Airport security recently reached a new level of absurdity at London’s Stansted Airport, where a former police officer says her tiny gun necklace was confiscated because other travelers could have mistaken it for a real firearm.
Claire Sharp said she was going through airport security at Stansted when a security officer informed her that the necklace “might be a problem.”
She said: “I was being searched by a female security officer and she saw my necklace and said ‘this might be a problem’.
“She then called over a male officer who asked me to take it off so he could look at it.
“I explained it was just a charm, that it had been bought for me by my late husband and that it had been through airport security on loads of occasions – including Stansted – without issue.
“He then took it off to ask his supervisor and came back saying it would need to be confiscated as it was an imitation firearm.”
For reference, here’s a photo of Sharp’s necklace.
https://twitter.com/from_trenches/status/971393900643577858
Who in their right mind would mistake that for a real gun?
As Sharp stated, the necklace is a memento of her late husband, who died suddenly of a heart attack at age 32. However, the security officers at Stansted didn’t care about the necklace’s sentimental value. They took it from her, and when Sharp returned from her trip she was forced to pay £8 (about $11) for “lost property services” in order to get it back.
Sharp explained to Fox News that she’s worn the necklace through security without incident plenty of times before.
“Last week I flew from Gatwick to Iceland wearing it, with no issue. I’d been to Moscow in November where they’re mad on security and they had no issue with my necklace.
“As an aside from flying, I’ve worn that necklace having gone through security at Westminster Abbey to go to the Metropolitan Police Christmas carol service and have been there alongside dignitaries, high ranking police officers and the Home Secretary… with no problem whatsoever.
“The lack of common sense displayed at Stansted was astounding. To be charged £8 for the privilege of their idiocy just added insult to injury. My fingers underneath my jumper pointed at someone looks more like a real gun than my necklace.”
A spokesman for Stansted Airport, however, stood by their security officers’ lack of common sense.
“Apologies for the inconvenience caused. However, under CAA regulations any novelty items, replicas and imitation firearms capable of being mistaken for real weapons will be deemed unsuitable for carriage and reasonably would be confiscated at our security.”
As the saying goes: you can’t fix stupid.
Source: Fox News
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