The miserable side of travelling

It's a mess! From the moment you arrive at the airport, the whole security system is fractious and frustrating. More to the point, it doesn't work. No wonder Martin Broughton is calling for much needed changes.

I have a pal who is a deputy manager of a major US airport. He reckons the mantra is 'if you maximise the inconvenience to the customer, they'll believe you're doing the job properly'. The plain truth is it just isn't 100% possible. We do a fair amount of flying and I accept security checks need to be done, but if Liverpool airport for instance is anything to go by, you might as well do away with all of it. I've walked through the metal detector having forgotten to remove my belt, but no alarm bell rang. I've walked through with boots on and seen Julie behind me having to remove sandals. Last month I witnessed a maniac in uniform demand a woman empty a bottle of boiled water she had because 'that's the rules'. Her protest with a tin of SMA in one hand and baby in the other was lost on him.

It's a shambles and it needs reviewing urgently!


nick