Munich Airport Security Breach

[Richard]

And so it goes...

Richard

Germany To Investigate Munich Airport Breach
AP, 21 Jan 2010

German authorities were searching Thursday for a roughly 50-year-old man who left a screening area with his laptop after it had triggered an alert for possible explosives.

The security employee at Munich Airport who had ordered the check on the man's laptop — then lost track of him after he had passed through the scanner — was suspended on Thursday, Christoph Hillenbrand, the president of Upper Bavaria told reporters.

"She should not have let him out of her sight," Hillenbrand said.

The incident occurred Wednesday afternoon, forcing part of the airport's Terminal 2 to be closed for several hours and hundreds of people to evacuate.

German Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere has promised to launch a thorough investigation, and to determine whether security measures at Munich Airport were sufficient.

Wednesday's incident appeared to have been a false alarm, triggered by a passenger in a hurry to catch his plane who was unaware of what had happened.

Prosecutors in Landshut have launched a preliminary investigation into the incident, and are searching for the man whom they have identified from security camera images, spokesman Ralph Reiter was quoted by DAPD news agency as saying. German privacy laws prevent them from releasing those pictures, Reiter said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-01-21-germany-airport_N.htm?csp=YahooModule_News

[Masochist]

... who left a screening area with his laptop after it had triggered an alert for possible explosives.

This is what bothers me the most.

I understand that this was a "false alarm," and even understand (to a degree) how the security employee could "lose track" of an individual. But how was he able to retrieve his laptop?

I have never flown through Germany, so I am ignorant as to their screening procedures. Those who have, feel free to enlighten me if I an wandering off the reservation too far. Are not person and carry-on(s) separated during screening? If so, as soon as something says "this could potentially be explosive," do security personnel run away with their hands over their heads, allowing the individual to simply pick it up and continue on his way? :confused:

I have seen situations like this reported a few times in the MSM, and I'm wondering what I'm missing in the equation that makes it so easy to reclaim your belongings and go on your way after they've set off alarms but haven't been cleared as safe.

[mojaveman]

Last year I was traveling in Europe and while going through screening at Frankfurt I had the passport holder that I was wearing around my neck removed rather abruptly from under my shirt. The security officer grabbed the cord from behind my neck and yanked it out. He didn't say anything before he did it and didn't offer any apologies afterwards. I'd say the security is just as good there, but being that it isn't the U.S. they probably don't worry as much about pissing someone off and facing legal consequences for it.

[Surf n Turf]

This incident has to be a rare screw-up for the Airport – because in Germany this doesn’t happen. I have traveled throughout Europe, including Frankfurt and Munich. They do check, sometimes very thoroughly, based on “profiling” (imagine that). My wife has a EU passport, so she just zips thru, while I stand in the long line for foreigners.
I did travel into Munich in the mid-70’s, and I can assure you that security was very strict, and there were armed soldiers everywhere, including tanks parked near the terminals. The security today is not as strong, but I think stronger than here in the US.
SnT