They myth of airline security - silly airport rules

Submitted by Patrick Grote on Mon, 12/04/2006 - 5:00am.

Flying commercially today doesn't have the luster it had in the past. With the layoffs, increased security and less choices, you don't have much of a chance to enjoy yourself. If you're lucky, you won't get irritated.

Still, there is much to get irritated by.

For instance, how about the rules that says your luggage must travel with you? This rule comes into play if you miss the check in deadline for your flight. Most of the time the deadline is 30 minutes prior to your flight. You have to have your luggage checked in with your airline 30 minutes prior to your flight. This allows security enough time to screen your luggage.

In the past, you could simply board your flight and have your luggage sent on a later flight. This mean you weren't going to miss your connecting flight, but your luggage would take longer. If you're trying to get somewhere by a deadline, this was a life saver. You cannot do this anymore.

A new airline security rules says your luggage must travel with you. Hence, the airline won't allow you to ship your luggage on a later flight. I've run into this twice since 9/11 and both times the airline refused to send my luggage later, which meant I had to take a later flight.

I know I'm not the only one who thinks that if I was a US Senator or a US cabinet member that I would be able to send my luggage later. There are always exceptions to every rule. They key is trying to find it.

Well, someone locally in St. Louis found it. A local columnists' wife was traveling from St. Louis to San Francisco during the last winter storm. The problem was she never took her flight due to American Airlines canceling her flights over two days. She had checked her luggage on the first day, but when she went to retrieve it the second day American Airlines told her the luggage was missing.

It turns out that the luggage was loaded onto a plane that flew elsewhere without the passengers. Amazing.

When it's convenient for the airlines to changes the rules for themselves, they will. Amazing.