Sensible security at Sapporo
 

Flew from Sapporo to Hiroshima this afternoon. Had two bottles of water in my backpack pockets. After having to be wanded for setting off the metal detector (no idea but it wasn't too intrusive and the staff apologised for the delay).

I was then asked, very politely, if the guard may examine my water bottles. Certainly said I, she then placed the bottle on top of a machine and it flashed ok. It had bottle sized grooves in it and took seconds. Again a thank you and have a safe trip.

Now, as otiose as the water checking is if they have to do it then this is the way to do it.

Also, no id was needed at all, just my Qantas club card to check in. Too simple and no dramas.

Japanese Domestic Security is an absolute charm compared to the ruckus of flying internationally. There are never any queues and you're through within minutes unlike US airports. The staff are always polite and charming and you're never treated like the enemy like some TSA agents do.

As for the water thing, I mentioned this before on another thread. Seems it won't be making it's way to International flights. It's exclusively for domestic Japanese flights. I'd love to know how it works...


-mrploddy

Heck, when I flew up to CTS last weekend from HND my JL-issued boarding passes didn't even have my name on them. The tour company had a whole pile of boarding passes and just counted them off for folks. I presume they would be on the hook to give JL names should something happen. There's no way they could implement ID checking even if they wanted to.

When I paid 1,000 JPY to upgrade to Class-J, the JL staff needed my name so that they could create a real booking. But even then the boarding pass didn't have my name on it.

Security over here is really sensible.

A few years ago, a young screener at Haneda checked my boarding pass and said the following to my face:

"Thank you. Please proceed. Although what's the point of saying this since you don't understand a word I'm saying."

... all with a charming smile.

I believe she's now aware that some thoughts are best left unvoiced.

:D

OT, but how did you get an upgrade for $10US? :eek:

TSA wouldn't. They say that technology doesn't exist. :rolleyes:

OT:
1000yen is the standard upgrade fee into domestic first class (Class J product) on domestic JAL flights.

Wish UA offered them that cheap.

It checks the water content of the liquid. The theory behind is that every dangerous liquid explosive has a low water content. So liquids with a high water percentage are harmless. The machine somehow can identify the water percentage. I think it uses some kind of microwaves.

I believe it is ultrasound.

Can't it just measure to see if the weight is commensurate with the volume, or is it too easy to create a diabolical concoction that has the same density?

I think the issue is actually that it is hard to have a universal device that could determine the volume, so the weight option wouldn't work. A half empty bottle should weigh less than a full one of the same size, but the machine wouldn't know that one is half full.

It makes sense that an ultrasound or some other radio-based density check would be pretty accurate. Of course, since the TSA has some special secret crazy liquid threat other than the binary bomb that they can't tell us about, they can't let on that it isn't water based or we might be able to figure out how to make one and get it on a plane :rolleyes:

Too bad this will never make it here :td:

There are devices which can look at the chemical composition of a liquid inside a bottle and actually find the presence and amounts of specific chemicals. These devices are used in lab settings and have been available for years before the war on liquids started.

They are not expensive, easy to deploy and the technology could be added to an existing carry-on scanner - no sample prep necessary, all you need to do is drop your bottles in a bin so the scanner has a clear view of them and you're done.

The TSA has shown gross imcompetence by not even testing such a device because it's easier for them to just say "no liquids allowed!" than it is for them to actually do something to mitigate the threat.

Actually the Japanese have been using this technology for a number of years, I remember ~5 years ago or so when I was flying out of KIX and they asked to see my water bottle, put on the scanner, pressed the buttong, got the green light and I was on my way...

I was thru the "Premium Lane" (Intl) at NRT last year and they did have one there as well...

But this is something that Skelator and his minions don't believe in, gotta use the Fear Factor and intimidation to get things across... another reason i LOVE transiting Japan.