Canadian Air Transport Security has loosened up the rules for “security” in Canadian airports — agents are no longer required to sound the alarm and shut down the airport when someone remarks, “Your hockey team is going to bomb tonight.”
I cleared security in Toronto last year with a friend who had a bottle of perfume in her suitcase. The X-ray tech spotted it and we got sent to a screening booth so they could get a look at it. The security agent pulled it out, and my friend said, “Oh, it’s because it’s shaped a little like a grenade,” and the man went white and said, “Don’t say that!”
It was as if grenades were like Bloody Mary, and mentioning their name could cause them to appear.
The bulletin provides key examples of both types. The false statement “I have a bomb in my bag” will continue to bring the police running. But the comment “Your hockey team is going to get bombed tonight” is merely careless, it advises.
“Inform the person that he or she could commit a serious offence saying such words at an airport,” say the new instructions, referring to careless remarks. But officers should then continue the regular screening process without sounding the alarm.
Some other examples from the document, by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority:
– “I am going to set fire to the airplane with this blowtorch” (false declaration), versus “What do you think I look like, a terrorist?” (careless or inflammatory).
– “He is going to hijack the aircraft” (false declaration) versus “Hi Jack!” (careless or inflammatory).
– “The man in seat 32F has a machine gun” (false declaration), versus “My gun misfired when I was hunting this weekend” (careless or inflammatory).
(Thanks, Greg!)