The £6 plastic "weapon", described as a "semi-automatic soft dart gun" by its manufacturers, was taken while the family, of Doncaster, were en route to Lanzarote in Spain. The youngster was also patted down by security staff as his toy was taken from him. But East Midlands Airport, which offered to post the "gun" back to the family's home, defended the decision to uphold security.
Mr Hayward, 44, said: "Fair enough they are thorough but it just seemed a bit ludicrous to take a plastic gun away from a four-year-old. I thought it was a bit over-zealous considering how many people were trying to get through security at the time. It came at the end of an hour and a half queuing, so we didn't cause too much fuss because we didn't want to miss our flight."
East Midlands Airport apologised for the inconvenience. A spokeswoman said: "The safety and security of our passengers is our first priority and all regulations on security are set by the government. This regulation states that no items may be permitted through security that resemble a prohibited item."
2 comments:
Fair enough, he could have had a dinner fork hidden in that thing.
I went to a USA consulate recently to renounce my citizenship, and the security to get into the office was ridiculous without providing real security. The only thing stopping aggressors coming in once the ludicrously heavy steel door was open was one short, fat, young Canadian woman. They had scanners just like an airport, and going through they took from my wallet a simple, small sewing needle that I had carried there for over 40 years, through many sophisticated security operations.
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