keeping the terrorists on their toes.

And the passengers are left not knowing what to do!

And neither do their staff!

Really V-Ben, it's a joke.

My current gripe, witnessing this recently at T3 Fast Track, is that the useless and un-customer friendly organisation that it is they can't even provide seats for people to sit and put their shoes back on. Easy for me, but not for all.

Passed through T3 fast track week before last... shoes off and lappy out, but what really amused me was the family travelling with two young kids in two pushchairs in front of me. What a rigmorole they had to go through, the pushchairs block the xray machine as they only fitted with some careful handling, even the poor kids had to have their size 0 soft shoes taken off. And of course there was the ritual milk tasting ceremony.

I flew out of Mumbai a week later, where they obviously operate some rudimentary kind of profiling as myself and other western looking people just had the basic xray and frisk, where as the locals had almost complete bag searches.

Racist or not, I think it is time to operate some kind of profiling in the UK.... White Anglo Saxon Protestant family with 2.4 children, I#12288;think it is probably common sense that they aren't going to Hijack the flight.... but maybe they'll spend too long in the loo changing nappies!

Our recent trips through LGW with junior have been stressful and and we are used to flying with him. One line was shoes off, another was shoes on, of course we picked the shoes off line. Work that one out.
Despite being on a connecting flight from GLA we were not able to use flight connections so had to go landside and go through security again. Flying through the UK is becoming uncomfortable to say the least.

Iain

Ah the joys!

What a total plonker

The hole Security dont work anyway!!

I hate T2. Im going in the morning to TLV via FRA. Will report back...

I witnessed an even more eye popping situation at T1 last Thursday,BA's zone R premium security point was very fast and efficient,shoes off, laptop out in sleeve, watch off but all together in one tray no problems.When we were airside heading for the gate there was another full blown security screening point and it was backed up for miles. We had left the lounge on the first call,but it was obvious we were not going to get to the gate on time(as well as most of the other PAX for the flight.The answer simple a BAA guy just opened up a rope and waved about 100 people around the screening point,no more late pax,what a total shambles.

Originally posted by jaguarpig
I witnessed an even more eye popping situation at T1 last Thursday,BA's zone R premium security point was very fast and efficient,shoes off, laptop out in sleeve, watch off but all together in one tray no problems.When we were airside heading for the gate there was another full blown security screening point and it was backed up for miles. We had left the lounge on the first call,but it was obvious we were not going to get to the gate on time(as well as most of the other PAX for the flight.The answer simple a BAA guy just opened up a rope and waved about 100 people around the screening point,no more late pax,what a total shambles.

Is this the secondary screening point down towards the end? I've wondered what the point of this one is myself. Anyone know why it's necessary? Do arriving or transit pax have access or something?

Howard

Is this the secondary screening point down towards the end? I've wondered what the point of this one is myself. Anyone know why it's necessary? Do arriving or transit pax have access or something?

Yes that's the one, I did ask what it was for and was told it's necessary because arriving pax can mix with departing pax.

Originally posted by Howard Long
Is this the secondary screening point down towards the end? I've wondered what the point of this one is myself. Anyone know why it's necessary? Do arriving or transit pax have access or something?

Apparently, this security search is required for that block of gates (25-30) whenever there are arriving passengers, because there is no segregation of arriving and departing passengers at the end of the travelators in that area - there is segregation on the travelators themselves, and segregation within the gate area, but there's an "unclean" area in the middle.

Of course, I'm not entirely sure why it's necessary to rescreen someone who just got off a plane and is already in the restricted area, in order to stay in the terminal and get straight on another plane (e.g. the flight connections farce at LHR).

Is there any surprise that people avoid transiting through the UK like the plague?

Way to go BAA and the DfT.

Mike

I have said it before on forums but there has never been a case of ANY parents using there children as co-suicide bombers, so why check 2.4 childeren families the same as a middle eastern male travelling alone with tickets bought at the last minute. I am not been racist but screening is not racist it is sensible. Most police forces use intelligence led policing profiling previous criminals to pick out patterns. You can point out Richard Reid etc but he was not stopped by security but by other pasengers.

Originally posted by jaguarpig

Is this the secondary screening point down towards the end? I've wondered what the point of this one is myself. Anyone know why it's necessary? Do arriving or transit pax have access or something?

Yes that's the one, I did ask what it was for and was told it's necessary because arriving pax can mix with departing pax.

Does this presumably mean that we don't trust the security at countries from which these passengers arrive from, in that they could pass items to departing passengers already screened? If this is the case we should be told which countries we (as in our authorities) don't believe screen passengers to our standards ...

Does this presumably mean that we don't trust the security at countries from which these passengers arrive from, in that they could pass items to departing passengers already screened? If this is the case we should be told which countries we (as in our authorities) don't believe screen passengers to our standards ...

I have encountered this before at CDG, off of the plane into the airside lounge never going landside, then back onto the same plane via an airside full security screening,must again be for mixed departing and arriving pax.
At CDG everyone goes through the security point no matter how long the line is.If it's necessary then everybody should get screened,obviously the way people are waved around this point at LHR means it is a load of B*****.

Having flown a mix of flights recently in Y and J on my long journey back to Seoul from London, with either 20 or 30kg luggage allowances I have had to be creative with stuffing the excess weight in my handluggage, especially when there are restrictions on carrying my usual case load of showergel and deoderant out to the far east.
Anyway, to help with this I bought a small shoulder bag to take some of the strain off my standard sized dell laptop bag.
Seperately I got grief for them being two peices of luggage, so I resolved this by some creative clipping together of shoulder staps, suddenly it was only one peice of luggage!

[mitchja]

I witnessed another jobsworth when I went through fasttrack in T3 on Friday.

One for all the ladies to watch out for - the couple in front of me got pulled as they are not allowing handbags + hand luggage. It's one pice of hand luggage and they are classing a hand bag as your one bag allowance.

Regards

Originally posted by mitchja
I witnessed another jobsworth when I went through fasttrack in T3 on Friday.

One for all the ladies to watch out for - the couple in front of me got pulled as they are not allowing handbags + hand luggage. It's one pice of hand luggage and they are classing a hand bag as your one bag allowance.

Regards

I've seen this enforced at T1, and it was my understanding that one piece means one piece, why I wonder do we think a handbag is not a piece of baggage?

Well T2 was its usual grotty self Tuesday. the yellow Shirt security werent there but a man came through the line waiting for the 5am opening of the gates collecting anything not allowed.

lipstick is ok, no gloss - theres a difference you know, no liquids, no gels

A chap asked him about some medicine which was on prescription but he didnt have aproof.

No, you'll have to buy it again airside

and the chap replied

I cant, its only available on prescription

he replied. Tough it seems was the reply.

I hate this heavy handed policy. Its not true at any other European Airports or even at Tel Aviv where Ive just had a two hour security check but it was done responsibly and with due courtesy, with a comprehension that I was the customer not a prisoner or servant. Whay cant BAA get this into their heads. Everyone I know is now avoiding UK changes just to avoid the rude over officious and downright nasty attitided staff.