Don't skimp on time, folks.
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European airport security a different ballgame
Standards go beyond those Americans are used to

Tips for Americans: If you're traveling abroad, leave yourself plenty of time, as European security measures can be much more stringent than those in the States

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20779475/

The last many times I've flown on AA out of Europe, I was asked every time:

Which places (towns,cities) I have visited
Which hotels I stayed at

I have been asked several times to produce hotel receipts and the agent would take them and make a photocopy of it. Sometimes it seems like they're more suspicious when I travel alone and for vacation (instead of business).

<<< he last many times I've flown on AA out of Europe, I was asked every time: >>>

That's nothing to do with European security - it's your lords & masters in the Big White House that are responsible for that

<<< This is more like the series of questions you encounter at customs, not at check-in. >>>

Duh - google "Nezar Hindawi"

Exactly. All those things mentioned in the article and what yk mentioned have nothing to do with Europe. It has to do with flying from international airports <b>to the US</b>, as mandated by the US government.

The actual experience differs airport to airport and airline to airline.

Sorry my incredulity meter has just gone off the scale - &quot;Note also that the European Union has pretty much banned bringing drinks on planes.&quot;

Has it heck - otherwise the Duty Free &amp; Tax Paid shops in 25 countries would be staging major revolts.

I think once again it's US rules that are applying rather than EU rules

Sorry. Haven't really finished.

It can be Europe, it can be Asia, but boarding a flight to the US will involve:

- A little interview about &quot;are you carrying stuff for others&quot;, and &quot;have your bags been with you the whole time&quot;, &quot;what countries have you visited&quot;, etc. <b>yk</b> is a single, pretty young, female, traveling by herself, and that fits a profile that has &quot;elevated&quot; risk. Same thing is if you have visited places in the middle east. This part is done by security personels hired by the airline.

- Regular security of that airport's authority.

- A secondary screening before getting on the plane. This may be in a sequestered are in front of the gate(s), or on the jetway. Some airlines/airports have more room and more people working, so there's little wait. Or it can be a mess. Because of this screening, you have to consume all liquids you buy in the gate area. And you cannot buy duty free liquids unless the shop has the protocol to bring the items directly to the gate. Again, this part is done by airline-hired personnel.

One thing is that those three things don't have be in the exact order. As long as they're done. For example, some airlines allow online check-in even for international flights to the US. If you don't have luggage to check, you can go straight through the airport security with your BP printed beforehand.

But then, at the secondary screening, they'll have to do the &quot;interview&quot; then.

Does it really matter whose rules are being followed or which sequence the operational aspects occur? Such nitpicking. IT CAN TAKE LONGER.

Absolutely, because that article and your title suggested there's something special about European airport security.

Which is not the case.

jsmith, thanks for the link.

&lt;&lt;&lt; Does it really matter whose rules are being followed &gt;&gt;&gt;

Yes because they'll blame the Europeans for rules imposed by the US

From my own personal experience, I don't agree that it is just flights to the US. I've made several intra-Europe flights in the past couple of years and had to deal with the same type of security discussed in the article, including on non-US airlines. I particularly do a lot of flying out of Heathrow and I also don't see international travelers being treated any differently when it come to security, regardless of whether their destination is the US. I just know that I have run into much more stringent security in Europe than I have ever had to deal with in the US.

My own experience is that I've flown quite a few internal European flights - from UK to Italy, from France to Italy, from Italy to UK, etc, and never had I seen any &quot;interviewing&quot; or secondary screening.

The only times I've gone through all these are flying to the US since 9/11, and flying TO and FROM Israel.

Two years ago - flying from Frankfurt to San Francisco on Lufthansa - the security was intense. There was a secondary security check and every passenger had to undergo a body pat-down going into the gate area. The airport P.A. system kept announcing that any passengers going to the United States should get to their gate at least an an hour and a half before the flight was scheduled to board. This was AFTER the usual security to get to the general gate concourse. It took forever to get onto the actual flight.

Yes, of course the US Government has strict rules for security for flying into the US...gee I wonder why!

RKkwan-what you have stated is not exactly correct: You cannot articulate a static model for aviation security-it doesn't work like that-security measures for airports and air carriers have to be dynamic and mutable, according to the threat situation. Therefore, there IS NO particular set of aviation security procedures that are in effect for European airports, as opposed to American airports-they are ALL DIFFERENT-and that is, as it should be.

The TSA regulates EACH airport in the world through the foreign airport assessments, -these assessments present a comprehensive security picture for the airport, and are classified, because of host country sensitivities.

But there are ICAO Annex 17 (aviation security) procedures in effect at each of these European airports too, therefore, there will be measures employed by the host country on intra-European flights along the same model as those mandated by the USG for flights inbound to the US. There is secondary screening at the gates, for example, on certain intra-European flights-and/or other security measures employed-again it is dependent on the threat conditions for the particular country and airport in question.

So again, there is no static model in Europe either-as members of ICAO, and the EU, there is a baseline over and above which they may implement certain security measures -there is a certain amount of harmonization within the EU-but almost by definition, aviation security can never be completely &quot;harmonized&quot; with respect to security measures amongst the member states-because such a policy would be ineffective in countering a criminal or terrorist attack against civil aviation.

Yes, nothing is totally uniform across airports. I'm just stating in fairly general terms - which will apply to most flying public for intra-European flights and international-to-US flights.

Anyways, that's beside the main points of my posts in this thread, which is the low quality of mainstream media reports.

Thanks jsmith. This article is reassuring. I won't be worrying so much about a shoe bomber trying to go to hell real quick.

In 1986, my wife and I were in France when a terrorist attack took place a block from a cafe where we were having a drink. This explosive attack was at the Gendarmerie, in the center of Paris.

In succeeding days, other attacks took place within Paris, and the borders to France were sealed. Cops patrolled the city in trios, not in pairs. Machine gun nests with sandbags were set up at intersections and in the plaza outside railway stations. We witnessed several arrests and searches conducted on civilians by plainclothes cops. They were looking for a family of anarchists, it turned out. Some of the family members were in custody, and other family members decided to raise hell in order to get them released. Holding France hostage, as it were. Imagine! Removing the huge pots holding plants and small trees along the Champs Elysees! Mon Dieu!

When we left France via Orly airport, we underwent baggage searches and interrogrations by plainclothes police.

This sort of thing is not new. Get used to it. It's the world in which we live -- and have lived -- for many years. America was just late getting into the game. Regrettable, yes. Will we ever return to &quot;the good old days&quot;? I doubt it.

Travelers,
The last time I went through airport security in August, they wanted anything, electric or electronic, bigger than a cell phone, out in the pan.