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Comment by halviti | Hacker News Reader

Security theater. Providing an illusion of security while acclimatizing the public to encroachments on their personal freedoms.

I'm more angry that hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars are spent to train a workforce to identify tubes of toothpaste on a screen, but anyone at an airport that wants a knife can just order a steak from an airport restaurant.

It makes me sad that the public can tolerate such ignorance and waste.

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A nut with a small explosive (tube of toothpaste) it not the same threat level as some nut with a knife. An explosive just needs to be detonated once to potentially take down the entire plane. A nut with a knife needs to stab his way through the entire plane which despite being one of the "weapons" used on 911 wouldn't happen again with passenger's heightened awareness.

Plus you can build some weapons from items purchased after the security check.

http://www.wired.com/2013/12/terminal-cornucopia/

Airport restaurants only use plastic cutlery when they are located past the security checkpoint.

Edit: US airports. Since this article was about a US airline operating in the United States I thought that went without saying.

Not 100% true - I've received steel cutlery even in an airplane (economy class, if it matters). Non U.S. flight, but it did happen.

I received metal cutlery on a Turkish Airlines ORD-IST flight in coach and a Delta EWR - AMS flight in first. It's definitely not a US restriction either.

At US airports perhaps. It certainly isn't the case in Europe.

The Wetherspoon in LGW only provide butter knives due to security reasons. Not too useful if you order a steak...

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