Globaliser is a trusted member of the forum, and so are you Spiff! Come on guys, don't fall out - it's not worth it!

I am a little surprised, and a trifle disturbed, at the frequency with which our BAA Security colleagues are referred to as "imbeciles", "numbnuts" , "idiots" or other derogatory phrases. Guys, I am no lover of the jobsworths either, but the poor sods have no choice in the matter and tagging them with these labels really isn't helpful.

The Government, through the civil servants within the Department For Transport, set the rules and regulations for Security Screening at Airports. In addition to this, the CAA sets rules and regulations concerning the carriage of "Dangerous Goods By Air" so the BAA staff are issued with instructions to watch out for certain items in quantity (eg butane gas curling tong refills). The airlines' management (in T5's case, only BA) also issue instructions on things that concern them specifically or things they want the security men to watch out for.

DFT inspectors frequently observe the staff (and in T5's case it is often in a room far away by CCTV) and they get a bloody good roasting if they are not considered thorough enough. When they pat you down during a hand search, they are supposed to frisk with a firm touch - almost groping - and woe betide them if they are observed to be too gentle. If they are too firm, then there's the risk the passenger will complain and, whilst it may appear that nothing ever gets done, too many complaints and the guy is on the carpet!

During the course of a shift, our BAA security staff will normally suffer at least one instance of being sworn at or spat at. I know what it's like, having been on the receiving end when I was a soldier in Northern Ireland on checkpoint duty, only we had stones and bottles thrown at us as well!

It may surprise you to learn that these security people even get abuse from staff who work at Heathrow and Gatwick as well! If anyone out there has lost their job in the recession and fancies a fresh challenge, register your interest at www.baa.com/heathrow - there's always quite a high turnover as not that many can tolerate the rubbish thrown at them day after day!

Security staff will never be the sharpest tools in the box - the money isn't good enough to attract those who did really well at school, and in any case, you don't want people who challenge everything they are told to do - you want people who carry out "de rules and de regs" to the letter!

As airline staff, we have just been informed that we have to ask the security questions even if you have seen them on the Check In Kiosks or when you have OLCI'd. It is a directive from the DFT, and the questions should be asked verbatim. The reson given is that, even if someone gives a deliberately false answer, it will make the "dupe" who has been given something stop and think! Even if that happens to be one passenger in 500 million, it is worth doing!

What concerns the DFT more than anything else is the fact that people are dropping their guard. Al Qu'eda still hasn't gone away, neither have Basque separatist fanatics, the so-called "Continuity IRA" or a hundred other little bands or independents who might plan an atrocity if the chance presented itself.

You are both right in your own way - a determined terrorist may well be able to get a weapon through, but making it as difficult as possible, without hindering our normal fare-paying passengers too much, is the primary objective.

By all means, if you feel BAA is letting the side down, report it to our management, but a lot of the frustrations are borne of inadequcies in the layout design (transfer pax mixing with direct pax at the Southern Security area, public transport tipping loads of direct pax at the Northern end).

To our regular, Frequent Flyer real ladies and gentlemen out there, can I ask you one enormous favour please. When you next go through security, please make an effort to smile, make eye contact and be pleasant to the security people even if you get stopped and searched - because, secretly, you know what an awful job they have! Go on, make their day!

Bea