I think it is probably best not to refer to BAA employees as Nazis. There are a whole host of reasons, but you can probably work them out for yourself when you've calmed down.

What the behaviour exemplifies, however, is the perfectly human reaction which is to meet petty-mindedness with petty-mindedness. If the rule is being enforced with absolutely no give or take, then you can expect a number of people to get angry and to attempt to wedge their carry on into the gauges. We had plenty of reports, I think from adrianjc32, of this happening when the restrictions were first imposed. It is just human nature, and LHR is exactly the sort of boiling pot which will bring it to the fore.

Before all this nonsense beset LHR, there was a little give and take. If you tried to take a suitcase as carry on, you usually got stopped. It was a try on, and when challenged most people accepted that it was a game attempt, but they'd been caught. Now, when people have supposedly cabin-approved sized bags, but they just can't get the wheels into the gauge, the BAA employees have obviously been directed to inform people that they have to check it. Sadly, some of these employees (probably a minority) seem to take some delight in catching people out and ruining their day. This just adds to the problem.

So this is what provides all the friction. For most people, it appears to be a disproportionate sanction that makes no sense, occasionally administered in a heavy-handed fashion. Hence, they get cross.

In moment's like this - and I suspect we've all had them - it is sometimes hard to remain calm. It is also at moments like this that we are particularly likely to blame the sins of the faceless establishment on the poor employee whose lot it is to enforce the rule that day.

It takes a great deal of character and fortitude to take a deep breath and not escalate the matter, and many people do not manage it (hell, I've lost it on occasions, but thankfully so rarely that I can remember - and regret - each of them). However, with honest reflection, most of us will accept that having that rant does not, in the long term, make us feel better because we have actually achieved nothing.