Air New Zealand staff have nothing to hide - some nudity?

Air New Zealand staff have nothing to hide...

ISIS supporters working as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff at Brussels airport per Daily Mail Online

This news http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3517493/At-FIFTY-ISIS-supporters-working-baggage-handlers-cleaners-catering-staff-Brussels-airport-claim-police.html is not a huge surprise:

'Police at Brussels airport have claimed at least 50 Islamic State supporters are working there as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff.

In an astonishing open letter, the officers said they have warned about the terrorist sympathisers whose security badges give them access to planes, but they remain employed.

The airport police, who are threatening to go on strike because of security deficiencies, also said they have raised the issue of terrorists scouting the airport to plan possible attacks.'

How many similar Islamic State supporters are working at Heathrow airport next to Hayes and Southall? How about City Airport next to Tower Hamlets? How about Luton Airport? Anyone else not feeling that safe flying?

Seventy Paris airport workers have security passes revoked over extremism fears per The Telegraph

The Telegraph reports http://www.telegraph.co.uk/yL47N on an update to a story I posted last week 

about the number of people on a terrorist watchlist who were working at French airports.

'Suspected radical Islamists identified as authorities try to weed out potential terrorists working at Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports in wake of attacks on French capital

Seventy workers at Paris airports suspected of being radical Islamists have had their security passes revoked since the deadly attacks in the city a month ago.'

That not scary enough? 

Read on...

'Security agents have also examined the contents of around 4,000 workers' lockers at Charles de Gaulle and Orly as the airports authority attempts to weed out any potential terrorists working at the busy transport hubs.

French security sources have said that Islamist militants killed in a police raid in a Paris suburb five days after the November 13 attacks were planning to attack Charles de Gaulle, France's biggest international airport.

The radicalisation of airport personnel sparked concern after the crash in October of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt which Western intelligence officials believe was brought down by a bomb smuggled on board by an airport worker.'

Flying is rapidly becoming an even more dangerous undertaking.

Are we insane

Last week I blogged about the 57 workers at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris who were on a French terror watchlist, not very reassuring.

Today I read that:

'Back in August, we did an investigation—the inspector General did—of the Department of Homeland Security, and they had 72 individuals that were on the terrorist watch list that were actually working at the Department of Homeland Security. The director had to resign because of that. Then we went further and did and eight-airport investigation. We had staffers go into eight different airports to test the department of homeland security screening process at major airports. They had a 95 percent failure rate. We had folks—this was a testing exercise, so we had folks going in there with guns on their ankles, and other weapons on their persons, and there was a 95 percent failure rate.

I have very low confidence based on empirical data that we’ve got on the Department of Homeland Security. I think we desperately need another set of eyeballs looking at the vetting process. That’s vetting that’s being done at major airports where we have a stationary person coming through a facility, and we’re failing 95 percent of the time. I have even lower confidence that they can conduct the vetting process in places like Jordan, or Belize or on the Syrian border, or in Cairo, or Beirut in any better fashion, especially given the huge volume of applicants we’ve had seeking refugee status.'

Happy flying now? How about living or working within a couple of hundred miles of any airport, or under a flightpath  or indeed just about anywhere.

Are our governments really that inept?

57 Paris airport workers on terror watch list.

How stupid are we in the West?

'The security passes of 86,000 workers at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris will be reviewed after it was found that 57 employees with access to airliners were on a terror watch list, according to a report.

Security badges were taken away from dozens of workers at the airport after terror attacks in Paris in January — but others continued working, the Sunday Times of London reported.

Police official Philippe Riffault told the paper that the review of airport passes will begin with 5,000 security personnel.

"It's a question of verifying what these people might have been doing since they obtained their authorization," Riffault said.

Police carried out extensive searches of the airport under state-of-emergency powers after the Nov. 13 Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed and 350 injured by Islamic State militants.

Belgium, where several of the Paris attackers had lived, also has pulled security badges from several airport workers after discovering that some had links to jihadis who had traveled to Syria.

Meanwhile, anxiety has been brewing about radicalism among bus, Metro and railroad workers.

Samy Amimour, who blew himself up in the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, managed to get a job as a bus driver while on a watch list.'

Why don't we take this terrorist threat seriously?

