Increased aviation security at Australian airports

[Quickstatus]

A friend posted this on Facebook this morning - she was flying to Tassie - I think the photo was between 7 and 8am Melbourne

Seriously people, add some colour!

Yes and I thought Melbourne was the fashion capital of the world...

 

[Solid]

Your faithful correspondents report - 1625 at SYD T3. Sorry for the dark photo but a bit of a dreary day here and taken on my phone.

The actual queue lines have been doubled or tripled to nearly reach the door and two uniformed police officers standing around the halfway mark.

Apart from that there were no queues and walked straight up to priority line and through. No additional checking apart from the normal and in the Dom J lounge within about 2 minutes.

Obviously set up for more delays, perhaps a little later (or earlier)

In more distressing news the coffee machine in the J lounge was being taken apart by a technician, hopefully just a cleaning.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Yesterday and today's airport chaos is ridiculous. Isn't it just absurd to actually create a real security nightmare and prime potential target by not having sufficient security screenings and check in counters so that passengers form a great queue out to door of the airport opening them up to even more potential danger. One has to wonder at times at the intelligence and brain power of our security forces. (But given the new mega department to save us all is to be headed by the member for Dickson, I suppose the question is rhetorical.)

 

[Berlin]

Seriously people, add some colour!

Haha, that was exactly my first thought- thanks for pointing this out. And even in a suit you can add a little bit of color with a bright tie or shirt!

 

[Tassieoptom]

Haha, that was exactly my first thought- thanks for pointing this out. And even in a suit you can add a little bit of color with a bright tie or shirt!

OR a fabulous Scarf colour matched to your spectacles.

 

[Berlin]

OR a fabulous Scarf colour matched to your spectacles.

I've never thought of that, fabulous indeed! Googling for colourful scarfs now...

 

[Tassieoptom]

I've never thought of that, fabulous indeed! Googling for colourful scarfs now...

my favourite quote is my tag line, "You own 20 pairs of shoes, but only one pair of glasses? What do people look at first, your feet or your face?" In my view, spectacles and scarf can add so much to your style for little expense. A scarf or spectacle frame is the cheapest way to get a brand name look. My wife has about 8-9 spectacles and 30+ scarfs.

 

[Melburnian1]

my favourite quote is my tag line, "You own 20 pairs of shoes, but only one pair of glasses? What do people look at first, your feet or your face?" In my view, spectacles and scarf can add so much to your style for little expense....My wife has about 8-9 spectacles and 30+ scarfs.

Yes, well, going by your username she may well have the 'inside running' on obtaining one of those two discrete accessories.

 

[Pushka]

Yes, well, going by your username she may well have the 'inside running' on obtaining one of those two discrete accessories.

Clearly you don't need 'em. You connected dots real quick
I'm weirdly often complemented on my glasses.

 

[Milefest]

Thought I'd share my experience at BNE yesterday for a VA flight. Arrived at the airport early, walked into the check in area and the queues were around double as long as they usually are. Priority queue was pretty empty which was the one I use anyway. In security they asked to scan my laptop separately (normally they're fine with keys, wallet, phone etc. in the same tray), bag xray took a bit longer than it usually takes. I then had a physical bag search for my smallest bag which I've never experienced at an Australian airport before. Then I was selected for an explosives test where there were around double as many staff than there usually are conducting them so it was pretty hard to avoid. After all of that it probably took me an additional 5 minutes of security, if I didn't have priority access, maybe it would have taken me an extra 10 minutes. No where near as bad as I thought it would be but still inconvenient. Another thing I observed was that they were enforcing the 7kg rule and bag dimensions rule on pax that weren't in the priority boarding lane (VA).. haven't seen them do this in years, not sure if that's part of the new security measures.

 

[Saab34]

There were x2 explosive check employees per one belt at the screening on Sunday Night at T2 Sydney.

I had an interesting experience coming back to Melbourne though...I did something stupid which I have never done before and left my small deodorant in my bag going through screening, I think I got distracted watching everything unfold on high alert level. I was ushered off to the side, bag rescreened then he started searching my entire bag, I made the comment of the deodorant and he told me to be quiet while 2 people searched my bag. Things got interesting for them when he discovered a ASIC and a ERSA (En Route Supp Aus- Im a regional pilot). He then went to the supervisor and had a chat for a few minutes and then questioned me why I had these items with me. I told them what I do and who I work for (even pulled out my uniform!) and he asked for ID etc. I was up in Sydney for Sunday as the company is short on crew and I always change clothing before paxing back, they didn't understand this. Anyway after a good 10 minutes showing them numerous rosters and payslips they let me go.

 

[Melburnian1]

Clearly you don't need 'em. You connected dots real quick
I'm weirdly often complemented on my glasses.

Your glasses may well "complement" your face, but you may mean "complimented."

 

[Pushka]

Your glasses may well "complement" your face, but you may mean "complimented."

I had that first and it didn't look right

 

[Melburnian1]

...I had an interesting experience coming back to Melbourne though...I did something stupid which I have never done before and left my small deodorant in my bag going through screening...

Sunstar320, perhaps I'm missing something, but what's incorrect about you doing that?

Deodorant is a permitted item. We do not have the LAGs one litre total/ 100ml individual container rule for domestic Australian flights.

 

[Himeno]

It is always disappointing to see the government throw out more paranoia and fear mongering.

While I don’t doubt that there is some level of risk and there are so called “terrorists” planning various things, the threat is often overblown with the government and media very quick to claim “terrorism” when something happens, even when it is clear an event is not.

Often, when something like this happens (ie, a “prevented plot”), the claimed plot was either never going to happen, or never going to work. Then when this happens, they step up “security” (which usually has no real impact on real security) while creating easier targets.

It seems there is always a “raid” or a series of arrests which leads to increased “security” whenever it is politically and/or diplomatically convenient.

I only hope that this round of paranoid fear mongering on the part of the government subsides and things return to normal within a few weeks.

 

[TomVexille]

Sunstar320, perhaps I'm missing something, but what's incorrect about you doing that?

Deodorant is a permitted item. We do not have the LAGs one litre total/ 100ml individual container rule for domestic Australian flights.

I'm guessing that it's an aerosol and therefore needs to be removed from the bag during screening.

 

[Melburnian1]

Earlier I questioned who would pay for this increased security.

It appears that the airlines are not willing to:

Nocookies | The Australian

(If paywall wins, type 'airlines likely to push back against security crackdown' into Google.)

Mind you, as security consultants are pointing out, existing airport (and elsewhere) security checks are ineffective as there are items they cannot detect. It's essentially window dressing.

 

[Himeno]

Earlier I questioned who would pay for this increased security.

It appears that the airlines are not willing to:

Nocookies | The Australian

(If paywall wins, type 'airlines likely to push back against security crackdown' into Google.)

Mind you, as security consultants are pointing out, existing airport (and elsewhere) security checks are ineffective as there are items they cannot detect. It's essentially window dressing.

Reading the comments on that is just sad and somewhat maddening. To many people have been brainwashed into thinking that ID means anything.
ID is not security. It is nothing more then airline revenue protection.

 

[GDSman]

Heightened security at HBA at 0500 today but nothing like '2 hrs early' required for only 2 departures....

 

[Tassieoptom]

Heightened security at HBA at 0500 today but nothing like '2 hrs early' required for only 2 departures....

Are there more people than usual there early? We normally arrive between 90-120mins early anyway due to Airport undercover parking rules. It is normally very quiet with limited staff.