Hacker News Reader

Comment by londons_explore | Hacker News Reader

Outside the USA, especially at smaller airports, xraying all the bags is something thats only done to meet the rules. The staff don't care what you have in your bag - if security has a queue, they'll just pick 100 random people and tell them to skip security and go straight through to departures.

Likewise, if there is only 2 people on duty to search bags identified that need searching, and they're busy, then any liquids etc. in other bags will be 'not noticed' so as to not overload the people searching bags and cause queues.

Such things make me always deliberately choose small airports - they're just so efficient compared to airports where security theater is done 'properly'.

View on HN

xraying all the bags is something thats only done to meet the rules. The staff don't care what you have in your bag

I wish this was true.

In Spain recently something in my bag tripped the Xray alarm. I had to unpack my bag and take "something metal" out for inspection. It turned out it was an empty food packaging with a shiny foil bit on the side. Over all, it's not so big a deal, but they certainly cared about it.

Spain has had an actual terrorism problem in recent years, so they are likely to have better standards. Other EU countries don't really have that problem and so will have less strict standards. there are different standards for flying into Spain than other countries (or at least there were last time I flew to Spain, but that has been a long time)

Domestic flights in New Zealand are incredible. Single X-Ray machine, toss your bag on the conveyor, and it goes through just as fast as you can walk to the other side. No body scanners, no metal detectors.

The security 'theater' is what we pay for a high level of freedom in the US, especially in conservative states. You may reach the end of the queue faster, but what if there's a bad guy with a gun there? Where will the good guys be?

Presumably standing around outside, waiting for the SWAT team, and not letting anyone else enter the building. How the Uvalde PD didn't all get charged with aiding and abetting is beyond me.

Never seen anything like it anywhere. This might be a European thing?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com