More here at Jihad Watch but not on most of the MSM especially not the dhimmified BBC.

Arabic Graffiti Found On Four EasyJet Planes

Sky reports

'An investigation has been launched after Arabic graffiti was found daubed on panels covering fuel tanks of four easyJet planes in France.Lisa King, easyJet cabin safety manager, alerted company employees to the graffiti with an email informing them of the discovery of "four aircraft in France with written inscriptions on the inside of the fuel panel, and toilet door in Arabic script".

The airline did not give any details of the nature of the inscriptions.

However, a spokeswoman for easyJet said the matter was not considered to be a threat either by the airline or the authorities, and no passengers had to be removed from the aircraft.

She said: "EasyJet assessed this issue, each time working in full consultation with the authorities, and is entirely satisfied it is nothing more than graffiti."EasyJet takes very seriously any security related issue and would not operate a flight unless we are entirely satisfied it is completely safe to do so."

EasyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in full compliance with all regulations. The safety and security of its passengers and crews is always easyJet's highest priority."'

Nothing to worry about? Graffiti won't bring down a plane it is true but I'd like to know what the graffiti was and if someone can get away with adding graffiti to a plane could they also adulterate the fuel or add something unwanted to the plane in that area?

Man 'Chokes' Woman After Row On US Flight

http://news.sky.com/story/1572815/man-chokes-woman-after-row-on-us-flight

Airlines have got to stop seats from reclining. One gets little enough space on a plane and to lose some of that when the passenger in front of you pushes their seat into your space is really annoying.

I don't condone throttling the offending passenger, blocking the seat from reclining is a much better solution...

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner steep take off

I do not want to experience a takeoff that steep on a commercial flight.

The most heartbreaking story that I have heard for a long time

A Wisconsin woman says she tried to call her husband moments before he apparently killed himself, but wasn't allowed to by a flight crew, reports television station WTMJ.

Karen Momsen-Evers was in New Orleans aboard a Southwest Airlines flight back home to Germantown, Wisconsin when she received a disturbing text from her husband, asking for forgiveness for what he was about to do.

"I started shaking the minute I got the text and I was panicked," she said. "I didn't know what to do."

Karen says she knew he was serious because he'd been under a lot of stress. She tried to quickly call him, but says a flight attendant wouldn't let her.

"The steward slapped the phone down and said, 'You need to go on airplane mode now,'" said Karen.

Karen was in tears as the plane took off, and as the flight reached cruising altitude, she says she tried again to have a flight attendant make an emergency call.

"I just wanted somebody to go and try to save him, and nobody helped," she said.

Karen sat in her seat for the rest of the flight crying and staring at the text her husband had sent. When the flight landed in Milwaukee, she called police, but it was too late. Her husband was dead.

Southwest Airlines offered a statement, saying their "hearts go out to the Evers family during this difficult time." They went on to say that flight attendants are trained to notify the captain if there's an emergency that poses a hazard to the plane or passengers on board.

In this case, they say the captain wasn't notified.

Karen says the outcome could have been changed.

"The pain of knowing that something could have been done," said Karen. "It breaks my heart."

Southwest Airlines offered Karen a full refund on the flight. 

Story from ABC 7 News

Yes, a refund would suffice...

Something else to worry about on your next flight...

Hacking an aeroplane from your seat?

Obvious when you think about it

Per a letter in today's Times:

'Sir, Perhaps airlines should follow the example of El Al, whose cockpits have direct access to a restroom without pilots having to leave the cockpit.
Graham Warner
Whitefield, Greater Manchester'

If true, it seems rather a good idea but tricky to convert short haul planes I would have thought. 

Airline Boss Sorry Over Daughter's Nut Row but better than British Airways

As reported by Sky http://news.sky.com/story/1390559/airline-boss-sorry-over-daughters-nut-row

'Korean Air's Chairman Cho Yang-ho told reporters the 40-year-old's behaviour was "foolish" and that he regrets he did not raise her better.

The row happened after Cho Hyun-ah, who was travelling in first class, was offered macadamia nuts in a bag and not on a plate.'

British Airways don't even serve Macadamia nuts any more.

Are you missing out when you're flying? NSFW

We know what happens on the flight deck, I've posted the videos before.

However there's all sots of shenanigans going on in the cabin as well...


