Anger as airport stops Sikh with dagger

John Scheerhout

January 26, 2005

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GIFT: The ceremonial knife

A ROW erupted today after Manchester Airport security officials refused to allow a Sikh passenger on a flight because she was carrying a four-inch dagger.

It comes after the M.E.N. revealed another woman unwittingly smuggled a craft knife on to a flight from Manchester.

In the latest incident, officers in Terminal 2 refused to let the 41-year-old to board an Air France jet to Paris.

The woman, who was on her way to Delhi to see family, told officers she was wearing the ceremonial kirpan knife under her clothing before she walked through a metal detector.

The kirpan must be worn by baptised Sikhs as a religious symbol, but managers insisted she would not be allowed on her flight because it was considered a weapon.

She returned to check-in, where she was told her luggage had been taken off the plane.

"It was very upsetting," said the woman, from Leeds. "I don't understand why security should worry that somebody like me might stab somebody. I paid é540 for that ticket and I can't go.

"They also said they had already taken my bag off the flight, so it was too late.

Dispensation

"The last time I flew, in March, 2001, I was able to give my kirpan to the aircraft crew and they gave it back to me afterwards. But this time, they insisted they could not do this.

"We are supposed to wear it all the time, but I would be willing to hand it to the crew. I would also consider putting it in my luggage."

Panesar Balbinder, of Sikhs In England, was angry and insisted the government had given Sikhs dispensation to give their kirpan to flight crew for the duration of flights.

"It's a religious symbol, not a weapon. Other airports allow the kirpan to be handed into the crew and given back at the end of a flight."

A spokesman for Manchester Airport explained: "Such items are prohibited and they cannot be carried on the person."

Katie Hulme, from Air France, said: "I'm sorry, but there was no time to get her bag off the aircraft and re-load it. It would then have missed its slot."

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: "Knives of all blade lengths are prohibited and passengers are not permitted to take them into restricted zones or onto an aircraft. Such articles may be put in hold baggage that passengers no longer have access to."

Should the knife have been confiscated? Have your say.

Articles

Airport missed knife in my bag

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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All

Tracy, Wythenshawe (26/01/2005 at 10:14)

Knives/daggers of any description should not be allowed on the aircraft at all. Maybe handing it to the crew could have been an alternative.

PHILIP BOWKER, CLAYTON MANCHESTER (26/01/2005 at 10:50)

Last September my wife accidently put her small manicure set in her hand baggage when we were going on holiday. We were told that this was classed as a sharp weapon and had to hand it over to the security person.This we did without complaint as although it was simply a mistake rules are rules when it applies to security. A BLADE IS A BLADE AND IS NOT ALLOWED!!

Geoffrey Smith, Droylsden, Manchester (26/01/2005 at 10:57)

Why would anyone, Sikh or no
Sikh, want to carry a knife on
their person, unless they had
the intention of using it if and
when they thought fit?
To call it a religious emblem is
just nonsense. A concealed
weapon has nothing whatsoever to do with a genuine religion and constitutes a danger to anyone who would dare oppose the
culprit's way of thinking.

Macca, Levenshulme (26/01/2005 at 11:06)

She said ""I don't understand why security should worry that somebody like me might stab somebody. "

how are the security staff to know what kind of person you are ? and whats to stop you giving the knife to someone else who would use it ?
Knives are weapons regardless of what religion you follow,
and airports/airlines can't be expected to cater for every exact detail of the many different cultures and religions out there.
Rastafarians have their own religion and i believe they include smoking the "Herb" as a main part of it ? wouldn't you complain if a Rasta' started smoking a big reefer on your next flight. ?
It's part of your religion, but that doesn't make it acceptable to the rest of us.

Marianne Harrison, Sydney,Australia (26/01/2005 at 11:30)

Bravo to Manchester Airport securety for not letting the Sikh Lady take the dagger on to the plane,do these people not realise that we live in a dangerous world,surely her God will forgive her if she prays without the dagger.
I say well done to all concerned.
Marianne Harrison
Sydney Australia.

Marvin, Valletta,Malta (26/01/2005 at 11:39)

Everyone knows the rules and should abide to them. Knives cermonial one or not are an potential danger and there is no certainity it is bieng used for religious purposes or not. So yes the airport authorities did the right thing and have to be given praise for what they did.

