Prawnhead, your board loss story sure does suck (page 1)!
I was familiar with Sydney Airport back in late 1998 though mid 2000, getting the place ready for The Olympics. Major upgrades at International.
I commented to several people that security during that period looked lax (meaning "loose" pertaining to the bowels, let's not get started on the Bristol Chart! Sorry, I digress!
), lax, to say the least.
Every Tom, Dick & Harry had an Airside Security Pass, Duty Free Grog was getting thrown around like confetti, and there were "Towel Heads" (*1) manning several major Security Gates. Plus, the Northern Eastern Gate heading to a main staff carpark was almost completely void of security. Un-manned, and no camera. Any old Joe could have walked in with any old Tom's pass on their neck. Under 5 minutes later, you can be at the main Baggage Hub, back of house, with all the checked bags rolling through in front of your eyes.
So lax... I used to shake me head at how bad that joint was at that point in time. Extremely compromised, from several angles. Easy access, most bags were un-screened / un-x-rayed (equipment wasn't completely operational)... In-coming baggage was in the same boat... If someone knew the exact bag to look for, it would have been relatively easy to sneak it out the gate. There would have still been risks, but it would have been easy enough.
*1 - Towel Heads - yes, I'm referring to men of Middle Eastern Appearance, physically wearing head dress. Sure, a proportion of them would have just been going about their job, no problem... But I swear a potion of them would have been getting a cut... Money would corrupt some of them in about 1 minute flat! Sorry for telling it like it is!
Might sound like I'm racist as hell, but actually I'm not... I'm just trying to set the scene of circa 1999 Sydney Airport.
