Read two articles on the extremities of airport security yesterday and thought I would share them with you. I’m not implying that security should be relaxed, but it seems extremely silly in both cases.
From the International Herald Tribune, Carry-on rules, the new bane of flight attendants. Even flight attendants are not spared from the liquid and gel ban as they are not allowed to bring toiletries, toothpaste and cosmetics on board.
Gorham said a long-haul pilot recently told her, after having his toothpaste confiscated: “You know, I could roll this aircraft over in a minute, and nobody could stop me. God forbid I should want to brush my teeth.”
From the BBC News, New Potter script in flight row. J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, was nearly not allowed to bring the manuscript of the seventh and final book of the Harry Potter series onto the plane as carry-on baggage as she flew back to England after a book reading with fellow authors Stephen King and John Irving in New York. Can you imagine what would have happened if security officers had confiscated the manuscript and thrown into the bin? Thankfully, she was finally allowed to bring the super-secret manuscript on board the flight after she bound them up in elastic bands.
The writer said she would have considered sailing back to the UK if security officers had not relented.
Well, tomorrow I’ll be flying Down Under to Perth. And I’m hoping that I would be faced with all these security extremities as we’ll be bringing lots of fluids with us: medication, milk and water for the baby. Oh, must remember to pack toiletries and toothpaste into the checked-in luggage instead of carry-on.