Has anyone ever said “yes” to airline security questons like these?

by on October 21, 2008 · 7 comments

So, I was just checking in online for a flight tomorrow and got this typical warning message.

flight check in warning

It made me wonder: in the entire history of questions like these being asked by airlines, has anyone ever said “yes”?   After all, if you’re an actual bad guy carrying these things, you’re going to lie about it.  (As an aside, I notice that most airlines have stopped asking the questions: “Has anyone giving you anything to carry” and “Have your bags been in your possession the entire time”?  Perhaps they just got tired of hearing the same answers over and over again.  I always wanted to respond sarcastically with a line like: “Why yes, in fact, a very menacing-looking man just gave me a heavy package in a plain brown wrapper and asked me to carry it on the plane.”  But I knew nothing good would come of that — probably result in a complete body cavity search or something like that — so I always chickened out.)

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About Adam Thierer

Adam Thierer is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He previously served as President of The Progress & Freedom Foundation, as Director of Telecommunications Studies at the Cato Institute, and as a Fellow in Economic Policy at the Heritage Foundation. He is the author or editor of six books on technology and media policy and also writes a weekly column for Forbes called "Technologies of Freedom." Thierer earned his bachelor's degree in political science and journalism at Indiana University and received his master's degree in international business management and trade theory at the University of Maryland. His passions in life (besides technology and liberty, of course) are fast cars, fine cigars, and good beer.

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  • Phoronus

    Once, in response to the explosives/flammables question, I said (without thinking) “I sure hope not.” The check-in lady didn't think that was funny.

  • http://bennett.com/blog Richard Bennett

    Last time I returned to America, the dude asked if I had $10,000 in cash and I said “I wish.” They didn't lock me up. But the British passport lady didn't seem very amused when I asked her “what ho?”

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman quixotic

    I think that these questions are a product of a society that has buried common sense in legal technicalities. E.g., you have asserted “no”, so if we catch you, you cannot say “I didn't know” and “no one asked”.

  • BD

    I like the philosophical question I got once: “Has your bag been handled by another person without your knowledge?”

    It's practically Zen going through security sometimes

    /b

  • http://www.cordblomquist.com cordblomquist

    No compressed gas jokes yet?

  • Brooke

    I've always wanted to go with the too-much-information approach when asked if my bags have been in my possession since I packed them:

    “Well, my suitcase was by the front door while I was waiting in the kitchen for my cab. And then cab driver picked it up to put it in the trunk of the cab, but I was watching him pretty closely. But then when the suitcase was in the trunk, I couldn't see it and I can't really prove that somebody didn't tamper with it while it was back there. Then the sky-cap dude took it out of the cab while I was busy paying the cab driver, and I wasn't really paying attention, so it definitely wasn't in my possession for about 19 seconds. Shall we unpack it right here and have a looksee?”

  • Brooke Oberwetter

    I've always wanted to go with the too-much-information approach when asked if my bags have been in my possession since I packed them:

    “Well, my suitcase was by the front door while I was waiting in the kitchen for my cab. And then cab driver picked it up to put it in the trunk of the cab, but I was watching him pretty closely. But then when the suitcase was in the trunk, I couldn't see it and I can't really prove that somebody didn't tamper with it while it was back there. Then the sky-cap dude took it out of the cab while I was busy paying the cab driver, and I wasn't really paying attention, so it definitely wasn't in my possession for about 19 seconds. Shall we unpack it right here and have a looksee?”

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