Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 26, 2007 11:35:36 GMT 12
Passenger alarm over daggers on plane
NZPA | Friday, 26 January 2007
Airport security in Auckland is being questioned after a group of Sikh priests boarded an Air New Zealand plane wearing ceremonial daggers under their robes.
Passengers became concerned when they noticed the ceremonial kirpan daggers poking out from under their traditional robes at Auckland's domestic terminal while boarding a flight to Napier on Sunday.
The Sikh priests willingly handed the daggers over to the pilot once passengers notified the cabin crew and the daggers were locked in the cockpit during the flight.
Passenger David Anderson, who notified the cabin crew about the daggers, was concerned that security in a post-September 11 terrorist attack environment was so lax.
"There was no security screening whatsoever," he told the New Zealand Herald.
"I checked in electronically. No photo ID was needed. I then boarded the plane without passing through a metal detector or having my bags x-rayed.
"This is the second time I have done this flight and it was the same the previous time.
"If this had happened in America there would have been helicopters and Swat teams and megaphones and no one would have been going to Napier in a hurry. But we do things differently down under, I guess."
Ministry of Transport safety and security group manager Bruce Johnson told the Herald planes with more than 90 seats were deemed most at risk of being held hostage and policy for screening passengers applied to these flights only.
He saw no reason for this security policy to change.
New Zealand First defence and security spokesman Ron Mark said this policy should be reassessed.
Auckland NZ Sikh Society president Daljit Singh told the newspaper men commonly put their kirpan in luggage when flying internationally as they understood the international security environment.
He thought the priests, believed to be visiting from India, might have thought the lack of airport security meant they didn't need to remove the kirpans
________________
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www.stuff.co.nz/3940989a10.html
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NZPA | Friday, 26 January 2007
Airport security in Auckland is being questioned after a group of Sikh priests boarded an Air New Zealand plane wearing ceremonial daggers under their robes.
Passengers became concerned when they noticed the ceremonial kirpan daggers poking out from under their traditional robes at Auckland's domestic terminal while boarding a flight to Napier on Sunday.
The Sikh priests willingly handed the daggers over to the pilot once passengers notified the cabin crew and the daggers were locked in the cockpit during the flight.
Passenger David Anderson, who notified the cabin crew about the daggers, was concerned that security in a post-September 11 terrorist attack environment was so lax.
"There was no security screening whatsoever," he told the New Zealand Herald.
"I checked in electronically. No photo ID was needed. I then boarded the plane without passing through a metal detector or having my bags x-rayed.
"This is the second time I have done this flight and it was the same the previous time.
"If this had happened in America there would have been helicopters and Swat teams and megaphones and no one would have been going to Napier in a hurry. But we do things differently down under, I guess."
Ministry of Transport safety and security group manager Bruce Johnson told the Herald planes with more than 90 seats were deemed most at risk of being held hostage and policy for screening passengers applied to these flights only.
He saw no reason for this security policy to change.
New Zealand First defence and security spokesman Ron Mark said this policy should be reassessed.
Auckland NZ Sikh Society president Daljit Singh told the newspaper men commonly put their kirpan in luggage when flying internationally as they understood the international security environment.
He thought the priests, believed to be visiting from India, might have thought the lack of airport security meant they didn't need to remove the kirpans
________________
The above is from here
www.stuff.co.nz/3940989a10.html
You can place feedback there and it's worth a read of the feedback too.
