Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
While flight MH370 continues to throw one curveball after another, it is easy to forget that, as every day passes, thousands of passengers are still flying across the world on aeroplanes not too dissimilar to the Boeing 777-200ER, which mysteriously disappeared while en-route to Beijing in the early hours of Saturday. Flights that could in one way or another suffer the same fate that has befallen the 239 passengers, crews as well as the family members of flight MH370.
After the 9/11 attacks on the United States, all airports in the US were locked down and security was tightened to the point that it became almost impossible to get on a flight if you had a mole in the wrong place that Airport security found suspicious. It was a important and necessary measure to implement immediately as there was a breach, that if left unchecked could be exploited again and again while the shock of the initial attack subsided.
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Now that it has become somewhat clear that flight MH370 did not go down due to a human error, or a mechanical failure, the mysterious circumstances surrounding the disappearance of flight MH370 has to be construed as an attack on Malaysia, and in particular the whole Malaysian Aviation authority. It is imperative that a massive clampdown and a higher state of security be implemented across all Malaysian Airports. The disappearance of MH370 was a premeditated plan to take control of a plane flying out of KLIA. A plan that has exposed and exploited security lapses that might exist at both the Airport or in flight operating procedures of Malaysian Airlines. As it is still unclear what caused the lapse, every security procedure has to be reviewed and tightened up while the investigation is wrapped up.
With all this in mind, it is quite a surprise that airport security at KLIA remains pretty much the same after the disappearance of MH370. Being a frequent flyer, i have on numerous occasions boarded flights out of KLIA with prohibited items like pocket knives accidentally left in carry on baggage. Its only on my return flights, when it is flagged by security at the departing airports that I become aware of the items left in my carry on bags. This doesn’t only apply to KLIA as security checks at LCCT are usually even less stringent. We might have been taking things a little too lightly, and the events with MH370 has to be a real eye opener. The issue here is that, it is also an eye opener to a lot of other more sinister individuals and groups who would look to exploit these same lapses for their own personal agendas. It could even be exploited again by the same people as it was with flight MH370. I mean, two planes is always better then what, whatever the motives might be.
While it was mentioned that a review of the security procedure and such would be undertaken – especially with the discovery of stolen passports being used to board the plane, strict security procedures should be implemented at all Malaysian Airports as well as Malaysia based flights immediately as it is quite clear that the disappearance of MH370 is a deliberate attack on the Malaysian Aviation system as a whole. While we continue in the search foor MH370, it is imperative to not disregard the fact that there are thousands of other passengers that need to be protected everyday, and be given an assurance that it is still safe to fly to and from Malaysia. Passengers need to be assured that every effort is being made to ensure that their safety from the point the leave the airport and reach their destination has been given the utmost importance.
