It is currently hailing outside. Just a few minutes earlier, the sun was shining and Gucky was ridding (a horse) on the beach.

Yesterday after work we went hiking to the Currabinny Woods:

The plan would have been to walk along the beach, but as we soon found out, there is not much of a beach.

We went for a 2 hour walk in the woods instead. Lovely hiking way indeed. Strangely enough I didn’t suffer from hay fever at all, maybe I should get tested what exactly I am allergic to?

Gucky recently posted some letters she sent to the British Ministry of Transport and European Commission. Needless to say that I fully support this, so I compiled a complaint letter by myself.

Dear Sir,

I would like to file a complain against several, so called, security measures currently in place at (British) Airports (all over Europe).

I understand the necessity for restricting hand luggage in terms of size and weight. But I fail to see the reason or logic behind recent restrictions on British airports, allowing only one item of hand luggage through security screening. How does it make any difference, what so ever, if I have to squeeze any additional items into the laptop bag for the few meters through the screening? Particularly annoying if one is in transit, was allowed to bring two items on board just hours before and have the luggage checked through. Especially business travellers often have small additional luggage like poster rolls.

Why am I asked to take off my shoes for x-raying after security screening. If they have flat soles and didn’t contain any metal in the first place, what harmful things could be possibly hidden in them that I couldn’t simply carry in a pocket?

The liquid restriction seems to be another restriction for the sole purpose of annoying people. How does it make a difference if the containers are in a transparent resealable plastic bag or not? Why can’t I take liquids with me through screening, if I can buy pretty much everything a few meters behind in the duty free shops. Only to throw it away in transit! As far as I am aware, the August 2006 plot was not stopped by stupid restrictions but intelligence sources. If everything potentially harmful is going to be banned, we soon will have to board the planes naked and tied up!

Being a righteous citizens I have no problems sharing information. However, I can’t help but feel being treaded like a criminal suspect whenever I have to board a plane. Yet more and more regulations are pushed through to gather even more private information.

Airports are miserable places. After a ten hour flight, probably preceded by hours of queuing and commuting, all I want is to get the transit over as quickly as possible. I am most likely in a terrible mood already and don’t need any security guard, even if the poor soul is only doing his job, to insist on pointless measures.

All I am asking for is to apply a bit of common sense and rethink some of the current regulation.

Regards,
xxxxxxxxx

I have sent it to both addresses above. If you, dear reader, have recently experiences similar hassle please do the same, let them know that they go too far.

After yet another story of sensless hassle on the airport I got my fingers moving and drafted a complaint to the britisch ministry of transport on their *@!^°°°*** useless security measures, like the “one piece of handluggage only” rule and that you have to take of your shoes - athlete’s foot here I come! Feel free to use this draft as a template for your own personal story of woe and send it to the general adress for complaints of the ministry: transec@dft.gsi.gov.uk or directly to the responsible politicians Dr. Stephen Ladyman (Minister) and/or Gillian Merron (Secretary for Aviation).

Dear Sir,

I hereby lodge a complaint against several security measures currently in effect at British Airports. There are several very sensible security measures, but the one specifying that you can carry one - and only one - piece of hand luggage is not one of them, especially the way it is executed.
How does it make air travel more secure if I have to squeeze my hand luggage in a plastic bag for the two meters through the security screening if it consists of more than one piece, no matter the size?
How does it make air travel more secure if I have to just open the zipper of my laptop case and stick my handbag in, again for the short way through the x-ray machine?
How does it prevent acts of terrorism if I can get on board a British Airways flight in Brussels with both my handbag and a briefcase, only to be told in transfer in Heathrow that I can’t travel on with them?
How can passengers perceive this security measure as anything but senseless hassle?

The next question concerns the necessity of removing my shoes for extra screening: Which dangerous non-metallic items can I possibly hide in pumps or thin leather soles that I cannot simply carry in one of my pockets?

I am aware that the regulation concerning the carrying of liquids is an EU wide regulation, so I will not complain about that to you although it is without doubt the most useless one.

I sincerely ask you to rethink parts of these regulations or at least take care that they are applied with a minimum of common sense.

Yours sincerely

and since I was already in the mood, another complaint, this time about the EU regulation concerning carrying of liquids; I hope I sent it to the right address: tren-aprights@ec.europa.eu

Dear Sir/dear Madam,

I hereby lodge a complaint against security measures currently in effect at European Airports. There are several very sensible security measures, but EU Regulation (EC NO 1546/2006) concerning carrying of liquids is not one of them.

How does it make air travel more secure if I have to throw away a bottle of mineral water only to be able to buy an identical bottle (amount and brand) a few meters after the security screening?
Do you really think, that providing personal data containing name, address and passport number provided before I board the plane and most likely be stored for who knows how long prevents terrorists from travelling around Europe? I do not need to fly to get to Spain, I can easily get there by car and so can a terrorist.
How can passengers perceive these security measure as anything but senseless hassle?

I cannot help but feel that the security measures in general are getting out of all proportion and that through these the passengers are held hostage by the very terrorism the security measures are trying to prevent. Many of the security measures simply do not make travel more secure but at most give passengers the feeling of being more secure.

And on top of it, every few months new and even more restrictive security measures appear, coming dangerously close to revoke essential personal liberties. I am convinced that none of these security measures is able to stop determined fanatics.

I sincerely ask you to rethink these regulations.
I would like to end my complaint with a quote usually appointed to Benjamin Franklin: “Those who would give up essential Liberty to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”.

Yours sincerely