Heathrow is continuing with secondary screening in Terminal 3, which I think
started several months ago. It serves no real security purpose that I can see,
since you can easily bypass it.
First you’ve got your regular security — shoes off, plastic bag for your
toiletries, laptop out, you know the drill. Made it? Then you discover that
passports are being checked, something the UK had stopped doing years ago.
The real twist is when you get past passport control. There, people are lined
up to go through yet another screening process, just for their shoes. Except two
trips ago, I noticed that on either side of the screening, people were allowed
to freely pass — as I quickly decided to do when flying out last week.
This time, same thing. People in the middle of the hall were being crowded
for shoe scanning, but those on the edges were allowed to escape. Weird.
It’s kind of like buying things at Fry’s. You know how they always want to
check your receipt against your shopping? Apparently, it’s against the law to do
that. Once you’ve paid, they can’t do a secondary stop. Once I realized that, I
just walked through without stopping any more. They ask for my receipt, and I
replay "no thanks," as I walk past. Works like a charm.
