This from today’s A.M. Costa Rica:

Our readers’ opinions
Airport security glitch makes this visitor angry

"Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

My wife and I currently live in Florida, and we are considering moving to Costa Rica.  As such I have been to Costa Rica several times a year in the past couple of years looking at real estate and learning about the country.  I am going back in October to look at some property in Escazú.

However, my most recent trip to Costa Rica in June left me scratching my head when it came to airport security at Juan Santamaría.  After checking in for our departure flight back to the U.S., we had to get in the only line available  to go though security to get to the departure gates.

As we got to the metal detector we had to place carry on bags on the conveyor belt to the left of the metal detector so they could be scanned.  What astounded us was that people were placing digital cameras, cell phones, I pods, and other small electronic devices into a wooden box as they passed through the metal detector.

The wooden box was then passed around the metal detector so people could get their devices back.  We watched this happen over and over as the line moved forward.
I was shocked.  Small electronic devices were not being scanned, and were being allowed to be passed around the metal detector.  These devices were large enough to conceal a small gun, knives, mace, explosives, etc.

When we got to Atlanta, I notified a Delta pilot of what we saw. I also e-mailed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on the matter.  I am not sure if anything was done.

In the U.S. you can not pass electronic items around the security screening process, and I have no idea why this was being done over and over in front of security in Juan Santamaría.  I found it extremely illogical and without any consideration to safety.  On the other side of the security sit large jet aircraft that carry 1,000s of people a day to the U.S. and elsewhere.

I will be checking this out again when I return in October.  If the same process is in place, I will be making quite a vocal stink about it at the airport and I will demand to see the head of security.

John Brier
Pensacola, Florida"

And here’s my response which I just emailed off… probably prematurely… sigh:

"Please, John Brier, DON’T move to Costa Rica. Don’t come here to change things. Stay in the U.S. with your beloved Homeland Security and make a stink with them. Maybe you can get them to instigate strip searches… ‘Cause, ya know, you can hide a plastic knife in your sock."

Hal wrote an excellent article on the subject here: The Goo Bombers. Pretty funny. Pretty sad.

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