The aftermath of the liquid bomb plot
Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast
The Independent
3.6 • 628 Ratings
🗓️ 11 June 2024
⏱️ 6 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
I'm beneath the flightpath at London City airport in the Docklands area of the capital. And trying to make sense of the bizarre series of announcements on airport security.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to today's independent travel podcast with me, Simon Calder. It's Tuesday the 11th of June and I'm actually under the flight path for London City Airport, which is hugely relevant to today's podcast. And that's because I'm talking about airport security and the absolute |
| 0:23.8 | shambles that we seem to be going through. Very briefly, sequence of events. August 2006, |
| 0:33.9 | the liquid bomb plot is uncovered. This was a plan to smuggle explosives aboard transatlantic aircraft in soft drink containers, |
| 0:46.3 | typically half a litre, mix them on board, detonate the improvised explosive device, |
| 0:52.3 | and absolutely murder everybody on board. |
| 0:58.0 | A horrible, horrible plan and immediately liquids were banned pretty much worldwide on aircraft. |
| 1:06.0 | A few months later, the 100 milliliter rule came into effect. If you remember that one, |
| 1:12.1 | it was, well, it's been in fact ever since, but it was a temporary move. Nothing in a container |
| 1:20.2 | more than 100 milliliters. And furthermore, you have to have all of those in a clear resellable plastic bag. |
| 1:30.5 | If you are a regular traveller, will be all too resigned to that. |
| 1:35.3 | Well, five years ago, Boris Johnson, Prime Minister, says, |
| 1:39.1 | don't worry, I'm going to get rid of all that stuff. |
| 1:41.5 | So 2022, we will be able to walk through the checkpoints and not even have to |
| 1:47.5 | worry about all the bags and toiletries and 100 milliliters and laptops and so on leave them all in the |
| 1:54.0 | bags which is great but it didn't happen partly because of COVID and then in 2022 they said okay first of June 2024 which you all |
| 2:05.1 | recognises 10 days ago well seven airports have all the new scanners in place these |
| 2:11.7 | scanners are marvellous they require you to have um computed tomography scanners same as used for medical things and the idea |
| 2:23.9 | is that they will look into the cabin baggage they will be able to identify anything that's a threat |
| 2:30.2 | and they'll just most often go straight through and off you go. |
| 2:34.5 | So much easier, much easier. |
| 2:36.5 | And so Aberdeen, Newcastle, Tyside, Leeds Bradford, South End, London City, where I am, |
| 2:45.7 | and also Birmingham Airport, install all the new kit. |
... |
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