Categories: Need to know

Brits stop Canadian from boarding plane with wee toy solider

$300 figurine “a threat to security”: Gatwick Airport

by macleans.ca on Friday, January 28, 2011 2:47pm - 17 Comments

A Canadian tourist leaving Gatwick Airport in England says a toy-sized solider figurine was taken away from her by security because it featured a 10-cm-long replica rifle. “They told me it was a gun and that I was not allowed to take it on the plane,” Julie Lloyd, a 60-year-old Oakville, Ont. woman told the National Post. A security supervisor concurred that it was a threat and suggested she mail the $300 souvenir back to Canada instead. When the slit in the airport’s post boxes proved too small for the parcel, one of the security officials offered to mail it from a post office later in the day. She accepted, but is now calling for better training of airport staff.

National Post

Tags: airport security

judy

it appears that Canada isn't the only country that hires idiots as airport security guards

Emily

Boy, I'll say!

Bob

Security personnel aren't the brightest people in society. If they were they wouldn't be security personnel. But this takes a whole new level of idiocy.
The UK is constantly subjecting people to draconian rules these days in the name of anti-terrorism. It's just to keep people afraid and compliant.
Pathetic really.
Wayne

Those little bullets could really sting.
truenorth

You do have to give Kudos to the Security staff that are going to mail the package for her though…

Claudia Lemire

Agreed!
briguyhfx

Yup. That would never happen here, at least not at the Halifax Airport (I know from experience).

Jeet

Reminds you more and more of petty bureaucrats that were the hallmark of Nazi brutality. Pay peanuts and you get monkeys. First time in their lives the losers have a little power and, boy, are they going to use it. Don't fly. Let the airliens to bankrupt. That'll change governments superior attitude.
Vatro

Airport security: Preventing terrorism one granny at a time.
truenorth

nerp…any chance of translating this ?
truenorth

You never can tell……
truenorth

Sigsquing, why is that your thread is a porn video….go play some where else Moron………
harebell

Why was the statue not packed safely in the checked luggage? When flying I see folk trying to take all sorts of weird crap on board, not to mention those who just have to have their suitcase with them and take up a whole overhead bin for themselves. It was a trans Atlantic flight, you weren't their for a one day business meeting, wrap it in your clothes and keep it in the suitcase.
I've travelled with an axe and a small dagger, but because they were in the hold it was no big deal.
Garry G

You there! Hands up! I've got this tiny 10 cm rifle! I'm commandeering this plane to fly to Cuba to visit Fidel. I need more cigars.
Dave of the North

I'm wondering: if they considered the toy gun such a real risk that they had to follow real world rules…. did they actually have the foresight to check the toy soldiers I.D. and make sure he had a ticket to board the airplane?

Regards
Dave
Healthcare Insider

The security people at the airport are paid not to use common sense but only to follow orders. No guns – means Nooooo guns. Size is not important. Whether it can shoot bullets or not is not important. Sadly, if we want to travel by air we will just have to accept that we now live in this kind of world where common sense no longer matters.
Jerrod

Its a method to control all of us, who is in charge of this asylum, the nuts in our government, whom we elect again and again, we get what we deserve, loons telling us that grandma's figurines are dangerous.