Secure your checked bags -- fly with a gun

[QT Luong]

To prevent the contents of your checked bag to get lost or stolen, just add a gun:

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/24..._checked_.html

[evan clarke]

People...wake up..it's time to vote everybody in office in any capacity OUT..EC

[darr]

I just e-mailed my pilot husband (out of the country at the moment) the article since we are planning a trip to the Galapagos Islands in June and I have been thinking about going all digital for the trip, but really want to take some film. This is his quick response:

"The starter pistol is an interesting idea. Domestic OK, but not international. Upon arrival in Costa Rica and Ecuador, customs officials scan our bags through X-Ray machines looking for contraband to include drugs, weapons, etc. So, International, no good."

We will be flying into Ecuador for another flight out to the Galapagos to board a ship. I think I will still get a Starter Pistol for Domestic flights. Thanks for the post QT.

[Capocheny]

QT,

Wow! That's incredible!

I'm not sure we'd be able to get away with the same tactics here in Canada but what a novel idea of having your luggage "tracked and secured" without additional costs!

Better than FedEx Tracking!

Yikes!!!

Cheers

[David A. Goldfarb]

Pilferage by baggage handlers is rampant. I've had my locks cut off my bag before 9/11 and a laptop was stolen while the bag was in checked luggage (last time I do that!). I don't trust the extra tracking for weapons to be adequate. If baggage handlers can sneak something out of a bag, they can sneak something into a bag as well, and yet we hear virtually nothing of efforts to improve security in this regard.

[Rory_5244]

If baggage handlers can sneak something out of a bag, they can sneak something into a bag as well, and yet we hear virtually nothing of efforts to improve security in this regard.

My sentiments exactly.

[Greg Lockrey]

To prevent the contents of your checked bag to get lost or stolen, just add a gun:

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/24..._checked_.html

What!!! You don't think the baggage handlers will help themseves to your bag if it has a gun...pretty nieve, don't you think?

[Scott Davis]

I suspect because of the usual reactive (instead of proactive) security measures taken here, we don't see this happening in US airports, but in most foreign countries, there are services offered at the airport that will in essence shrinkwrap your suitcase before you check it. This pretty much guarantees that the contents have not been tampered with, as you'll know it the moment your bag comes down the conveyor. Won't stop a dastardly villain from absconding with your bag in its entirety if they really want something you have inside, but it's like having a sign for an alarm system on your house, even if the alarm is not armed. It will deter all but the most determined theif because it adds a layer of complexity and time to their entry and escape.

[Mike Boden]

This reminds me of the Schapelle Corby case. She's an Australian woman who has been convicted of smuggling marijuana into Bali. Her claim is that drug traffickers in Australia planted the drugs in her bags at one airport that was supposed to be picked up at another. However, they were never grabbed and continued on to Bali, her final destination. At any rate, she was first sentenced to death, yet her penalty has been reduced to 20 years in prison. Unbelievable! You can check out her official website put together by her family: www.freeschapelle.net

[Brian Ellis]

What!!! You don't think the baggage handlers will help themseves to your bag if it has a gun...pretty nieve, don't you think?

You need to read the article before calling it "nieve." The point isn't that the gun deters baggage handlers from breaking into the bag. The point is that the bag gets locked, you get the key, baggage handlers don't get it, and the bag is subject to security checks and extra attention all along the way. Could they break into a bag locked with security locks and that's subject to the extra tracking and attention discussed in the article? I suppose so but with so many bags that are unlocked or that are locked but not subject to the extra attention given bags with weapons, why bother?