Discussion
This morning, I took a Delta flight from Atlanta back home to Orlando.
During boarding a young Asian guy loaded his drag-along into the overhead and took his seat about 3 rows further back.
After about 5 minutes, he got up (while hoards of people were still coming onto the plane) and told the cart-
he needed to get off, because he'd lost his wallet. He then fought his way back through the tide of incoming passengers, grabbed his bag out of the overhead and 'de-planed'.
The cabin crew just shrugged their shoulders and carried on with the boarding process scrum.
Significant verbal racial profiling then ensued from a number of fellow passengers, which caused a bit of a st-storm. The main question being, "do you know for certain that the bag he took off was the same one he brought on?" and "did he check any luggage?"
The cabin crew blew the whole thing off, because we were late and missing your slot at ATL can have big scheduling repercussions.
Personally, I was pretty relaxed about it, because I knew he'd recovered his own bag (I watched him load it) and if I'd mislaid my wallet in the airport I'd want to go find it too. But it really did unsettle a large number of loud Anglo-Americans.
I travel a lot, but have not seen this before. Knowing the ineptitude of TSA, it did make me think that it is kind of easy to get a bag on a plane and then get off before the flight leaves, if this experience is anything to go by.
I wonder (and hope) that there is some protocol to negate this potential risk - but it didn't really look like there is, going by this morning's observation.
During boarding a young Asian guy loaded his drag-along into the overhead and took his seat about 3 rows further back.
After about 5 minutes, he got up (while hoards of people were still coming onto the plane) and told the cart-
he needed to get off, because he'd lost his wallet. He then fought his way back through the tide of incoming passengers, grabbed his bag out of the overhead and 'de-planed'.The cabin crew just shrugged their shoulders and carried on with the boarding process scrum.
Significant verbal racial profiling then ensued from a number of fellow passengers, which caused a bit of a s
t-storm. The main question being, "do you know for certain that the bag he took off was the same one he brought on?" and "did he check any luggage?"The cabin crew blew the whole thing off, because we were late and missing your slot at ATL can have big scheduling repercussions.
Personally, I was pretty relaxed about it, because I knew he'd recovered his own bag (I watched him load it) and if I'd mislaid my wallet in the airport I'd want to go find it too. But it really did unsettle a large number of loud Anglo-Americans.
I travel a lot, but have not seen this before. Knowing the ineptitude of TSA, it did make me think that it is kind of easy to get a bag on a plane and then get off before the flight leaves, if this experience is anything to go by.
I wonder (and hope) that there is some protocol to negate this potential risk - but it didn't really look like there is, going by this morning's observation.
Firstly, thank-you to whoever it was that fixed my title snafu.
I think the reality is that you can't force a passenger to fly. If they say they want to get off, while the aircraft is still on the ground, they have to comply. It happened to me on a United flight from Paris back to the US. The plane was taxi-ing to the runway, when some lunatic woman decided her seat assignment wasn't what she was expecting and insisted on not going. They turned the plane around, went back to the gate and kicked her off. It took something like half an hour to recover her checked bags from the hold. I don't know if you get billed by the airline for causing distruption - but they certainly don't want unstable crazy-folk on board, if they can avoid it.
My recent experience was a little more worrying because there did not seem to be any measures taken to ensure that what this guy brought onto the plane was the same as what he took off. When he left, the flight attendant was not in a position to confirm that the bag he took off the plane was the same one he brought on - despite this, she kind of mockingly assured worried passengers that all was well. No crew member was close to him when he recovered the bag. To then blow it off as passenger hysteria is a bit offside, I think.
I think the reality is that you can't force a passenger to fly. If they say they want to get off, while the aircraft is still on the ground, they have to comply. It happened to me on a United flight from Paris back to the US. The plane was taxi-ing to the runway, when some lunatic woman decided her seat assignment wasn't what she was expecting and insisted on not going. They turned the plane around, went back to the gate and kicked her off. It took something like half an hour to recover her checked bags from the hold. I don't know if you get billed by the airline for causing distruption - but they certainly don't want unstable crazy-folk on board, if they can avoid it.
My recent experience was a little more worrying because there did not seem to be any measures taken to ensure that what this guy brought onto the plane was the same as what he took off. When he left, the flight attendant was not in a position to confirm that the bag he took off the plane was the same one he brought on - despite this, she kind of mockingly assured worried passengers that all was well. No crew member was close to him when he recovered the bag. To then blow it off as passenger hysteria is a bit offside, I think.
Perhaps I'm missing the point somewhat here, but if he'd been able to get a bomb onto the plane it's all a little late in any case. Isn't fear of terrorism (and security geared accordingly) because of a group of suicidal terrorists who tried to park planes somewhere they really weren't designed to land?
thatone1967 said:
my understanding was that, if the passenger left the aircraft, they had to unload any checked baggage also...
I beleive this was a regulation that had been in place since just after Lockerbie (IIRC this was how the bomb was smuggled aboard)
I'm sure you are correct, regarding checked luggage (though in the case of Pan Am 103, it was a multi-leg 2 aircraft flight, originating in Hamburg. The bags went from one aircraft to the other at Heathrow, not all of the passengers did).I beleive this was a regulation that had been in place since just after Lockerbie (IIRC this was how the bomb was smuggled aboard)
The surprising and slightly worrying aspect of my experience last week, was that it appeared to be quite easy to walk on with one bag - and then get off and not return before departure, with another.
Tenohfive, I think you do miss the point. If terrorists manage to get a device on-board an aircraft, there should be measures in place to prevent them de-planing without their explosive devices.
thatone1967 said:
my understanding was that, if the passenger left the aircraft, they had to unload any checked baggage also...
I beleive this was a regulation that had been in place since just after Lockerbie (IIRC this was how the bomb was smuggled aboard)
If he had one, it will have been taken off.I beleive this was a regulation that had been in place since just after Lockerbie (IIRC this was how the bomb was smuggled aboard)
Standard procedure when this happens is to clear three rows in front and three rows after of passengers, and then do a search.
sneijder said:
thatone1967 said:
my understanding was that, if the passenger left the aircraft, they had to unload any checked baggage also...
I beleive this was a regulation that had been in place since just after Lockerbie (IIRC this was how the bomb was smuggled aboard)
If he had one, it will have been taken off.I beleive this was a regulation that had been in place since just after Lockerbie (IIRC this was how the bomb was smuggled aboard)
Standard procedure when this happens is to clear three rows in front and three rows after of passengers, and then do a search.
I work at a airport and it's not uncommon for people to get off just prior to flying for many reasons. Likewise passengers are often refused a flight due to behaviour at the air bridge. The flight does not take off without the none fliers luggage taken off. As for hand luggage this should be screened and cleared for flight etc. The truth is nothing is perfect so everybody must play their part in security.
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