USS Clueless              Voyages of a restless mind

Main: normal long no graphics Contact Log archives Best log entries Other articles Site Search

Stardate 20011116.1719 (On Screen): So a man ran by the security checkpoint at the Atlanta airport and vanished into the airport, and as a result the airport was evacuated and air travel all over the eastern part of the US was disrupted, in as much as Atlanta is one of the busiest airports in the world. (My ex-girlfriend's family lives in North Carolina, and they told me that a standing joke there is that you can't even go to Hell without passing through Atlanta.)

Now all the security guards are armed, right? And we're supposed to be on high alert for the air industry, right? And someone deliberately passing a checkpoint is assumed to be dangerous until proven otherwise, right? So why wasn't this guy shot?

I'm not bloodthirsty, but this is just the latest incident that shows that even after everything we've gone through that the air industry is still not serious about security. They seem to be hassling innocent people while at the same time fucking up stuff like this. Is it time to start hitting the airlines with some serious fines? Or perhaps something different: any airline which permits a security breach during the next six months will be disqualified from getting any federal economic assistance including loan guarantees and subsidized insurance. I think it's time for at least one airline to bite the big one; I know I'm not alone when I say that this has gone on long enough. The American airline industry is a basket case because it's being run by idiots. (discussion in progress)

Update: Logan Airport in Boston has suspended the license of Argenbright Security because they've allowed two major security breaches since September and they can "no longer be trusted." Argenbright Security is based in Atlanta. Anyone want to make any wagers on what security company was involved in today's fiasco in Atlanta's own airport? Hmmm?

Update: They found him; he's under arrest. It's probably just as well that they didn't shoot him, since he wasn't a terrorist. He was just a fool. But it's still a serious question of how it was even possible for him to bypass the security station so easily. Why isn't it set up so that there is no path to do that?

Update 20011117: Asked why the guards didn't physically stop him, Collins said, "They don't have the authority to touch any passengers. They can only sound an alert." WTF? The security guards don't have the right to physically restrain someone who is bypassing the security inspection station? Then what the hell are they there for?