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Given the Once-Over
The Travel Troubleshooter · May 22, 2002

Q: On two recent flights with Southwest Airlines I received complete baggage and body searches. Apparently I match a profile because I made a reservation within three days of travel, traveled on a one-way ticket, or changed my time of departure.

The latest security checks have been totally ineffective. On a flight from Chicago to Cleveland everything was checked in my carry-on except the computer pocket of the bag. During my inspection a federal examiner walked up to watch the procedure. After I was inspected, I explained to him what occurred and gave him my card. He told me I was selected (it was not a randomized inspection) and concurred with me that I was meeting the selection processes.

On another flight to Chicago I was checked because I had made the reservation within 24 hours, moved the departure to an earlier flight, and it was a one-way itinerary. This was an award ticket. During the inspection, no one checked the pockets of my large ski style coat. If the checks are to be done they need to be done right, or not at all.

I've written to Southwest about this problem. Is there anything else I can do?

-- Andrew deLivron

A: Your assertion that the new security measures don't work is correct. That's the conclusion of an undercover test of screeners at 32 U.S. airports conducted from November until February. In an internal memo published recently, the Transportation Department's inspector general reported widespread failures in most areas of airport security. Federal security screeners allowed hundreds of guns, knives, or simulated explosives through checkpoints-any of which could have potentially led to another terrorist attack.

What can you do? You can vote. The new security precautions were put in place by a government eager to leave the public with the false impression that skies were safe from terrorism. Many of the steps they took were misguided, reactionary, and foolish. Come November, you can vote them out of office, not only for screwing up security, but also for blowing the best chance in decades to reform a badly broken commercial aviation system.

Even though this incident wasn't Southwest's fault since it doesn't control the checkpoints, it rose to the occasion. It responded to your letter by sending you vouchers for four free tickets. (Mental note: I should send more letters to Southwest.) This was the most articulate response any airline could make, a genuine "sorry" even though it wasn't the carrier's mistake. I applaud Southwest for it.

I believe that Southwest, like a small group of other airlines that pays attention to its customer feedback, is embarrassed by the new profiling systems. Surely it knows that only the dumbest terrorists will buy a one-way plane ticket on short notice, pay for it in cash, or change a reservation at the last minute (three actions that would trigger an automatic search).

There's got to be a better way of checking for suspicious passengers, and if Southwest is as smart as I think it is, then it's pressuring the government for a real change even as I write this.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator based in Key Largo, Fla. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. ChrisCrossings appears weekly on this site.