Mark the date – I agree with Simeon Brown!
No. Way.
I agree with Simeon Brown!
- Transport Minister Simeon Brown is exploring options to outsource aviation security at airports.
- Brown has asked whether airports, airlines or private security firms could do a better job than the Government’s Aviation Security Service.
- Air New Zealand supports having contestable security arrangements – citing the current model’s high costs.
- The Board of Airline Representatives NZ is urging caution and care
I have a hate/hate relationship with domestic airport security in this country.
Every. Single. Time. I escape Wellington, I have an unpleasant interaction with Wellington Airport Security and I dislike the Auckland interaction as well.
There is no bloody reason to take your boots off, take your laptop out of the bag (it’s a fucking X-ray) and I despise the naked photos or getting groped by a State goon just to catch a glorified flying bus to Wellington!
Absolutely Positively Groped doesn’t have the same ring for tourism does it?
The regional flights have no safety screening process other then ‘don’t be a dick’, so I don’t see why I have to wait to catch my flight to perform some safety process that is pointless and only there to generate jobs.
Why do we need to be photographed naked?
Why do we need to take off our boots?
Why do we need to be groped?
Why do we need to take the laptop out of the bag – IT’S A FUCKING X-RAY!
The staff are always jumped up little arseholes who couldn’t make it as security guards, so why must the process be so pointlessly cumbersome?
My suspicion is these needless security measures are for some insurance discount for planes over a certain size because they don’t apply to the smaller planes, you could walk on one of those with an operating chainsaw and the regional flights don’t blink.
If privatising Airport Security dumps the needlessness of the pre-boarding fiasco of removing boots, laptops, naked scans and getting groped just to fly domestically to Wellington then the world will be a better place and I will acknowledge there is something the State shouldn’t be involved in, like making me waiting needlessly to get on a bloody plane to fly domestically.
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NO NO NO to the privatisation. Perhaps to keep the blood pressure normal, it’s just easier to think of some of the officious 0ssifers as a bit pathetic. Respect MY Authoritah!
The Australians are/can be worse, and as I understand it, they’ve been privatised.
Having just returned from San Francisco and the other two airports in the Bay Area (Oakland and San Jose),
the US Authoritahs (TSA? and Customs) were the most efficient and polite. No removal of ankle shoes, and simply “How big is your belt buckle? – keep it on, it’s OK Sirrrr”. Travelling to SFO from Wellington via Melbourne, WLG and AKL were much the same (watching some exercise their egos), while Melbourne was just ridiculous.
“ If privatising Airport Security dumps the needlessness of the pre-boarding fiasco. . . “
lol. Wait until you see the Ts&Cs in the tender/contract.
“Why do we need to take the laptop out of the bag – IT’S A FUCKING X-RAY!”
Because it’s an Xray not a magic machine and that means there are some things that it can’t penetrate (like the batteries in your laptop). So having those devices in your bag potentially obscures other things.
And as Avsec is part of the CAA, a crown entity, I assume they are just following government regulations. I’m not sure why new minimum wage security screening staff would change that.
“you could walk on one of those with an operating chainsaw and the regional flights don’t blink”.
Yea nah. I once tried to transport a small chainsaw without petrol, oil, bar or chain in my hand luggage. I was lucky to be allowed on the plane without it. Humorous now.
mate!
Wear another kind of shoes
entitled much? Think you’ve been hacked by Chris Luxon
“Every. Single. Time. I escape Wellington, I have an unpleasant interaction with Wellington Airport Security, and I dislike the Auckland interaction as well.”
In several decades of travel for work, I have never had a single problem. I was randomly scanned once in Brisbane but that’s about it. Hundreds, maybe thousands of trips both locally and overseas, often to very dodgy third world countries.
Martyn, I reckon you’re flagged on the computer.
An old friend of mine who is a chartered accountant is the most conservative type you’ll ever meet. In his youth he overstayed in the UK and that somehow put him on a list. Like 40 years ago! Every time he goes through the border he gets pulled aside. Once flagged always flagged.
They will still take the nude scan but will sell the photos now. You need to learn to live with the system instead of fighting it. I flew to Sydney about 12 years ago to put the roof on my brothers house and tried to take my tin snips and other tools, I had to remove them from my bag but I found a better pair cheaper there so no drama. A friend picked them up from the airport.
Better that than having some crazed person blowing up a plane duh!
No Martyn – stop it now – it’s not about personal reckons but public services. Since when has a private contractor ever made public services better (or cheaper). Just look at the BS in Nelson over the cost gouging of a local school to hire public facilities (that sit empty most of the time). The same thing happened to council pools and every other “public” facility that’s ever been run by private goons.
New Zealand is an over-governed neo-liberal cesspool of citizen gouging.
Only the good looking ones get gropped.
The private company aviation security used at Australian airports are far worse than the NZ govt aviation security. Be careful what you wish for.