In the name of security
I haven’t been taking flights much last year, so I had not seen the backrub on dignity in the name of security until recently.
- Rude shock one: Asked to take my Clarks off and place on the hand luggage scanner conveyor. Schiphol, Amsterdam.
- Rude shock two: The entire hotel arranged private transport scanned at the gates—like it was some live bomb; and then body scanners at the entrance. Hyatt Regency, Mumbai.
- Rude shock three: Body frisking, backpack and purse scanning. Kids included. Atria Mall, Worli.
- Rude shock four: Frisked 6-8 times (I stopped counting); again, kids included. Sahar, Mumbai.
Wonder what this world is coming to. Goodbye dignity, hello intrusion.
Update: And oh, I completely missed mentioning about those grilling questions in the name of psycho-profiling at departure gates.
Update 2: For the record, I have no problems with being scanned. Just hoping it’s done in a little dignified and non-intrusive way. Asking me to take my shoes off and place on the conveyor is not one of those. I consider frisking intrusive. I’d much prefer if the body scanner also scanned my shoes without me taking them off. Ditto for everything I am wearing.