Most of the safety advice in this article in preyproject.com is straightforward common sense. Yet there is one vulnerable location where I have to put my hands up and admit I’ve taken risks. At airport security we are lulled into a false sense of security, no pun intended, but apparently the screening conveyor is a popular place with opportunistic thieves.
By the time you’ve unloaded your MacBook, your iPad, your iPhone, your wallet and your expensive Swiss watch into the plastic tray you can’t wait to get through the frisking arch and collect your stuff. You are often distracted, especially if you set off the warning gong. When you think about, isn’t this a good chance for another passenger, or airport staff member for that matter, to dip into your tray and trouser your iPhone or even your MacBook? As the article says,
Airports are secure places with lots of security staff all around, but chances are your belongings will be unprotected at one moment or another.
So follow the TSA’s advice and “ALWAYS watch your belongings as they advance through the x-ray equipment at the security checkpoints – for secondary screening, INSIST that your belongings be brought to you.”
Sound advice.
by Mike Evans, 23 October 2012