Simon stepped forward and reminded the crew of the security procedures they should follow. “I want you to use all of your senses. Look for passengers who are acting differently from the others. Look for things out of the ordinary. Make eye contact with the passengers as they are seated. If your instincts tell you that something is wrong, ask the passenger where they are travelling to. Engage them in conversation. If you are still concerned, alert Claire, she is the Purser today and will investigate anything your report. We will be gate screening in addition to the usual security checks to be on the safe side, and the ground staff have been briefed accordingly. It is likely that Captain Davidson will keep the seatbelt signs on during most of the flight to prevent too much movement around the cabin. Please use your common sense – if people ask to use the bathroom, that is fine, but if they are taking too long in your opinion, alert Claire. We do not believe that any of the flights are in any danger, but just keep your eyes and ears open. Thank you.” Simon sat down, looking at the worried faces of the crew. Out on the apron, Jamila watched out of the


window of the truck as the A300 touched down from the east and slowed to taxiing speed. The crew made the “welcome to London Heathrow” announcement in English and Spanish and described transfer arrangements for the arriving passengers from Paraguay. The aircraft came to a stop at Gate 28 and the business class passengers stood in line expectantly, waiting to rush through the door as soon as the jetway was secured. As soon as all of the passengers had left the aircraft, the flight crew made a final check and the cleaners were allowed on board. It was a fast turnaround and everything needed to work like clockwork. Jamila pulled on her gloves with a look of annoyance. Bathrooms as usual. It had been a year now and every single time, her supervisor gave her the bathrooms to clean. She didn't dare complain though, at least it was a job. He husband had been out of work for six months and they were struggling just to keep the kids in decent clothes. She headed to the rear bathroom, and picked up the discarded paper towels from the floor. Next, she sprayed the mirror with cleaner and wiped it off with a soft cloth. She looked at the dark rings under her eyes in the newly polished glass, sighed and opened the latch to the waste cabinet. Lifting the bag of used towels from its hanger, she felt that it was unusually heavy. She lifted it up to the light and could see a black shape in the bottom of the bag. She called her supervisor who had no hesitation in putting on a pair of rubber gloves and searching the contents of the bag. She found the object in the bottom; a brick-style cell phone, slightly damp. "There's always a problem with you, huh?" she shot at Jamila. Anything out of the ordinary


June 2013 Aviationsecurityinternational


and she knew there would be paperwork and maybe even a delay. She stormed off with the phone and passed it to the airline gate staff as per procedure. Simon hurried to the gate to investigate, accompanied by a police officer. “It really is just a mobile phone,” said the police


officer, testing the device. “You don’t see too many like this anymore.” He searched through the history of text messages and his eyebrows raised. “Perhaps someone didn’t want this to be found,” he grinned, passing the phone to Simon, with one of the more graphic messages displayed on the screen. “Wow. That’s almost enough to make me blush,” said Simon and passed it back hastily. “Good that we checked it out though.” The caterers were now on board, stocking carts with meals and replenishing drinks trolleys. Bill was in charge of the forward galley and was putting fresh bread rolls into the business class cart. He felt the rustle of paper in his pocket. He imagined that everyone must have heard, and put his hand over it as if to muffle the sound. His instructions were to place the packet underneath the bottom tray in the dessert cart. The crew never usually got that far down, and even if they did, there was a thin blue liner that he could use to cover the small packet. He looked around guiltily. He didn’t even know what it was, but for two thousand pounds, he didn’t mind helping out. He guessed it was drugs, but he didn't want to know. The phone call had come out of the blue last week, just as he was considering quitting. He figured he could do a few more days and then get something else, and no-one would ever know. He could use half of it to pay off some of his credit card, and the other half would make for a very nice day at Kempton Park Racecourse. Who knows, he could be rich this time next week! With shaking hands, he slid the small package out of his pocket and into the base of the trolley. He removed the bottom shelf and re-inserted it on top of the package. There was hardly a gap between the bottom of the trolley and the shelf - no-one would ever see it. He wondered who was going to pick it up; one of the crew maybe? Not his problem now, he decided. He jumped as one of the other staff came into the galley. "You finished with this one, Bill?" "Just finishing up. You go ahead, I'll do the


drinks." He pushed the trolley firmly into its slot and pulled the latch down to secure it. He felt his face redden and took a few deep breaths. He'd never be a criminal mastermind, he thought. Back at the Crew Briefing Centre, Simon received another phone call from the Department. "Looks like a Canada flight," John told him. "Nothing else at this stage." "Roger that," said Simon, and put his phone back into his pocket, rubbing his nose thoughtfully. Something just didn't feel right today, and he didn't like it one bit.


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