Daggers on plane reveal gap in security

A group of Sikh priests has exposed a gaping loophole in airport security after they boarded an Air New Zealand plane carrying ceremonial daggers under their robes.
The pilot confiscated the daggers after they managed to board the flight without having to pass through any form of security at Auckland's domestic terminal.
The men, who are understood to be priests visiting from India, were walking on to the Napier-bound flight on Sunday when alarmed passengers noticed the daggers poking out from under their traditional dress. They told the cabin crew, who alerted the pilot before the daggers were seized and locked in the cockpit for the flight.
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No need to panic over knives
Officials in charge of running security
at New Zealand's airports say there
is no need to radically change the
current systems.
Their comments come after a group
of Sikh priests visiting from India got
through the domestic terminal and
onto a flight to Napier without having
to hand over their ceremonial
daggers, the kirpan.
Mark Everitt of Aviation Security
Services says they have never had
any problem at all with Sikh priests.
He says domestically and on the
international trunk routes, officials
routinely screen the priests for these kirpan.
He says they are always entirely
co-operative with the security measures.
26/01/07 Newstalk ZB, New Zealand
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"When we were getting on the plane [other passengers] looked quite concerned," said passenger David Anderson. "You could see them looking at each other and a couple of people were kind of nervous.
An Air NZ spokeswoman said the men willingly handed over their kirpans and the flight ran as scheduled. She said any potential or real threats to safety were taken very seriously and a report had been submitted to the Civil Aviation Authority about what had happened.
Ministry of Transport safety and security group manager Bruce Johnson said policy for screening passengers applied only to planes with more than 90 seats as they were deemed the most at risk of hostage-takers.
26/01/07 Elizabeth Binning/New Zealand Herald, New Zealand

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