The dangerous reality of new airport rules

PASSENGERS have been told to get to the airport early, so that’s what they’re doing. But that’s so much more dangerous.

I WAS at Sydney airport early this morning and I got chatting to a bloke from Mt Druitt. He was a lovely fella, but had a lot on his mind, and not just airport security. With a sick relative in Canada, he had a long, anxious and uncertain journey ahead of him.

He’d heard the reports on the news about delays at airports due to the new threats and how important it was to “get to the airport early”. This was too important a flight to miss, so he did the right thing and followed the government’s advice.

He set an alarm for 3am (yes, three), concerned about the risk of missing his flight. His departure wasn’t until 10am, but this was a man who takes advice and follows warnings.

“I don’t mind, it’s just something we all have to do,” he told me.

Soon, many others were doing the same thing. All arriving bright and early, just like they’d been told, because extra screening means check-in might take longer.

They weren’t cranky and seemed to accept the new rules of travelling.

And then they waited.

And waited

And waited.

It's not even 6 am and Sydney airport is already a mess. Because, you know, disorder makes you feel so much safer pic.twitter.com/75XnTn1LV4

— Michael Mazengarb (@MichaelM_ACT) July 31, 2017

The queue now stretches outside the terminal and down the entire length of T2 st Sydney airport. pic.twitter.com/odKbrQ6Z54

— Mary Lloyd (@MaryLloyd4) July 30, 2017

The queues of people for check-in at the international terminal stretched a hundred metres, maybe more.

At the domestic terminal, both yesterday and today, there were huge lines of crowds, queues winding out the door.

Everyone had done what they’d been told to do: to get there early and keep themselves safe.

But there was a problem. Check-in processes weren’t equipped to have everyone arrive early, and all at once. In some cases, the counters weren’t even open, or bag drop facilities weren’t operational yet. They stood around and waited.

The problem isn’t that the queues are inconvenient. The problem is that they’re dangerous.

Having hundreds of people who’ve yet to be security checked, milling about in a confined space, blocking exits and hauling suitcases with God-knows-what inside is, well, crazy.

A terrorist attack at a crowded check-in counter isn’t the stuff of a wild imagination. It happened. In Belgium. Last year.

If you look at the pictures of those three suicide bombers wandering in to the departures hall at Brussels airport, they could have been any traveller, at any airport. Of course, we know now that they weren’t. They were carrying explosives hidden in suitcases.

Just before 8am, two explosions went off. The third bomber was killed by one of the blasts before he could detonate his own bomb. At a nearby train station another bomb went off, a short time after.

The suitcases were packed with nails. More than 30 people died and around 300 were injured. Many of those people were waiting to check-in for their flights.

Check-in counters and departure halls are an incredibly weak link in aviation, especially when it comes to so-called “lone wolf” attacks.

Less sophisticated attackers without means to smuggle explosives onto an aircraft, can walk them into a departure hall without a second glance from anyone. At this point, no one has checked their ID, and their bags haven’t been screened. You’d never know what was inside their suitcase until it’s too late. That’s how attackers in Belgium got away with it.

Huge queues at Sydney Airport T2 Domestic Terminal on Monday. Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

Equally as concerning, when check-in delays force waiting passengers into snaking queues on footpaths outside the terminal, those passengers are at risk of becoming victims of a lunatic driver behind the wheel of a car or truck. It’s not the stuff of imagination. Terrorists have run people over in Paris. And in London. And in Berlin. And in Stockholm.

Let’s not make it any easier in Australia. Our security agencies do a difficult job and do it well. They have, and will continue to thwart many risks against us all — many more than we might ever know.

But let’s not reduce one vulnerability at airports by creating another. If you want us there early, we’re happy to do it. But, get your processes in order and get us to safety quickly.

Don’t leave us standing out on the footpath. Not because it’s cold out there. But because it’s dangerous.