Feature: The secret life of airport security
Feature: The secret life of airport security
Tuesday, 26, Aug 2008 12:00
What's life actually like for the men and women who have to X-ray your bags?
Security screeners at Stansted airport are going on strike this Monday in a dispute over pay. Holidaymakers will be upset, and some analysts are warning of increased security concerns. But what's life actually like for the men and women who check your bags?
Well, to save you guessing, their work is tedious and laughably underpaid.
"You have thousands of people coming through every hour," says Paul Smith, aviation group secretary for PCS union. "The vast majority of transgressions, like liquids, are genuine mistakes. People recognise they have to pass through security but it's not something they want to do. You have to make sure you get the balance right between customer services and ensuring security. And then you have to maintain a high level of concentration in what are fairly mundane circumstances. Until of course some thing happens."
It's that thought of something happening that weighs on the minds of people doing the job. Should any terrorist attack succeed, airport security workers are under no illusions about what will happen. The media will spend two or three days expressing the nation's sorrow, and then it will start looking for someone to blame.
"There is a pressure," Smith continues. "They all understand what the nature of the job is.
"Everyone wants to get on their flight quickly, or they're on holiday and see it as a chore. The operators need to maintain their level of service and ensure there's no breach of security. It's a challenging task, and of course it's got to be done thoroughly.
"You can't cut corners. If the queue is very long there's little you can do to speed that up as an individual. But that doesn't mean people who are late won't get irate."
One if the difficulties airport security face is the horrible combination of tedium and significance. Watching an endless video of travellers' luggage on X-ray won't be entertaining for more than five minutes, whatever naughty thoughts you might be having. But if you let your concentration lax for even a minute you could have a serious disaster on your hands. To get over it, airport security operates on the basis of constant changeover.
"They're given regular changeovers, and there are regulations around those who are operating the machinery - particularly the viewing screen," Smith explains. "Off the top of my head, I think it's either a twenty minute or half-hour cycle. Trouble is, that only adds to some customers' frustration. You're in the queue and then you see staff changing over."
And how much do staff get for vigilantly keeping you safe in the air while pursuing a relatively unremarked-upon career? About £20,000. No, it's not a lot.
It's hard to know who will come out the victor of this messy little scrap between GMB members and Gate Aviation Services, but certainly holidaymakers will be savagely inconvenienced, airport security will continue to get mediocre wages and travellers will continue to notice them only when they get in the way of their flight. Nothing that happens over bank holiday weekend will change that.
Ian Dunt