The problem with airport

The problem with airport security is that no matter how much money and technology you throw at the problem, it can all be undermined within minutes by a few incompetent employees. Take, for instance, the scene at Chicago's Midway Airport yesterday evening:

Upon arriving at the ticket counter, we noticed two clerks searching around for a lost boarding pass. Although clearly bothered by the pass's disappearance, the clerks decided to give up after having no luck querying a few bystanders.

Later, after we had passed through the security screening, we ran into one of the clerks again. This time, he was manning the gate and keeping an eye on the passengers in the waiting lounge. He called over one passenger in particular, who just happened to be walking by, and asked the man if he would double-check his boarding pass. Looking confused, the passenger retrieved his pass and scanned over it. "Wow," he said, "this isn't my name. It's not even close."

The clerk took the pass and set about printing a new one for the passenger. As he was typing away, he asked, "So how did you get past the security checkpoint with the wrong boarding pass? Didn't they look at your ID card?"

The passenger shrugged and explained that the security personnel did ask to see his ID card, but that they let him through anyway.

"Huh," said the clerk. "They're supposed to check for that sort of thing." Then he went on typing.