Security at the Airports

​Airport Security: Efficiency with Dignity

In the USA, there is practically no separate entry check at the airport. At all other stages from check-in and security to boarding, the QR boarding pass works smoothly. For a family travelling together, one common QR can work for everyone. This is exactly what we experienced during our last family trip to Cabo, Mexico. The whole process was remarkably simple and convenient.

The only part I sometimes find uncomfortable is the security check involving my head covering. As a Sikh, keeping my head covered has become an inseparable habit of my life. I normally keep my head covered even while sleeping.

I particularly remember my last journey through Heathrow, London. It was nighttime, and I was travelling comfortably in a tracksuit and woollen cap. At security, a lady officer rather rudely insisted that I remove my cap. I felt awkward and humiliated at being forced to expose my bald scalp with its sparse grey hair in public.

Rather than create a scene or waste the little time available before the flight, I quietly obeyed and removed my cap momentarily. I preferred to move on rather than argue, though the experience remained unpleasant in my mind.

That incident made me realize how differently security procedures can be handled in different countries. Security checks are necessary, and as travellers we must cooperate with them. But the same security requirement can be carried out with courtesy, sensitivity and respect for a person’s religious beliefs and dignity.

Security may be universal, but the attitude with which it is enforced makes all the difference.