2 Girls Flash on Airplane and Airport by miketru


naughty on flight by Medelisss

 
Girl flash tits on the airplane by Medelisss


Un plan a 3 avec des hôtesses de l'air pris en... by VideoBuzzActu

South African Airways pilot arrested after stripping in protest over airport security | Mail Online

'A South African Airways pilot stripped to his underwear in front of crew and passengers in protest over rigorous airport searches.

Captain W Van Ginkel, who was about to board the airline's Flight SA 025 jet to fly to Johannesburg, reportedly removed all his clothes except his pants at Harare International Airport, Zimbabwe '

I know how he feels...

More here, with some poor spelling  here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2679008/South-African-Airways-pilot-arrested-incident-exposure-stripping-pants-passengers-protest-airport-security.html

QI on flying and accents

Quite interesting, indeed!

A quick question that I have not seen raised before re aircraft communication systems

In all the coverage of the 'missing' Malaysian Air 777 - Flight MH370 - people are accepting that the aircraft's communication systems were turned off in the plane, whether by one of the pilots or by a third party (or parties). What I'd like to have answered is why can theses systems be turned off from within the plane? Under what normal flying circumstances would that be necessary?

I'm switching to Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines have banned under12s from the upper deck of their Airbus 380s.

Please British Airways do the same for the upper deck of 747s and one cabin of each class.


Meanwhile WestJet almost got my vote to, but it was an April's Fool

Well airport security can be trying

The rigmarole at British airports of removing your laptop and/or tablet from your carry-on bag, but not your pda (why the distinction? when does a pda become a tablet? 4", 5", 7", 9"?), then removing your coat or jacket but not always a cardigan or windcheater, removing your belt and sometimes your shoes can be rather trying.

Putting everything back into place whilst not holding up the queue too much is also extremely irritating but we'll leave that for the moment.

Many is the time that I've joked to Mrs NotaSheep and other nearby passengers that before long they'll require us to all strip completely before going through the magic arch. Well according to the Daily Mail two passengers at Manchester Airport tried to just that. Apparently:

'Hadfield-Hyde told the court that security guard Abdullah Mayet had indicated that she should take off all her clothes before passing through the scanner. She said: ‘He was pointing at me saying, “Off”. I said to him, “Do you mean just my jacket?”, but he was saying, “Off, off, all off”.’

I think I see the problem, I've also experienced the occasional security guard whose grasp of English is somewhat shaky and whose attitude is rude and dismissive. Indeed Mrs NotaSheep almost got into a serious row with one such security guard at a London airport when they put her carry-on bag to one side for manual checking but then just left it there for almost half  an hour rather than check it. That security guard seemed to be of a similar racial background to the guard in this instance, as Mrs NotaSheep says, some of these people just don't know how to deal with modern women.

Double entendre of the day?

The BBC report that:

'A passenger on a plane travelling to Luton Airport from Israel has been questioned by police after a snake was discovered on the flight.

The man had brought his "small pet snake" on-board the Easyjet flight from Tel Aviv, the airline confirmed.

A spokesman said passengers were "not in any danger". It was later found to be a "harmless" corn snake.'

But it was this that caught my eye:

'Hugo Allon tweeted: "My plane is being met by police because someone brought a snake on board and whipped it out mid flight. Never a dull moment with Easyjet."'

Whipped his snake out during a flight, was it hidden in his trousers?

Huge demand for Baby-free Zones on Planes

YouGov report that:

'Four in ten (79%) British adults, including a majority of those with young kids, think it would be a 'good idea' for airlines to reserve areas for passengers aged 12 and up. Only 13% think the move would be a bad idea.'

More here http://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/08/27/four-five-want-child-free-zone-planes/

Of course it's a popular idea, flying is bad enough without having a screaming baby assaulting your eardrums. Flying is uncomfortable enough without having a five year old kicking the back of your seat for 4 hours. Flying is nasty enough without having the baby in the row behind you throw up over his parents and you. Flying is nauseating enough without you having to witness someone changing their baby's nappy on the other side of the aisle.

All of the above examples have happened to me over the last few years...

What I don't understand is why airlines that operate multiple cabins on long haul flights don't designate one cabin in each class as child free. I'd pay a 10% surcharge to be sure of a relatively peaceful flight.