Categories: politics, general, travel
Date: 04 November 2010 13:25:04
As many of you may (or may not) know, I work in the transport industry. Well work is a very loose description of what I do. These days it seems to be more about computer input than actually doing any physical work.
The revelation last week that 2 bombs had been found on aircraft in Dubai and East Midlands Airport has got the industry talking. We are already seeing governments inssiting on tighter security controls for cargo.
You see all cargo loaded into passenger aircraft holds has to be x-rayed or physically searched prior to loading. Well that is the theory. Not every country actually does this efficiently and there are always ways around these things, if you are smart, dedicated or willing to bribe someone.
However the rules for cargo only airfcraft are different. This is because only the flight crew are at risk. The industry insists that there is no need to inspect every package that goes onto a cargo aircraft. Plus it would add cost to the process and lead to time delays.
Here is the anomaly with what happened. The package going to Chicago via the UK was only spotted during a security exam at East Midlands. This arrived in the UK on a cargo only flight.
The device found in Dubai was originally said to be on a cargo only flight. However we later found out that the package had actually flown into Doha and then Dubai on passenger flights. So who didn't do their job properly?
Evidently the package left Yemen without being checked. Then it moved through Doha without any checks. Wouldn't you expect someone in Doha to check unaccompanied packages that originate somewhere as volatile and unsecure as Yemen?
Now don't worry! The chance of you dying in a explosion on an airliner are longer than the chance of the engine failing. How often do you hear about that happening?
And now for something from the QI fact of the day from the BBC website:
Princess Alexandra, the aunt of Mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-86), suffered from the delusion that she had swallowed a glass piano.
Visit your aunt, but not every day of the year. SPANISH PROVERB