On my previous trip from Paris to Amsterdam I was once again forced to leave behind a few items at the security checkpoint. Not for the first time, but after this occasion I grew pissed off enough to right a post on why I don't respect those rules.
First, about my understanding of what a rule (or, in that case, airport security regulation) is - although, obviously, nobody cares about my understanding :). Rule is supposed to be unambiguous, or at least designed to be close to that. And in fact, a lot of rules we deal with in every-day life are such ("Don't enter the shop with an ice-cream", "Do not kill people" etc., and if something is not clear enough, you have numerous documents written in sleep-inducing language, called legal, where extra explanations are provided. Airport security rules, contrary to those mentioned above, are open to interpretation. Talking about European rules, there is a pretty formal list that can be found
here. Funny enough, although such list exists (even having some interesting items in the list, like that one
blunt instruments - (objects capable of being used to cause serious injury when used to hit), including:-baseball and softball bats,-clubs and batons, such as billy clubs, blackjacks and night sticks,-martial arts equipment;
so what about duty-free items can I hit somebody to death with a bottle of champaign? Or even a suitcase - oh, believe me, it's heavy enough to kick sh*t out of somebody.), some other statement on the same web-site say that "you need to refer to your airport rules for verification of what is allowed". Basically, it leaves the "rules" to the interpretation of the local airport services. On most airlines' web-sites in the section describing carry-on luggage regulations you are also very likely to see the phrase similar to "
Before your flight, therefore, please check the website of your departure airport to find out which hand luggage regulations are in force there." (Lufthansa web-site). So, let's imagine I follow that advice. I will navigate to CDG web-site only to discover
CDG Security Tips
As with most airports in the EU, there are strict regulations on which items may be carried within your hand luggage. Liquid restrictions apply so ensure all your hand luggage liquids, gels and gas items are stored seperately in the airport-regulation plastic bag.
Airport security strongly advises against passengers accepting luggage from other travellers, and from leaving their own luggage unattended.
Not an extensive list, is it? And once you arrive at the airport, right before the security point you will see the stands with a notice on restricted and prohibited items, similar to the one referred before. The main difference though, is that after every dangerous good category there is an addition
Any blunt instrument capable of causing injury, including, but not limited to
And believe me, most of the people working there don't listen to whatever you tell them about false perception of danger or even common sense.
I really hope that sooner or later officials will realize that the real way to safer stay on board is not additional restrictions, but better information exchange and identifying potential hazards long before people even arrive at the airport.
