Yet again we see panic reactions to a new, ultimately unsuccessful attack on a plane heading for Detroit. We seem incapable of learning the real lessons, so we substitute by fighting the last war all over again. Airline security organisations have the answer. They just don't seem allowed or capable to implement.
Placing restrictions on how passengers behave on the plane, making them take off their shoes in security, restricting liquids, restricting hand baggage, etc won't prevent the next attack because the next attack won't likely re-use previous tactics.
Adding more expensive scanners at Schipol will just shift the next departure airport to Charles De Gaulle or Frankfurt. Or back to London.
Thank goodness I am not travelling regularly on business now. It was laughable that I could sit in business class to Asia and use metal cutlery, but was forced to use crappy plastic stuff to America. It was ridiculous to make everyone take their shoes off going through security. Heathrow even had a separate shoe scanning area AFTER you had been through the regular security.
It is plain to many that the way to avoid most, but not all attacks is to use good, joined up intelligence to prevent suspicious people from successfully applying for visas and tickets. For those that slip through the net, copying the El Al tactics for profiling and interrogating people at the point of departure is the best proven method for alerting security forces.
In other words, airline security have to segment and profile the differences between regular business travellers, family holidays, genuine emigration and terrorists. Some of it can be done by using positive discrimination. Someone with over 500K miles in their frequent flyer account isn't as likely to be a danger as someone who is flying for the first time. Someone who has renewed their passports multiple times isn't as dangerous as someone who has a brand new passport for the first time. Someone with lots of credit cards isn't as dangerous as someone who has none. Paying cash for your ticket has to raise more questions, as does having someone else pay for a ticket on credit.
So let's make use of the knowledge and technology we have, along with training airport security the way El Al does. I won't mind answering penetrating questions (from someone who is a trained professional and understands how to evaluate the answers I give) if we dispense with all the useless scanning, mind numbing waiting in lines, and delays caused by people on minimum wages playing at security.
Oh, and perhaps then I can have my cutlery back, so I can cut my rubber chicken.
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