Frankfurt - Airline passengers nowadays rarely see their checked luggage being subject to security inspections, but behind the scenes at a modern airport there are entire security teams that do nothing but examine bags before loading.
After a suitcase is checked in at the front desk, it travels on a conveyer belt and lands at an inspection unit, explains Christian Altenhofen of the German border police directorate at Frankfurt Airport.
The process is mainly automated in Europe. Scanning machines use rays to survey luggage for a multitude of suspicious items.
If such an item is detected, the bag will be re-examined at a series of devices. If the machines still cannot identify the item as safe, then an aviation security official must open and check the bag, Altenhofen said. They have means to open or break luggage locks.
If something suspicious is found inside, the airport police are notified and the passenger is summoned.
If, for example, there is an uncommon fluid in the suitcase, the passenger can then be asked to explain what it is.
“Recently we had chocolate that was packed together with a smartphone,” Altenhofen recalled. On the scanners, it looked like a bomb. Chocolate resembles the organic material of explosives in X-rays, while a smartphone could double as a timer.
Security takes no chances.
“In extreme cases, bomb-disposal technicians are called in,” Altenhofen said.
In nearly all cases, questions about items are cleared up in time for the bags to make it on board the scheduled airplane. The passengers will only be made aware that their suitcase needed to be opened by a note left in their bag by the friendly security people.
DPA