Red Ferret, Warrington (26/01/2005 at 11:40)

No fuss, stopped at security and told to remove it, whats the problem there? If an attack had happened on an aircraft with that knife, then there would be fuss because security would be deemed as not doing there job properly. Remember that documentary about Manchester Airport security staff last year? Think the guys at security want a pat on the back here.

Dan, City centre (26/01/2005 at 12:04)

Religion has no place in this debate. At the end of the day you cannot expect to be allowed to take blades onto aircraft. I am well aware the Kirpan is symbolic, but it is symbolic to the individual, not to the 100+ other passengers who could potentially be in danger if the knife was used maliciously.

Baz, Norfolk (26/01/2005 at 12:21)

I'm curious. In what way is a 4 inch dagger - a symbol of violence - a religious symbol?

Roger R., AMS (26/01/2005 at 13:43)

Of course the knife should have been removed. It should have been packed in checked luggage if she had wanted to take it with her. If we give Sikh's dispensations, then why shouldn't we give everyone dispensations?? Heck, I am a flight crew member and I can't even carry nail clippers with me! Thank the jack-a##'s who commited 9/11 for all this.

Chris, Middleton (26/01/2005 at 13:51)

Have these jobsworths nothing better to do than stop people taking daggers on planes ? Next they'll be stopping Samurai warriors carrying the tools of their moral code. The mind boggles at peoples stupidity, it truly does !!!!

Andy, Salford Quays (26/01/2005 at 13:54)

This lady can have no complaints. A balde of any description is not allowed to be taken on the aircraft. She says that in March 2001 she was allowed on a plane with it, well a bit of news for her March 2001 was before Sptember 11 2001 when thousands of people were murdered by terrorists using in some cases plastic cuttlery. Wise up! Manchester Airport staff should be applauded for doing their job and helping keep security tight.

bernie, trafford (26/01/2005 at 13:57)

The cause of 80% deaths the world over are in the name of religion. A blade is a weapon the sikhs are warriors they have been through the ages. I would refuse to board the aircraft if i had to sit next to someone so foolish as the passenger in question she is contravening everyones human rights by concealing a dangerous weapon about her person. Well done to the airport security for stopping what could have been used in a potential hijack and killing on board an aircraft. Pretty sure her family would claim compen from mcr airport if her religious blade was taken from her and used to stab her to death by a hijacker. The law states NO WEAPONS ON BOARD AIRCRAFTS. If you cant understand dont get on the plane at all.

Keith, Didsbury (26/01/2005 at 14:06)

You're living in cloud cuckoo land if you think any terrorist incidents will be prevented by the confiscation of Kirpans, nail clippers, corkscrews and the rest. The whole regime is a silly product of the 'something must be done' reactions that now automatically follow any unfortunate incident. The law (DTLR regulations) does indeed ban Kirpans, being covered by the ban on "knives with blades of any length", but the law here is an Ass

Also shame on some of the previous posters for your condescending comments on others' religious beliefs and symbols.

Bhupinder Singh, London (26/01/2005 at 14:35)

Sikhs carry the Kirpan - a sword (it is not a dagger) to uphold their duty to keep the peace and defend the week. Up until 9/11 Sikhs departing from UK airports were allowed to carry a small Kirpan (less than 3 inches) on aircraft. After 9/11 that changed and we have to either pack the Kirpan in checked luggage or hand it over to the airline who check it in and give it back at the destination. It seems to me that this lady was not aware of the change in rules and should have been given to option to hand over the Kirpan to be checked into the hold. She certainly should not have been forced to miss her flight.

Davinder Singh, London (26/01/2005 at 14:50)

The offer of the lady to provide the Kirpan to the flight crew was fine and thisis the agreed procedure with the Government.

If the logic of the security staff is to be followed,what about cutlery on planes, let everybody eat ther hot food with their hands fom now on !

Chris, Middleton (26/01/2005 at 14:58)

Have these security guards nothing better to do than stop people taking daggers on planes ? Next they'll be stopping Samurai warriors carrying the tools of their moral code. The mind boggles at peoples stupidity to try & take weapons on planes, it truly does. Well done Manchester Airport.

