Just plane silliness... 06.03.08
I realise that with the
ongoing campaign to reduce carbon footprints and the
battle to save the planet, there are many out there who
would like us to stop flying, but I never really figured
it would get as far as the airlines themselves wanting
us to stop.
But now I’m convinced that while they still want to get
as much money from us as possible, they would actually
prefer that we didn’t show up - and then of course they
would charge us for the inconvenience.
It all started with online booking which when it was
introduced a few years back I thought was a great idea.
In fact I thought it was fantastic. After all anything
that meant you didn’t have to queue when you got to the
airport was going to be a blessing. |
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But it didn’t put an end to
the queues and nowadays there seem to be more queues
than ever. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if soon
you’ll have to queue to get into one of the queues.
And yes I know that increased security has added to the
delays at airports, but then again stupid people just
compound the problem.
You know the kind of people who insist on trying to
bring dangerous items like Samurai swords, bottles of
water or liquid make-up through the security barrier.
I could never really understand why some of the items on
the banned list made it on the banned list.
“Okay folks, pay attention I have a tube of toothpaste
and I’m not afraid to use it. Unless I get a bazillion
US dollars and safe passage to a tropical paradise
you’re all going to be polished off one by one…”
Not the kind of thing I could imagine from a possible
hijacker but then again if I can’t understand why some
of the stuff made it on the list, I equally can’t
understand why some people feel they can’t get on a
plane without some of the stuff.
Like make-up for instance. I’ve seen women almost go
into shut-down at airports when their make-up was taken
from them at a security check and I could never
understand why.
Anyway it’s unlikely to be a problem for too much longer
because the way things are going you won’t be able to
take anything on a plane with you.
Well, okay you might be able to…if you pay for it.
Like luggage for instance. Now I don’t know about you,
but usually when you are heading away on a plane you
need some kind of luggage with you…even if it is only a
small amount.
But planes don’t like luggage now and if you take bags
with you now you have got to be prepared to pay…and pay.
I wondered about this when I saw an advertisement for a
television documentary recently, which wondered were
people getting too fat to fly? |
Apparently the dead weight
being lifted from overweight passengers might be causing
planes to crash, but I’m not sure if the maths add up. I
mean if you take away the weight of the luggage which
has to be a lot less now that people have to pay through
the nose for it, then surely the planes are not carrying
that much extra.
But my fears increased when that advert was quickly
followed by one for vacuum pack bags claiming to make
storage much simpler. It was then I began to wonder if
people were now putting their clothes into these bags
and just swallowing it to avoid paying for the cases.
And that could give a whole new meaning to ‘plane food’… |
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A DROP OF
PORTER is
the weekly
column of
Inishowen
Independent
editor,
Liam Porter. |
|
