|
|
Our airport (KMFR) also requires it. They are under intense pressure
to comply with the TSA pressure. The TSA here routinely uses unmarked
vehicles to tailgate gate users at the gate to attempt to get
entry via piggybacking. We also have airport security hiding at
locations and using binoculars to see if gate users are stopping after
entry/exit to allow the gate to fully close before departing. $1,000 fine
if you don't. We call them the "gate police". Their more recent push
is checking vehicles entering without the required insurance; $1,000,000
liability. My insurance company laughed when I inquired about adding that
much to my 2004 Honda Metropolitan moped.
The fence only keeps the honest people out. We have seen a relative
of a hanger renter go over the fence in about 5 seconds. He tossed
his coat over the 3 rows of barbed wire and over he went.
Gary Edwards
LNC2
Interesting observations
and questions.
My question is: by keeping vehicles from entering after
you, are you the police now? Are you expected to enforce a regulation, law,
what ever? Is that responsibility passed on to you because you rent space? Our
airport does the same thing and has for a long time. I think it's to placate a
local congress person.
Jim
Posted for "Douglas Brunner"
<douglasbrunner@earthlink.net>:
Yesterday (1/14),
I headed out to my airport (KMTN) to do some work on
my
plane. Recently, my airport has installed a sliding
gate with a code to
control entry.
On my way in, I
observed the car in front of me stop at the keypad, spend
some time
sitting there and then drive away from the entry. My
inference
was that they did not know the access code to the
airport. I pulled up to
the gate, punched in the access
code and pulled through the gate. I stopped
on the other
side of the gate, to limit entry to one car. The car which
had
been in front of me (and had failed to gain entry) then tried to
pull around
me and go through the gate while it was still
open. I moved my car slightly
to block their entry
figuring that if they didn't know the code, they
shouldn't be coming
in with me.
Well it turned out that the two men in the car,
were actually police
officers, and they did not take kindly to my
blocking their entrance. In
essence they "copped an
attitude" (pun intended) and gave me a hard time
about blocking
them. After a few unkind words were exchanged, we both
went
on our ways.
Normally, I am not a huge fan
of the (pseudo) security procedures at
airports. And
perhaps from time to time, I have been known to let someone
follow me
in through the security gate, or to follow others in. However in
this
case, it appeared to me that they had demonstrated that they did
not
know the code so I treated them (not knowing they were cops)
differently.
Several
questions/observations:
Since the number of terrorist
incidents attributable to GA aircraft both
prior to and after
instituting these security precaution is ZERO, is it
logical to infer
that the procedures have been a success???
Since the police
appear to regard the security precautions as optional
should these
security precautions should be observed religiously by non-
law
enforcement types???
Has the amount of time
and money spent on airport security post 9/11, (which
probably
exceeds the GDP of some African and Latin American countries)
been
well spent???
Or are these security
precautions are an expensive charade designed to
persuade gullible
people that the government is making them safer???
|
|