[So, Continental, if you've got any first class upgrades available next time we fly, remember this endorsement! - Editorial Bear]
My fondness for Continental only increased today, when I read this story on Yahoo:
US airline probed after ex-Indian pres searched
By ASHOK SHARMA, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jul 21, 11:18 am ETAn Indian police investigation was launched Tuesday into employees from Continental Airlines after India's former president was frisked before boarding a flight to the United States.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told Parliament: "This act of frisking the former president ... is absolutely unpardonable and beyond the scope of the laws of our country,"
Full story here.
I'm personally thrilled that Continental demanded former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam remove his shoes and go through a metal detector before boarding the flight - because that's exactly what the rest of us are expected to do.
It's nothing personal - I have enormous respect for Abdul Kalam - generally regarded as India's finest president and literally a 'rocket scientist' to boot (he was a former aeronautical engineer with India's Defence Research and Development Organisation.)
However, the idea that celebrities, dignitaries and VIPs should be allowed - nay, expected - to bypass airport security is just offensive to me.
The fact is, airport security is there for the safety of everybody - including worthless peons like myself, traveling economy (i.e. cattle) class. If the honorable former President of India demands that passengers such as myself are screened, frisked and prodded to ensure his safety, surely we have the right to demand exactly the same of him.
It's not a question of reverse snobbery (well, not entirely.) Having been brought up on a diet of James Bond thrillers and adventure stories, I can see that giving a dignitary carte blanche to bypass airport security is just a disaster waiting to happen in our post 9/11 world.
Hell, only last week I watched poor old Captain Jack Harkness have a bomb surgically inserted into his stomach (to blow Torchwood headquarters to smithereens.) What guarantee do I have that A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is carting the same sort of equipment around in his small intestine?
[If you missed the dreadful five-episode farce that was Torchwood: Children of Earth, you can buy the DVD here. - Editorial Bear]
No - Continental Airlines were absolutely right when they demanded Kalam pass through the metal detectors. I hope they stand firm against criticism and show the world that, when it comes down to the safety of passengers and crew, we're all equal.
