DETROIT, 15 May — Passengers checking in at the Wayne County Edward H. McNamara Terminal had a taste of the new stringent safety regulations when they were asked to unlock their baggage while it was being loaded onto the conveyor belt.
“This is a safety regulation by the new Transportation Security Agency. If you don’t unlock your suitcase, it will be broken open by security personnel,” journalists were told at the Northwest Airlines’ check-in counter at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.Besides not locking the luggage, all passengers including the journalists from the Gulf states, India, Italy and Switzerland, went through a rigorous security check that included wiping the inside of their shoes and testing it for the presence of chemical explosives. Their hand luggage was also thoroughly searched and toothpaste was partially squeezed to make sure it did not conceal any harmful chemical. Robert E. Ball, Jr., Northwest Airlines’ vice president, Customer Service, said the new air safety measures applied to passengers at all US airports and not only to those in Detroit. He, did concede, however, that the possibility of pilfering from passengers’ baggage existed. Also, there is an element of risk for the passenger if his unlocked suitcase is found to contain a prohibited item smuggled in while the baggage is unlocked for inspection. This point was raised by the journalists.
Ball added: “It is possible to break open any lock so the element of risk is the same.” Journalists suggested that the baggage should at least be tagged once its contents had been examined. Moreover, as news spreads by word of mouth regarding unsecured passengers’ baggage originating from the US, it could become vulnerable to pilferage or acts of sabotage at points where security is lax. The blame would then fall on the baggage owner.The press conference was called to promote the Detroit Metro Airport’s new WorldGateway terminal of Northwest Airlines. Northwest, along with its partner, KLM, operates 2,400 flights per day around the world. The $1.2 billion state-of-the-art terminal is being promoted among Gulf tourists visiting Detroit, home to some 200,000 Arab immigrants out of a population of 951,270. Referring to the security aspects at the new terminal, Ball said Northwest Airlines had invested $25 million in acquiring 42 electronic detection systems (EDS). This was part of its program for speeding up the passenger check-in process and cutting down delays. “All bags will either be screened or forced open where such machines are unavailable,” he said, citing air safety regulations.