So, by now you have probably heard about the failed terrorist attack that took place on a flight to America on christmas day. You probably also know that the bomber had strapped powder explosive to himself and was intending to cause an explosion by injecting acid into the powder.
However, this obviously didn’t work, and judging by the picture of his underwear that has been released to the press, I can only assume that his wedding tackle is rather worse for wear than it could be!
On a serious note though, this attack, as ever has only succeeded in a couple of things, firstly they have resulted in governments collectively agreeing that “more needs to be done to improve airport security” and that “tougher more invasive searches must be brought in”. Secondly, they have successfully done exactly what it was intended to – caused panic on a wide scale, if not to us, then to those in charge.
As you should expect these days, following other recent attempts at attacking flights, politicians and airlines are all pledging increased security at airports, throwing around phrases such as “more thorough searches” and “full body scanners”, and suggesting that with these, everything will be much safer… Hmn.
When did we hear that phrase last? Oh, I remember, just after they brought in the ban on liquids. It would appear that the liquid ban didn’t exactly work this time what with a bomber being able to smuggle on a syringe of acid.
And this is where one major flaw in airport security is exposed. Security when flying is only as good as the security at the airport you were departing from. There is no real international standard for airline safety.
While increasing the security here in the UK might make our flights safer, who’s watching the guy carrying a bomb onto a plane elsewhere where they have lax security? Or when he gets a connecting flight elsewhere who don’t bother re-screening passengers as they have already been searched.
Upping the security here will not stop terrorists – not until the rules are literally the same, for everyone.
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Blogger, Web Designer, Geek. You get the idea.
Chris is passionate about technology and the internet, and also likes to try and be right about everything... which he isn't.