Tourism Thirty-six flights cancelled because of missing scissors

[thomas]

A pair of missing scissors caused major disruptions at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido on the weekend. Security checks were suspended for nearly two hours on Saturday morning after the scissors vanished from a store near the boarding gates. This led to flight delays and cancellations, affecting hundreds of travellers. As passengers were forced to undergo security checks again, long queues formed in the departure lounge. Despite the airport's efforts to locate the missing scissors, they weren't found until the following day. Hokkaido Airport, the operator of New Chitose, confirmed on Monday that a store employee had discovered the scissors.

New Chitose is one of Japan's busiest airports. According to aviation analytics company OAG, it serves the world's second-most-travelled domestic air route—between Tokyo and Sapporo. More than 15 million travellers used the airport in 2022.

"I don't think we have any choice (but to wait)," one traveller told local media at the time. "But I do hope they are bit more careful about it." Another traveller said there were "So many things to worry about these days… it never ends. And I don't feel safe until I get home." The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has asked Hokkaido Airports to investigate the cause and prevent it from happening again. "We recognise that this occurred as a result of insufficient storage and management systems at the store," Hokkaido Airport said. "We are aware that this is also an incident that could be linked to hijacking or terrorism, and will once again work to ensure thorough management awareness." Social media users on X praised the airport's response to the incident, with several saying it reaffirmed their confidence in Japanese air safety.

Flights cancelled in Japan after scissors go missing

Thirty six flights were cancelled and 201 delayed on the weekend at one of Japan's busiest airports.

www.bbc.com

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

That's what happens when the airport really tries to take security seriously. I would have been quite pissed off if I was traveling through New Chitose that day if I didn't know what was happening, but I give them high praise for prioritizing safety.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

After what happened on 9/11 , I always figured if I were on a hi-jacked plane , I fight no matter what the odds.

 

[mdchachi]

That's what happens when the airport really tries to take security seriously. I would have been quite pissed off if I was traveling through New Chitose that day if I didn't know what was happening, but I give them high praise for prioritizing safety.

I can't imagine they are even tracking such things at U.S. airports. Probably scissors and razor box cutters are in use and go missing all the time.

 

[Petaris]

I can't imagine they are even tracking such things at U.S. airports. Probably scissors and razor box cutters are in use and go missing all the time.

And yet you will hear nothing about it because it's all just for show anyway. Nothing the TSA has implemented has made any difference for security. The only useful change that was made, by the FAA not the TSA, was the heavy duty cockpit door and keeping it locked.

My opinion of course, yours may vary.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

And yet you will hear nothing about it because it's all just for show anyway. Nothing the TSA has implemented has made any difference for security. The only useful change that was made, by the FAA not the TSA, was the heavy duty cockpit door and keeping it locked.

My opinion of course, yours may vary.

My brother says the same thing, and he's ex-military.

 

[mdchachi]

And yet you will hear nothing about it because it's all just for show anyway. Nothing the TSA has implemented has made any difference for security. The only useful change that was made, by the FAA not the TSA, was the heavy duty cockpit door and keeping it locked.

My opinion of course, yours may vary.

Hard to believe the CT scanners and body scans don't improve security.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

Hard to believe the CT scanners and body scans don't improve security.

I'm agnostic, myself, but I would imagine that even if the CT scanners don't much improve airline security, they're pretty effective against smugglers.

 

[Petaris]

I'm agnostic, myself, but I would imagine that even if the CT scanners don't much improve airline security, they're pretty effective against smugglers.

But smuggling is not TSA's responsibility. That would be CBP (Customs and Boarder Patrol).

 

[Petaris]

Hard to believe the CT scanners and body scans don't improve security.

They lined the pockets of the companies that supplied them. If you look into the relationships there you will probably have an eyebrow or two raise.
Is there any evidence that they have done much, or anything, to improve security? There are a lot of other ways to get things into the airport and airplanes without walking in with them.

I'll say that the CT scanners are probably better than the x-ray scanners at picking things up but how many of those things are actually a threat? And why do we still need to remove our shoes and take out every electronic device? The checkpoints are about making it look like something is being done, not about actually doing something useful. It is about making people OK with, or at least resigned to, being searched and hassled.

Again, it is my opinion.

 

[mdchachi]

They lined the pockets of the companies that supplied them. If you look into the relationships there you will probably have an eyebrow or two raise.
Is there any evidence that they have done much, or anything, to improve security? There are a lot of other ways to get things into the airport and airplanes without walking in with them.

I'll say that the CT scanners are probably better than the x-ray scanners at picking things up but how many of those things are actually a threat? And why do we still need to remove our shoes and take out every electronic device? The checkpoints are about making it look like something is being done, not about actually doing something useful. It is about making people OK with, or at least resigned to, being searched and hassled.

Again, it is my opinion.

That's the main advantage of the CT scanners. You no longer need to take out laptops & electronics. Shoes seem to be ok to leave on in many places now too. It may not be any safer but it's getting a little more convenient.

 

[Petaris]

That's the main advantage of the CT scanners. You no longer need to take out laptops & electronics. Shoes seem to be ok to leave on in many places now too. It may not be any safer but it's getting a little more convenient.

We were still required to do both of those when we flew out of Chicago, and they have the CT scanners.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

My experience is that it really depends. Some days regular security makes you take out your laptop and take off your shoes, but some days they don't. I don't know what drives the difference. TSA Precheck is much nicer in that you never have to remove shoes or do much of the other tasks that are so annoying...in fact it kind of reminds me of pre-9/11 security, except for the TSA agent checking your ID and taking your picture.

 

[Petaris]

My experience is that it really depends. Some days regular security makes you take out your laptop and take off your shoes, but some days they don't. I don't know what drives the difference. TSA Precheck is much nicer in that you never have to remove shoes or do much of the other tasks that are so annoying...in fact it kind of reminds me of pre-9/11 security, except for the TSA agent checking your ID and taking your picture.

What shows that it is just for show more than the fact that you can pay your way out of it.