Just what is it that turns normal people stupid when it comes to airport security? Are the rules and regulations really that hard to understand or did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?
Up here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the summer travel season and everyone has had the bright idea to go on holidays. I generally try to avoid travelling during this period of time, because it feels like the lunatics have well and truly been let out of the asylum.
Stupid People Everywhere
Let me begin with the idiotic restriction on liquids. The rules have been in place since 2006, where your bottles must contain less than 100ml of liquid plus they all must fit into a single transparent plastic bag. Overlooking the environmental abomination this is, it’s all pretty simple, right?
Wrong! Having had to travel several times during this summer, apparently nobody got the memo. People (usually ladies and girls) have multiple bags of toiletries and items in excess of the limit which means repacking or discarding things at the security scanners. Everyone else gets to wait in line, patiently.
Clothing Issues
Let’s spare a thought for the poor staff members at security, who need to remind people 200 times a day to make sure pockets are empty. It’s quite a simple thing, but people tend to interpret empty differently. Can I keep my keys? No! Can I keep my wallet? No! What about the loose change? NO! Empty means empty!
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- Empty means empty, so that means all the coins come out!
People (usually gentlemen and boys) are always being sent back from the scanner because something is in their pocket, usually small change or keys. It is not rocket science, but you’d think it was, judging by how difficult the concept of ’empty pockets’ seems to be.
C’mon Sheeple, You Can Do Better!
Considering most humans are sheeple (a person who follows blindly, like a sheep) to one extent or another, you’d think people would see what others in front are doing. Oh look, the guy in front has removed his bag of toiletries and his laptop while still in the line to the security scanner. That might be a good idea!
But no. Amiable traveller number 47 is too busy rubbernecking (“Wow, so this is an airport!”) to notice. This results in no. 47 arriving at the security conveyor, plonking their bag in a tray, opening it up, pulling out the laptop, taking another minute to rummage around and find the liquids bag – and that’s before they start asking about their jacket, belt, and whether keys in the pocket make a pocket empty or not! Madness!
What Can The Airport Do?
Perhaps airports should get people’s contact details from the airlines and send them an e-mail before flight. Perhaps something with an easy to digest title, like “Tips to Help You Breeze Through Airport Security” or maybe something ritzier like, “Your Guide to Prevent Other Passengers Wanting to Knife You at Airport Security”?
A well placed sign does help, but perhaps something with flashing lights and klaxons would be more appropriate. Really get people’s attention for maximum effect!
Overall Thoughts
Summer will be over soon enough and the stupid people will be back at work, their multiple children back in school and those of us needing to travel can do it in a more relaxed manner.
Perhaps one day, security will evolve to the point where we can just stroll on through with our carry on bags, being scanned along the way, with no need to stop and go through all the palaver. One can dream, right? Until then my patience will continue to be tried by those who leave their brains back home.
Do you sail through airport security really easily or do you get encumbered by stupid people too? Any horror stories to share? Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Nick Fewings via Unsplash.
Euro coins in hand by Mein Deal via Unsplash.
I agree people are pretty stupid. TSA is not always consistent some airports ask that you take snacks out others do no. I always take my kindle out but am told it doesn’t have to be out at some airports.
I do agree with you there, the rules are not uniform all over the world. That being said, a lot of the behaviour I see is from people native to the country they’re travelling from, so they should know the local rules at the very least. I have sympathy for those from abroad who may not know the form, but I find those people tend to know the rules better than locals.
All time favorite…TSA agent is asking loudly “whose is this” ? We all look around. The owner insists if it goes though the scanner he should be ale to take it with him into the airport ! A large McDonald’s coffee on the belt inside the scanner. Luckily this clown did not shut down the the entire TSA station.
Hahahahaha!! That would have been fun to witness! Unbelievable that they were that attached to a coffee. Some people…!! Thanks for sharing that! 🙂
How did they get past the first TSA agent who checks the boarding pass before you even get TO the scanner?
It makes you wonder!
Precheck
Or Fast-Track… both make people’s lives a lot easier, that’s for sure! I think paying for this or having access as part of your frequent flyer status is so well worth it to avoid much of the tedium and frustration at security.
Yep. You can always tell who doesn’t usually get pre-check. Alas, with the near-constant construction at EWR or JFK, one never knows when pre-check folks will get thrown into the regular lines. UGH!
I wouldn’t love that, having to use the regular lines when I had pre-check. I guess it can’t be helped sometimes!
I have an answer for “why people are stupid at an airport”. It’s an intellect vs emotion issue. My husband is a perfectly intelligent man with no more oddness than most people. But his travel anxiety is so strong that he turns into a different person before a flight. I’ve learned how to soothe him pretty well, but once in a while he just goes off the deep end. It’s anxiety, not a lack of intelligence. Look at it as a “hidden disability” … these people need compassion, not ridicule.
