The second time through security, they said they saw a blade on the x-ray.. turns out they were right. I forgot I had left a multi-tool in my bag.
Thankfully, they just trashed it and let me continue on my way. The story still flabbergasts me, though.
After feeling around in the bag we discovered some fabric cutting shears had apparently been accidentally been sewn into the lining by someone on the factory line (they looked something like this if I remember correctly: http://imgur.com/ZKlsjJw).
We just cut them out, handed them over and went on our way. Was a really strange experience though.
On the other hand, I remember when I was a kid in the 90s and accidentally took my pocket knife (3" blade) through screening, and they found it but let me bring it on the plane...
I was flying out of Beijing, you know... that country with terrible human rights... To be clear: there are multiple human rights issues in China, many of which are far worse than the US. Just not everything.
Do you have a source for that? Because for as long as I can remember they have had to be checked, including in the 90s.
You always could, and still can, check a firearm into luggage on a flight.
But of course you can break the plastic knife and fork they give you and still stab someone in the jugular.
You could even sharpen the headphones connector.
Post 9/11 passengers are not going to allow a guy with a razor blade hijack a plane, or even several guys with razor blades. Passengers and crew members now fight back and have the advantage of numbers.
Yeah, but what if _everyone_ on the plane were a hijacker?
Wait...
Only in the days when we didn't lock the cockpit doors. Now that the cockpit doors are locked, even an actual gun wouldn't be sufficient to hijack the plane (the cockpit doors are essentially impossible to open from the outside, at least not without equipment that would be impossible to bring on a plane and would be rather conspicuously slow to use during a flight).
So noone is looking at the toolbox that I'm standing right next to. I could easily have grabbed a knife or two if I had wanted to.
And once they finished patting him down, he grabs his tools and walks on.
And I'm just standing there, gaping at the stupidity of it all.
I think it's more of a roulette of circumstances more than a pattern of compliance/negligence, but it is curious to have 2 MIA data points.
I also flew Oslo->Lisbon->Sao Paolo->Rio de Janeiro->Lisbon->Oslo about five years ago with a 7" soldering iron in my hand luggage.
Then there was the time when I had my bag very thoroughly searched flying out of Geneva because of a highly suspicious loaf of bread.
These events caused me to put together a pre-TSA personal checklist, since I can't count on getting lucky again, and I really like that multitool. (:
I do know that flying _back_ to the US on my last few international flights, there was a second security checkpoint I had to go through. Very silly. I had filled my water bottle at a fountain at the gate and then had to empty it right out 5 minutes later.
Based on travelling in south America, south East Asia etc, this is sometimes correct.
There are lots of times when with domestic -> international flights (or even domestic -> domestic, in some cases) there would be terminal transfers required that would leave the secured zone and thus require passing through security again incidentally, even without a specific policy.
Several airports where I know this was an issue have been redesigned to alleviate this, but I'm sure there are some where it is still an issue.
I told her "we need to check those bags, otherwise they'll make you throw them out". She said it would be fine. And guess what? It was. Almost 4L of liquids in her carry-on and no one said a thing.