Thai Airways Discovers the Security Theatre Time Machine (View from the Wing)

Inane security procedures aren’t exclusive to the U.S.

And it’s just so 2002.

The Winter Olympics were in Salt Lake City. The ceasefire began in Sri Lanka. Queen Elizabeth passed away. Robert Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison for selling secrets to the Soviets. Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas died. And the Department of Homeland Security was created.

Thai Airways is trialing going with all plastic flatware on its Bangkok – Los Angeles route.

Chatree Pongsak, director of THAI’s flight operations safety department, said the change had been made out of concern for passenger safety.

He said the stainless steel cutlery could be used as a weapon in a terrorist attack or to commit a crime on board.

The airline’s Company Safety Committee (CSC) is considering phasing out the metallic cutlery on all of the airline’s routes, he added.

The committee agreed to begin by piloting the use of plastic flatware on THAI’s Bangkok-Los Angeles flights.

It the switch proves successful, the airline’s China routes will follow suit.

“Our decision is based on information about possible terrorist acts and the number of in-flight brawls,” Mr Chatree said.

“We want to prevent steel forks or knives from being used in personal attacks.”

They’d better ban Toblerone, too. (And perhaps all duty free?)

Of course Thai Airways, and airlines around the world, have been offering metal cutlery without terrorist incident for the past decade, and for half a dozen decades before that. But empirical evidence of (lack of) risk doesn’t play a role here.

Perhaps not so ironically the only place I recall actually going through a nude-o-scope is in Bangkok making a domestic-to-international transfer (there was no opt-out option).

(HT: estnet on Milepoint)

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The post Thai Airways Discovers the Security Theatre Time Machine appeared first on View from the Wing.

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If it was for security, this would've been done a ling time ... by Pu
What's next? Straight jackets and rubber seats for everyone? by Ken
It must be all those “in-flight brawls”. Mr Chatree said ... by Mickey in PDX
@Andrew 1 Next up, switching to wine-in-a-box in FC, due to ... by Robert Hanson
Not quite dead yet! by The Queen Mother
Plus 4 more...

Thai Airways Discovers the Security Theatre Time Machine

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