Where will it end?
Experienced hotel contractor Jon Hartley argues that we shouldn't laugh at the latest tightening of airport security.
So it looks as though air travellers will soon be facing even more security screens as they check in, or perhaps even transfer between flights.
Good for coach travel, as I cannot see our clients queuing up for a personal x-ray style examination before boarding a tour coach, nor having their luggage searched by well trained sniffer dogs before it goes into the locker.
Yet.
Clearly travelling by air is going to get even more difficult and is going to put some folk off travelling, with anxiety and stress even higher on the agenda.
Security is a part of everyday life, and you are foolish if you are not vigilant when in a public place or aware of the dangers that may be prevalent. I am not trying to be alarmist, but taking sensible precautions seems common sense to me.
Some years ago, I was sat in my car in a well known resort noting the coaches that were in the coach park, and as it was a Saturday there was a regular trail of drivers coming to collect their vehicles for the journey home. Some arrived by taxi, others walked in, but what I found interesting was the number who carried out checks before leaving the area. Five out of twenty two checked oil and water, none checked tyres or lights, and that was it. Great. Not even the standard daily checks carried out. OK, this was quite some time ago, but it was at a time after the M62 coach bomb, and the IRA were active on the British mainland.
The problem may have changed to bigger international targets, but the London and Glasgow bombings brought this very much close to home, and it could happen again anywhere, anytime.
One of the best talks I was given was by a gentleman who had the look of a ex-Rupert from Hereford, who was one of the security advisers for the InterContinental Hotels Group, who explained part of the system IHG operated for their worldwide hotel chain. Every major company has a department that takes care of their security, and of their employees and clients, and we have to rely on their expertise to keep us as safe as they can. However the individual has a duty to be aware too, and to be vigilant and aware of his surroundings.
I cannot go into detail about the talk I was part of when at IHG, save to say it was an eye opener, and I now appreciate security in a new light. I do not worry about cameras watching my move in public places – I am (in general) doing nothing wrong, so why should I be worried? They are looking after my safety and security, and that is fine by me.
Following being in a hotel with a real fire some years ago, I always look for the fire escape when I find my room. I was lucky to be in a very well operated hotel (Macdonald) where the staff were highly trained and knew exactly what to do. Nevertheless opening a bedroom door to find smoke in the corridor was unnerving to say the least, and the British Spirit was clear as we all helped each other to a designated place of safety.
Perhaps you have been involved in a hotel evacuation caused by an alarm. False alarm or not, I would rather they work than not, and with systems these days giving more accurate locations of the fire, - or smoke – the disturbance is kept to a minimum, and it is far better to be safe than sorry.
This takes me back to the coach park, with so many drivers ignoring even the most basic of checks before setting off. If this is the case in your company, more training is called for, and it could save you an expensive breakdown or worse. The majority of drivers know their coach inside out, and know when something is out of place, so a quick check of the exterior – which should be done anyway, could alert him of items put near the tyres, or signs of a break in or malicious damage. Any group could be a target, and as security is stepped up in airports coaches may be seen as a soft target.
OK, this article is quite alarmist, but it will do no harm to remind drivers of their daily safety checks, and to add a couple of items for their own safety.
If you are interested in reading more, follow this link http://security.homeoffice.gov.uk/counter-terrorism-strategy/about-the-strategy1/four-ps/index.html , where you will find out a great deal more.
I am not wishing to worry or alarm anyone, and I am not a security expert in any sense of the word. I am just an ordinary bloke who takes this matter very seriously, and I urge you to too. In reality the terrorists look towards bigger targets than a coach, but after the bus bomb in London who can say where their sick minds will go next.
An unguarded suitcase in an airport, railway station or ferry terminal is cause for those in charge to take it very seriously, and not to just treat it as lost or left luggage. What would you do if a suitcase was alone near to your coach – with or without a label on?
Makes you think doesn’t it?