I can understand your angle there, especially when people are trying to remember all the rules, not to mention hoping not to miss their flight. Makes sense! I still reserve the right to ridicule though, because there are people who just don’t read up on the rules and have no sense of others around them and who feel it’s okay to take as long as they need, regardless of how it affects others. Great point though, thanks for that!
That is all true, but it is not the entire issue. The biggest issue, in my experience is the complete inconsistency of TSA and “security” agencies world wide, in how they set the sensitivity on the X-Ray machine. Sometimes it is set off by my belt, and my wristwatch. Sometimes it isn’t. I never know how they have set it until I go through, so prior to going through I have to guess at how it is set. I don’t always get it right. They need to have an element of consistency.
Agreed. I’ve started asking TSA every time the alarm goes off (which seems to be a lot now that it is summer) why the alarm is going off stating “So I won’t wear it again when I fly”. (I fly weekly, have pre-check, and usually wear the same thing with only my rings, a simple necklace, and zippered pants as the metal). They usually just tell me it is a random check. Ok. Weird. So, I tolerate the additional screening and move along.
It often is a random check, so I wouldn’t worry too much. It’s more frequent than you realise, the random checks. In reality, the majority of people won’t set off the scanner.
Yes, I think that’s down to different manufacturers and as you said, different sensitivities. That being said, here in Europe it’s usually belts off and pockets empty, though they do let you wear a watch. Therefore, it’s less likely to set the scanners off. At the same time, there’s always that random check, which always seems to go off after a certain number of successful pass throughs!
Or the real delaying incident: people on their mobile ophobes, all too often Aslan Women……
Yes, even when there are big notices saying “Mobile Phone Use Prohibited at Security Screening”, people will still be using them! Thanks for the comment!
Yes TSA standards are inconsistent. HOWEVER that is why in front of every Xray, or any type of security there is a TSA Officer that gives you very simple instructions that a 8 year old could follow. However I’ve noticed that passengers DO NOT LISTEN. All you have to do is LISTEN. Everyday I hear things like “do you have any electronic larger than a cell phone? And the passenger replies NOPE. Then after going through an Xray a Xbox is discovered. This happens multiple times daily. It is like being given the answer key to a test and intentionally… Read more »
Hahahaha – you’re completely correct there – love the Xbox line! Couldn’t agree more, it doesn’t take much to listen, but so many don’t. It’s amazing how easily some people get confused, stupid or needy when in an airport, but I guess everyone is different. Thanks for the comment!
Agree there are lots of stupid pax but I’ve also seen a large number of “the world evolves around me” pax. These can range from first timers to million milers travelling in any cabin. From TSA to disembarking at the destination, selfish pax do their thing at their pace while others are block, up to almost entire planes. For example, pax in domestic F (almost always single aisle aircraft) that wait till it’s their turn to exit before standing up to retrieve their 3 bags from the overhead bin, re-pack a half dozen magazines, laptop, headset, water bottle, neck pillow,… Read more »
Hahahaha! You’ve painted a pretty enough picture there when it comes to the passenger disembarking. I’ve seen some of this as well, so it brings back some “great” memories. It is true that some people think the world revolves around them and therefore they have no consideration whatsoever for everyone else. Ditto on the people who stand at the end of security in everyone’s way putting everything back on – they’re quite common indeed! Thanks for the comment!
Just a note: apparently you are confused as to what the word “pax” means. “Pax” is not short for “people.” Pax is latin for Peace. Also a tablet decorated with a sacred figure (as of Christ) and sometimes ceremonially kissed by participants at mass or the kiss of peace in the Mass. Hardly interchangeable.
In the airline industry, pax is the accepted abbreviation for passengers, so he was using it in that context. Really appreciate your explanation of the real word though, I was not aware of that. Thanks for the comment!
I’m on 4 to 12 flights a month. Prior to PreCheck, I would sit in the airport lobby, remove my belt. Had a large zip lock bag in by carry on where I dumped my wallet, watch, ring, change, glasses, whatever. Then proceeded to the TSA line. No one had to wait for me. Gotta love the people (not really) with tons of jewelry, studded and metal embellished clothing, shoes with straps that go up to their knees and then set the machine off and act surprised.
As I’m walking along to the entrance to security, I put my watch, mobile phone and wallet in the front of my carry-on, then once I’m in line, I’ll pull out the laptop and liquids bag, which have been packed so they’re convenient to get out without me having to open the bag fully and lay it on the ground. If I have a jacket, it’s also off by now, so I’m like you, straight through. Totally agree with you on those people with all the metal acting surprised! I’ve seen it before, it is amusing!!