iPhone case leads to panic at one of Europe’s busiest airports

An iPhone brought one of Europe’s busiest airports to a panicked stand yesterday — resulting in considerable delays as one terminal gate was closed for “security reasons.”

Why? A passenger supposed to be travelling from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport thought it was a bright idea to do so with his iPhone in a custom case made to look like a gun.

This is why we can’t have nice things.

In the end, passengers were able to board their plane after going through a second security check.

If you think Schiphol security was being a bit overly cautious, there’s good reason. In 2012, the airport was at the center of a hijacking scare after a problem involving air traffic control led to fears that 180 passengers had been taken hostage aboard an Airbus A320. Two Dutch F-16 fighter jets forced the plane to land, before armed guards stormed it and discovered the false alarm.

Apple devices have proven very popular with airlines — with innovations like using iPads on flights instead of the heavy flight bags they replaced — although they’ve also occasionally caused problems.

Two years ago, it was heavily reported that Apple’s Maps app was directing people to drive directly across a taxiway where airplanes take off in Fairbanks, Alaska.

In that case, the problem was dodgy technology on the part of Apple. This time, however, it’s certainly the fault of the stupid passenger who thought taking what appeared to be a firearm through airport security was a good idea.

Seriously, who does that?

Source: Mirror

Luke Dormehl

Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.