Colin, M/cr (26/01/2005 at 15:55)

If my religion said that I had to carry a rocket launcher would that be allowed????? eeerrrrr NO!!!! a weapon is a weapon no matter how big!!!! So all you clowns saying the security was wrong GET A LIFE or a new religion where its not a custom to carry weapons!!!!!!

Jon, Manchester (26/01/2005 at 15:56)

Of COurse she should be stopped, she should be banned from boaridng a jet ever again, and should be arrested for even attmepting something like that she is breaking the law, and endangering the lives of all other passengers, it doesn't matter if she id black, white or yellow, the law is the law.

Dan, City centre (26/01/2005 at 16:01)

Bhupinder, from the content of the article I think the lady missed her flight purely for scheduling reasons - there was not time to unload her suitcase, pack the blade, then reload it without the aircraft missing its allotted time slot for takeoff. (This would mean a further considerable delay for another time slot, since other aircraft have their time slots, so a flight cannot simply depart when it is ready.) This is nothing to do with religion or respect for ones' culture.

Shaun Correia, USA (26/01/2005 at 16:01)

The rules says " Kirpan" should be handed over to the crew and return as the passenger leaves the plane on arrival. Most airlines accepted this rule, and all sikhs do not have with this problem....but not following this rule shows the lacking of intelligents of Manchester Airport security. How many people has been injured by a Kirpan? Do a google search you will find none...but you will see incidents where Kirpan help to protect the weak for self defence.I know lots of baptised sikhs and have lots of respect for them......Baptised sikhs will never use a Kirpan for an attack unless it's use for self defence e.g terrorist on the same plane. If there were baptised sikhs in the Hijacked 911 planes, the terrorist would probably failed with their mission...........Anyway in google search there is more attacks using baseball bats, pencils, hands..etc....but no violence due to a Kirpan.!! Think about it. We need to be more intelligent.....guess that's why the sikhs knew there were unaccountable solar systems,planets,moons, suns and the Universe is continuously expanding more than 400 years ago while the rest of the world (UK too) thought the world was flat!!!! In 2005 we are still ignorant!

Jagdip Singh, London (26/01/2005 at 16:23)

The security staff should be aware of the agreed Government guidelines on Kirpans . The arrangement should have been made to allow the lady to carry the Kirpan in her bagage.

Also I am noticing a major lack of knowledge about peoples beliefs here, the major cause of conflict in the world.

Did you know 83,000 Sikhs died in the First and Second World wars fighting for Britain.

B Singh, somewhere (26/01/2005 at 16:40)

I think you are all missing the point. She INFORMED security she had the kirpan on her. She WILLINGLY told them. They removed it from her and she was willing to check it in to her luggage. Given that she was unaware of the regulations (since they had changed since 9/11), this is clearly the airline's fault for not giving her the opportunity to check it in. If you can't take the time to understand the Sikh religion and why we wear a kirpan, at the very least, tolerate it as I do the many Judeo-Christian traditions that are just as offensive to me. This woman said she would have put it in her luggage had she known. Giving it to the crew was an option that was not available anymore, and she was unaware of that.

Pal, london (26/01/2005 at 16:46)

the carrying of a sword is an important symbolism for sikhs as they suffered severe persecution under muslim rulers in india during the 17th century. Being able to defend yourself is no bad thing. In fact having a sikh on board (with a sword)would probably put the frighteners on any potential extremists. Lets not overreact and throw the good apples out with the bad. Once a suicide bomber is on board possibly with guns its in your interest to have a goodie who's brave enough to take these idiots on with a weapon. Otherwise its curtains.
I suggest guns are the real problem not knives or blades. Any metallic object on board can be fashioned into a makeshift knife.

Chris, Altrincham (26/01/2005 at 16:59)

Well done to the airport. I understand the religious significance and that probably very few sikhs have any intention of stabbing flight crew or passengers with a tiny dagger. But the rules are made for a reason. No you can't have a metal nail file, bamboo knitting needle or a plastic tail comb in your hand luggage so you shouldn't allow miniature daggers either. We all have to accept that if a group of any people are allowed this sort of thing it is possible that terrorists will pretend to be one of that group. Cabin staff collecting them does not really make them all that secure.

Put them in your hold luggage and it you have any doubt check before you check in your hold luggage.

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