It strikes me that the airline industry has cashed in on the 9/11 thing to make more money.
For reasons I can't figure you have to check in three hours before you fly. Now I appreciate there are security checks to do and they have to Xray luggage in case you packed your case with Semtex instead of RayBan's, speedos and sun tan lotion, but how long does that take?
It seems they are playing on our own paranoia. We accept the Xrays, body searches and stupid questions because we don't want to be blown up over the channel. But would we accept the same security checks to travel on the number 10 from hull city centre onto Longhill estate? I doubt it, and the only difference is you would be blown up at ground level and killed immediately, instead of being blown up at 12,000 feet and killed immediately. What is the issue? I mean, if every black cab driver insisted that you checked in 3 hours before he drove you anywhere and then screened you for security checks, we would all be going nowhere very slowly indeed.
My personal experience of going through the airport security checks is as follows:
I arrived at the check in desk where the weight of my luggage was of far more importance than the actual contents. As long as my suitcase bomb weighed less than 15kg it was fine. My bag then went off on it's own way to be placed in the cargo hold of the plane, hopefully the same one I was flying on. My hand luggage was then checked at the next security check, which involved X raying it. I assumed hand luggage must be a small bag, but strangely enough it can weigh up to 15 kg, the same as proper luggage, as long as it fits into the little cage they have at the security check point. It cannot however contain any food, drink, or medicines, liquids of any sort in fact. On the way out of the UK we explained that my daughter Emma needs an EpiPen readily available due to various food allergies. No problem, we were allowed to take that. It contained only adrenalin anyway, so what harm could be done with it? Well, ask the Italians, because on the way back they made a real big deal of it, which you can read more of later. The reason hand luggage cannot contain food or drink becomes apparent once you reach the departure area, where you can then buy as much food and drink as your hand luggage will allow, albeit at prices which really make your eyes water. £2 for a small bottle of coke, and £4 for a sandwich. And you can take these on the plane, because you've already passed security. Now call me Mr Silly, but what is the difference between a bottle of coke purchased for less than a quid the other side of the barrier, and the one they have just ripped me off £2 for on this side?
Going through the security checks themselves was a totally haphazard exercise. I placed all metal items in the tray as requested and was about to remove my watch when the security guy said no, that was okay. Walking through the metal detector I set the alarms off and was then treat like Osama Bin Laden, with a full body search - quite why I'm not sure, as If they had let me take my watch off I'm sure I wouldn't have set the alarm off.
I then had to take off my shoes to be X Rayed?????? I'm sure they had no broken bones.
Having passed all security checks I was then allowed to enter the departure lounge where I could sit for two hours to wait to board the plane.
Eventually we boarded and took off.
I would have to say as a first time flier that the flight was quite uneventful and no more exciting than taking a bus trip really. There was a moment of excitement as the plane accelerated and took off at a steep climb, but it wasn't so very thrilling really. Even the turbulence we experienced in flight was no worse than a funfair ride. And the landing was so smooth that I thought we must have missed the runway altogether.
After a short taxi we were put on a very hot, very wide bus that took us to the terminal, which for some unfathomable reason the pilot had landed a couple of miles distant from. And there we were, in Italy, a very hot place made of concrete so far as I could make out.
more of this adventure tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment