Airport Security
Why you can smuggle practically anything onboard in your hand luggage
We’re all familiar with the tedious ritual of airport security: stand in a line to show identification and ticket, then take off belt, shoes, remove all items from all pockets and stand in another line to place one’s hand luggage on a conveyor belt so it can be passed through an X-ray machine, then stand in line to pass through a body-scanner, then stand in line to collect one’s hand luggage, then restore shoes, belt, and pocket items to their proper places.
This is, we’re earnestly informed, to ensure that incidents such as 9/11 can never recur. Except if the would-be terrorists co-opt one of the ground personnel and bypass all the elaborate security theater that passengers are subjected to. But we won’t talk about this gaping security hole so there’s no need to worry.
It is legitimate to wonder, however, what all the security theater actually accomplishes aside from giving most travelers a comforting notion that someone is doing their best to ensure their safety. But just as the onboard flight safety briefing is almost entirely spurious while real safety measures are left undone, is it possible that all the X-raying and scanning is likewise ineffectual?
