Needled by US airline security

25 April 2008

After a trip to South America and returning through US airports, I can relate to Eric Waugh's column (April 18).

With six international flights within three weeks, we were very organised.

Confidently we boarded, put our bags in the locker and fastened our seat belts.

It then became apparent why the airline we flew with adds extra to the flight time; this was due to the people carrying so much hand luggage.

Eventually, we took off and, at about 30,000ft, my American neighbour took a pair of knitting needles from a bag which had been x-rayed before take-off.

I counted down the minutes till landing. I breathed a sigh of relief when we arrived back to a country that follows the rules to protect themselves and other nations from attack, but I had the slight feeling we are the only ones bothering.

WEARY TRAVELLER

Newtownards