Rochdale MEP bids to change 'crazy' airport safety rules

Date published: 28/11/2005

Rochdale Euro-MP Chris Davies has made a formal submission to the organisation in charge of international aviation security in an attempt to change 'crazy regulations' that prohibit the carriage of tweezers but allow large glass bottles to be carried as hand luggage on aeroplanes.

Items that could be used as dangerous weapons are supposed to be prohibited from being taken onto planes as hand luggage, yet no restrictions are imposed on passengers taking litre-size glass bottles of wines and spirits onboard.

Davies is concerned that bottles could be broken and used as weapons to threaten cabin crew and other passengers.  Airport shops encourage holidaymakers to buy generous quotas of wine and spirits and take them into the flight cabin as hand luggage and Mr Davies claims that airports managers are putting profits before safety.

Aviation security is governed by international rules laid down by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Under this each country is responsible for the security of aircraft flying from its state.

Earlier this year Mr Davies wrote Dr Taieb Cherif, Secretary General of the ICAO, asking if the security arrangements at UK airports were in line with current rules.  Dr Cherif confirmed that under the existing regulations bottles could be carried as hand luggage on board aircraft.

But the ICAO has now welcomed Mr Davies' suggestion that they could reconsider the dangers of bottles on planes when they meet early next year.

In a formal submission to the organisation's security section Mr Davies has argued that as both blunt instruments and sharp objects, bottles could fall into two separate categories of prohibited items (Sections 1 & 5 - see below for full details of five generic categories).

He said: "A bottle of vodka or gin could too easily be turned into a lethal weapon.  Rules to ensure that dangerous objects are not taken aboard planes should be respected but in this instances is seems that money talks.

"The authorities appear not to want to disrupt the trade of airport shops or to make arrangements to ensure that all such purchases are put into the hold rather than carried onboard."

After the 11 September terrorist attack, Transec, the government office responsible for transport security, issued legally binding measures to prohibit certain items from being carried in hand luggage.
 
Items that may pose a threat to the security of the aircraft include knifes with blades of any length, snooker cues and scissors may only be carried in the hold of the plane.

The measures also ban any other article that the airport manager or airline operator reasonably thinks might be used or adapted for use to cause injury, but this has not been interpreted to include glass bottles.

These rules were relaxed in May to allow knitting needles and nail scissors, but tweezers and nail files can only be carried at the discretion of airport security staff.

Mr Davies said: "It will seem ridiculous to many that airport security can still decide to ban tweezers yet a litre bottle of vodka is deemed to be safe even in the wrong hands."

Aviation Security Manual Appendix 35 - Prohibited Items
Section 8 - Generic categories of prohibited items

To aid identification, prohibited items can be grouped into five generic
categories:

1. Blunt instruments - any blunt object capable of being used to cause
   injury.
2. Chemical and toxic substances - any chemical or toxic substances which
   pose a risk to the health of passengers or crew or the security/safety of
   aircraft or property.
3. Explosive and flammable substances - any explosive or highly combustible
   substances which pose a risk to the health of passengers and crew or the
   safety/security of aircraft or property.
4. Firearms, guns and weapons - any object capable, or appearing capable, of
   discharging a projectile or causing injury.
5. Pointed/edged weapons and sharp objects - any pointed or bladed item
   capable of being used to cause injury.