Salon :: Tech & Business

Ask the pilot: Has the U.S. met its match in airport-security craziness? Plus: NASA's pilot survey coverup

Come to find out, America is <i>not</i> the only crazy country when it comes to airport <a href="http://dir.salon.com/topics/security/">security.</a> Based on what happened to me in London a few days ago, I'd say the U.K. is a close runner-up. Working a trip from Gatwick, I was forced to remove my shoes <i>and</i> put my liquids into a Ziploc bag. This is routine for passengers, but I was in full uniform at a crew-only checkpoint. My Rollaboard and flight case were hand-searched top to bottom, and a nearly empty, 5-ounce tube of toothpaste was confiscated from my toiletries bag. <P>The Brits are jittery, and not entirely without reason. The 2006 liquid bomb cabal (<a href="http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/2006/09/15/askthepilot201/">daft as its scheme may have been</a>) was organized here, and it wasn't that long ago that Pan Am 103 lifted off from Heathrow with its deadly Toshiba radio. I'm willing to grant some slack, but I draw the line at seizing empty containers from pilots. <P>"Why are you taking that?" I ask the guard. "There's almost nothing in there." <P>"I don't know that for sure," she replies. "I can't tell how much is inside." <p>...</p><img src="http://feeds.salon.com/~r/salon/tech/~4/178504265" height="1" width="1"/>

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