# When was the last time one could fly without going through security checks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 8, 2013, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140 "2013-04-08T07:57:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/41 "2013-04-10T16:37:03Z")
To clarify - “Take Me to Cuba” was a common problem of the 60’s in the USA. It was not enough to create the need for security checks. Typically, a nutjob would wave a gun, the plane would divert to Cuba, and then the guy was Castro’s problem. Apparently they did not do well there either, Cuba recognized them for the unstable personalities they were. (Canadian TV ran an add for Resdan Dandruff shampoo - the hijacker says “take me to Canada!” Canada? Why? For Resdan, only available in Canada. They give him the treatment with the shampoo in the cockpit, and he says “Ok, take me to Cuba”. Hijacking was a joke back then, can’t imagine a company using a hijack as a joke in a commercial today) Part of the problem came when people like DB Cooper realized that the same technique could be used for extortion or political statements. IIRC some Black Liberation types hijacked a plane in the early 70’s and demanded various things before going to Cuba. The real impetus was the Munich Olympics in 1972 and the threat of Palestinian hijackings. ( See this [Dawson's Field hijackings - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson's_Field_hijackings) in 1970 - 5 simultaneous hijackings in Europe.) It was simply getting too dangerous on airplanes, and for the Palestinian issue in general. It stopped being a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/42 "2013-04-10T17:03:37Z")
The plot of a John D. MacDonald story, “The Taste of Gravy” (Playboy, June 1974), depends on some passengers being bumped off a plane because of a faulty alarm when they walk through “a small electronic arch.” That must have been a hip new topical reference at the time. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/43 "2013-04-10T20:26:56Z")
Until about 1993 you did not have to prove your identity. Airline tickets purchased by John Smith were frequently sold in the classified ads and Bob Jones would be able to use them. Until the Unabomber changed all that. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/44 "2013-04-10T20:52:56Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > I thought it was following this case [(Airline bombing, 1955)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_629), but it might have started with the plane hijackings in the 1960s. The crazy thing about that case is most people who are too young to remember seeing them would find the idea of buying life insurance from a vending machine at the airport to be unbelievable. Your link says they were common into the 1980’s. I didn’t realize they were around that late. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/45 "2013-04-10T21:01:04Z")
Note that the first metal detectors were installed by some airlines, or [at some airports](http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Moments-and-Milestones-Perfecting-the-People-Filter.html), before they became mandatory in January 1973. > [@](#): > > On July 17, 1970, New Orleans International in Louisiana became the first airport to use magnetometers to detect weapons—or anything made of metal—together with behavioral profiling of passengers. For anyone flagged by the system, airline personnel formed the initial gauntlet, and U.S. Marshals Service staffers were called in to investigate unresolved questions. In _Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas_, written in May 1971, Hunter Thompson (or his alter ego, Raoul Duke) considers bringing a gun onto a plane and wonders if they have metal detectors at the Las Vegas airport. Some had them on that date; some didn’t. In 1972-73, as documented, the FAA made them mandatory at all US commercial airports. As one would expect with something that evolved over time, no one hijacking or group of hijackings was responsible. The “take me to Cuba” hijackings, the hijackings for ransom, the Palestinians–all were terrifying (and a hell of an inconvenience) for passengers and crew taken hostage, and all played their part in forcing universal weapon detection. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/46 "2013-04-10T21:24:52Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > The Onion, as usual, is [ahead of the curve](http://www.theonion.com/articles/united-airlines-exploring-viability-of-stacking-th,2841/). 🙂 Heh. The article never (that I saw) refers to those flying on planes as “people” or even “passengers.” > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > _Airplane_ was around 1980, and there’s a brief scene of a guy in the terminal greeting his friend by calling out “Hi, Jack!” He’s immediately tackled by security guards. I can remember, by the mid-Eighties, signs at airport security checkpoints warning you that it was against FAA regs to joke about hijacking, contraband, bombs, etc., and that doing so would trigger an investigation. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/47 "2013-04-10T23:59:16Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > The crazy thing about that case is most people who are too young to remember seeing them would find the idea of buying life insurance from a vending machine at the airport to be unbelievable. Your link says they were common into the 1980’s. I didn’t realize they were around that late. I had totally forgotten about these until reading your post. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/48 "2013-04-11T03:25:06Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > The crazy thing about that case is most people who are too young to remember seeing them would find the idea of buying life insurance from a vending machine at the airport to be unbelievable. Your link says they were common into the 1980’s. I didn’t realize they were around that late. There were still one or two machines at LAX in the early 90s when I started traveling on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/49 "2013-04-11T04:29:04Z")
In Canada, it still is possible to fly commercial without a security check - if the flight does not connect to any other flights, and the passengers do not have access to the security areas that the screen ed passengers do. For instance, here in Saskatchewan, we have air service that flys Beechcrafts several times daily between Regina and Saskatoon. The company has its own terminal. Passengers arrive, check in, let the staff know if they need a cab at the other end. When the plane is ready, the passengers just walk out and onto the plane. Luggage is stowed. Neither passengers nor luggage is screened. At the other end, the passengers get off, collect their bags, and take a cab. The key is that it’s an entirely separate terminal, and the passengers cannot mingle with passengers on connecting flights. But it’s certainly commercial - small-scale, but commercial. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/50 "2013-04-11T05:14:12Z")
This was a notorious 1955 case about buying flight insurance in the terminal… and then blowing up the plane: [United Air Lines Flight 629 - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_629) ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/51 "2013-04-11T14:18:00Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > This was a notorious 1955 case about buying flight insurance in the terminal… and then blowing up the plane: [United Air Lines Flight 629 - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_629) Yeah, that was mentioned in post 28 and that’s what I was commenting on. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/52 "2013-04-11T17:26:55Z")
Hey, how else is he supposed to have made it to over 37K posts if all of them have to be original? > [@urban1a](#): > > I thought it was following this case [(Airline bombing, 1955)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_629), but it might have started with the plane hijackings in the 1960s. I certainly remember when going to the airport was a fun thing. You could go with friends to the gates or meet them there, or just go watch the planes land and take off. 2001 took care of all that though. Like other’s have said, it’s not like there was ever any terrorism before 9/11, or like there weren’t any other reasons to only allow people with boarding passes (and some airline/airport personnel) near the gates. Maybe by 2001 there were some small airports that allowed just anyone near the gates - and it looks like some still might. But most airports beyond the tiniest had long abandoned that practice by then. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/53 "2013-04-11T18:19:13Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > I also remember that we (i. e. a group of unruly teenagers) were instructed not to be funny in the presence of security guards ( “So it’s ok after all that I brought my AK47?”). This was planned as a joke on _Friends_ (when Chandler and Monica are about to embark on their honeymoon, Chandler sees a sign at the airport: “DO NOT JOKE ABOUT BOMBS”, so he goes up to a security agent and says something like, “Don’t worry; I always take my bombs seriously”, and they miss their flight because he ends up in a detention area of some sort). It was recorded before 9/11/2001, but meant for broadcast after that date; after the bombings, the scene was cut from the broadcast. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/54 "2013-04-11T18:32:55Z")
There’s a great scene in the movie **The Parallax View** where Warren Beatty is following someone. He jumps a fence and sneaks onto the guy’s plane. After they’re airborne a stewardess asks him his name, he gives a fake one, she writes it down in a legal pad and says “that’ll be 78 dollars.” > [@SandyHook](#): > > He lit a cigarette!!! Ah, how times have changed. I remember when you could no longer smoke on US flights less than 2 hours - it was in 1988. My brother and I were flying together and he was pretty upset about it b/c they had just changed it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/55 "2013-04-11T18:41:26Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Yeah, that was mentioned in post 28 and that’s what I was commenting on. Oops, sorry - I overlooked that. And **Švejk** - ouch…! ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140/56 "2013-04-11T19:23:42Z")
Security’s for plebs. Just buy your own jet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-one-could-fly-without-going-through-security-checks/655140.md?page=2)