DO NOT SAY 'Bomb' on an airplane!

DO NOT SAY ‘Bomb’ on an airplane!

I have said it before, I cannot stress it enough, DO NOT SAY ‘BOMB’ on an airplane. This is serious business, so please, LISTEN!

To the average traveler it may seem like a moot point to bring this up, a harmless utterance that can’t really hurt anyone at all. This blog post follows a very recent incident where an India based model possible faces up to 3 years in jail for jokingly asking a security troop stationed outside an Air India airplane to check her friends bag because she thinks he’s carrying a bomb. She meant it as a joke, we can all safely assume that, but a joke that has cost her more than she expected, perhaps even a temporary air travel ban, if not the possible incarceration.

Every single person working at an airport, around an airplane and inside an airplane (bottom line, anybody who calls an airport their workplace) is put through a course in aviation security where it is repeatedly drilled into our heads, just how serious a bomb threat can be.

A Bomb on an airplane is a situation OUT OF CONTROL

One has to understand the gravity of the situation. An airplane in the sky, with it’s doors shut is a very volatile place from a security standpoint. Any lapse in security, like a bomb or a terrorist making his way on board, and there’s practically NOTHING one can do to save the situation, except for negotiate and hope for the best. This has been seen from the many hijacks that have happened in the world so far. So the need of the day is to prevent ANY lapse in security. If a security officer as much as hears words like BOMB or EXPLODE, he is trained to set into motion all the protocol that he has been trained for. He is doing his job for you and for me.

You joke is not funny when all it does is delays a flight and gets you imprisoned

My friends know me as a fairly open minded person. I’m all for freedom of expression and speech. However, given our past experiences with air travel and the fact that the world isn’t the safest place in 2017, I beg you to please give up your freedom to say words like BOMB around an airplane. I’m afraid all it got the model from India, is;

  • A delayed flight, which possibly lead to a series of delayed flights after
  • Affected the airline’s on-time performance (OTP)
  • For the model, possibly 3 years in prison
  • Possibly missed connections for some of the passengers

We have enough to be careful about already with air travel. As passengers, let’s do our best by being a little more responsible, and not go around asking for trouble. To safe skies and safer landings!