Reminiscences of yesterday.

[Don Gordon]

Yesterday was the last day of a Qantas Status run (double status credits), booked in March thanks to AFF.
Last day - Auckland to Melbourne then Melbourne to Gold Coast.
Departure Auckland 0605 so dutifully arrived at airport at 0400. Had done online check in and carry on only, so only had to print boarding passes.
Up to security, but it only opens 90 minutes before first flight, so wait with quite a few people, but did open at 0430 on the dot. Qantas Business lounge OK, but about 1 kilometer walk to gate.
A little late departing but made up time so on time arrival at Melbourne.
Signage in Melbourne airport a bit scarce but made it through security and finally found way to domestic Airport.
SECURITY. I have a pacemaker. THERE IS NO BODY SCANNER near QANTAS security at Melbourne. I had to get in a queue, after 15 minutes, sign a consent form for a "Body Pat Down", which was OK.
In the last 2 months my wife and I have visited airports Brisbane, Dubai, Heathrow - all terminals, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Frankfurt and London city and Gold Coast. All have body scanners. What on earth is wrong with Melbourne?
Next in Qantas Business lounge at Melbourne domestic, with 2.5 hours to fill in.
By now 0830 Melbourne time and needed to visit men's ambulant toilet. Never have I seen a toilet so disgusting. No toilet rolls in any cubicle, only 4 paper hand towels left in the trays and all rubbish bins overflowing with waste.
I did inform staff and returned appro.x 30 minutes later and it was cleaned.
Flight from Melbourne to Gold coast a little late departing due to a minor non safety related issue but made up time.

We did enjoy our time in New Zealand and all was good, but just thought this day may be worth sharing.

 

[Himeno]

SECURITY. I have a pacemaker. THERE IS NO BODY SCANNER near QANTAS security at Melbourne. I had to get in a queue, after 15 minutes, sign a consent form for a "Body Pat Down", which was OK.
In the last 2 months my wife and I have visited airports Brisbane, Dubai, Heathrow - all terminals, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Frankfurt and London city and Gold Coast. All have body scanners. What on earth is wrong with Melbourne?

Nothing is wrong with Melbourne. The problem is with everyone else, especially a certain former transport minster.
Body scanners do NOT belong in airports. They belong in prisons.

 

[Seat0B]

Thanks for the post @Don Gordon. It's good to hear how your status run went.

I've fallen into the same trap with early morning flights doing check in an then finding that immigration/customs wasn't open yet. In our case it was leaving MEL for a trip to DXB at a similar ungodly hour of the morning . I have learnt my lesson now.

 

[Seat0B]

Nothing is wrong with Melbourne. The problem is with everyone else, especially a certain former transport minster.
Body scanners do NOT belong in airports. They belong in prisons.

I know everyone has a different experience, and of course your perspective is valid. However, for me, the body scanners are really good and a big improvement on the usual metal detector and wand approach.

You see I have both my knees replaced, so under the old style, I would set it off every time. I would ALWAYS alert the operator before going through and offer to pro-actively remove my shoes. Most times they would say, no, wait and see if it goes off. Sometimes, when I had less experience of how things went, I would argue with them and say that I knew it would beep and it would be faster and easier to just do it in one step, but they still nearly always said no, and I just wasted my time arguing, plus it agitated me. So through I go and of course it beeps. Then they would make me go back out and take my shoes off and try again. And it still beeps because it's not my shoes or my belt or my underwire bra, it's the two massive chunks of metal embedded in my legs. So then they pull me off to the side and make me wait until a female operator is available to wand me. They treat me like I'm a terrorist and stand excessively close to me, and I feel very uncomfortable. This can take quite a while if it is busy and so I am standing there, separated from my things (which they ALWAYS refused to get for me or to move to where I could see them). Their logic is so warped "madam, there are cameras here, no one will steal your things". A few had the grace to blush or shrug an acknowledgement when I suggested that in this case, they would not mind taking their wallet and placing it in the tray next to mine. Eventually I get wanded, which beeps and then patted down and finally I get to go through. And this happens to me every.single.time.

By comparison, the body scanner is a dream - leave all my clothes on, walk in, adopt the position and exit again. Sometime there is a short pat down of a suspicious area (for me that seem to be the left shoulder) and it's done.

 

[Franky]

I know everyone has a different experience, and of course your perspective is valid. However, for me, the body scanners are really good and a big improvement on the usual metal detector and wand approach.

You see I have both my knees replaced, so under the old style, I would set it off every time. I would ALWAYS alert the operator before going through and offer to pro-actively remove my shoes. Most times they would say, no, wait and see if it goes off. Sometimes, when I had less experience of how things went, I would argue with them and say that I knew it would beep and it would be faster and easier to just do it in one step, but they still nearly always said no, and I just wasted my time arguing, plus it agitated me. So through I go and of course it beeps. Then they would make me go back out and take my shoes off and try again. And it still beeps because it's not my shoes or my belt or my underwire bra, it's the two massive chunks of metal embedded in my legs. So then they pull me off to the side and make me wait until a female operator is available to wand me. They treat me like I'm a terrorist and stand excessively close to me, and I feel very uncomfortable. This can take quite a while if it is busy and so I am standing there, separated from my things (which they ALWAYS refused to get for me or to move to where I could see them). Their logic is so warped "madam, there are cameras here, no one will steal your things". A few had the grace to blush or shrug an acknowledgement when I suggested that in this case, they would not mind taking their wallet and placing it in the tray next to mine. Eventually I get wanded, which beeps and then patted down and finally I get to go through. And this happens to me every.single.time.

By comparison, the body scanner is a dream - leave all my clothes on, walk in, adopt the position and exit again. Sometime there is a short pat down of a suspicious area (for me that seem to be the left shoulder) and it's done.

Been there, done that for the past 14 years…. They’ll never change it would seem.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Probably it depends on who wants to pay to have the stand akimbo like I surrender int sec screening system to be put in.
Think the VA side at T4 has it.
But the QF side T1 still has the walk through straight ahead, and have pat down if something plings, or if the man/lady feels so inclined, or unlucky enough to be picked.