Passengers on an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Birmingham, England have no idea how close they came to enduring an hour of fart-blasted misery. If not for the well-trained eye of a security official at Dublin Airport, their time in the air would’ve been periodically interrupted by the sounds of a kid’s brand new Minions Fart Blaster. [5] But instead of making the cabin feel like a ride through a stranger’s descending colon, little Leo Fitzpatrick had to surrender his Fart Blaster to airport security because replica weapons – even replicas of cartoon weapons – aren’t permitted on any flight. [5] That’s right folks, the poor three-year-old boy had the item, a gun shaped toy that features in the popular children’s film Minions, confiscated by security officials at Dublin airport who said it posed “a threat”. The security officials flagged the item after seeing it on the baggage x-ray machine. Officials asked his mother Daire, 25, to empty his backpack – revealing the plastic megaphone toy, which makes loud fart noises when the trigger is pulled. The boy, who had only received the loud speaker as a present from his grandfather the day before, had to put on a brave face while his favourite toy was left behind. [21] On Walmart’s website, the Fart Blaster’s product description says “the item will make loud fart sounds, much to the dismay of the person next to it.” [5]
Fitzpatrick’s mother, Daire, feels as though her son has been terribly wronged and has shared her story with every news outlet willing to put the words “Fart Blaster” in a headline. She insists that the officer should’ve known that the toy wasn’t a real threat to anyone’s safety. “He was devastated. He is very well behaved and very polite, and he said ‘of course’ and left it, but he is very upset and doesn’t understand why he’s sharing his toy with the man. It was such a shame.” said the boy’s mother Daire Fitzpatrick. [1] “If you look at it, it’s just ridiculous it could be considered a weapon. I mean, would you shake with fear if I pointed a Minions fart blaster at you?” she told reporters with the London Telegraph. [21] “It just looks like a megaphone – it doesn’t look like a gun. I said to the man it can’t be construed as a weapon and he said ‘I know, but the button looks slightly trigger-like’. I was fuming at the time. I just had to say ‘I’m so sorry Leo’.” said Mrs Fitzpatrick. The security officer even told the family that he had bought the toy for his own child, and knew it was ridiculous, but had to follow procedure. “It doesn’t in any way resemble a weapon. I understand strict airport regulations, but can common sense or compassion not be employed? It was laughable.” Mrs Fitzpatrick added. [21] In a further facebook post she lamented “You can say anything you like about strict airport regulations but having worked in this same airport for over five years I can tell you the usual standards are not only woefully below par when it comes to important things, but not apparently when it comes to obviously harmless toys that light up a little boy’s life they are frustratingly laughable.” [2] Paula Morrin, Fitzpatrick’s friend, vented her disappointment towards the airport’s actions through her Twitter account. [16] Fitzpatrick, who was about to go home in Ireland all the way from the UK, also took her sentiments on Facebook after her son had been devastated when the toy was demanded to be given away. [16]
The story picked up more steam when the Daily Mail interviewed Daire Fitzpatrick, who said that the security official recognized that the Fart Blaster didn’t look like a gun, and was most concerned by the trigger mechanism. ‘He said ‘I’m so sorry it’s got a trigger, it doesn’t even look like a toy gun, but because it has a trigger mechanism it is in writing that I have to take it’…’ [1] [21]
Airports on edge these days and not because there’s a constant threat of terrorism looming over their airspace. They are being watched very closely by people with the power to put them out of a job thanks to the appalling job they are doing, according to a recent report that showed that airport security checkpoints failed 67 out of 70 security tests. That may explain why some airports outside the US are going a little overboard with their security measures like Dublin, Ireland’s airport that confiscated a child’s toy gun before he boarded the plane. [7] “We do not make up the security rules but we have to apply them,” a spokesperson for Dublin Airport told TODAY. “Toy/replica guns are on the prohibited list for security screening. We adopt a consistent approach so there is no confusion for passengers and our staff in the area.” [3] The spokesperson added that airport security officials are subject to stringent audits on a regular basis to ensure compliance. “Had this been an auditor on a covert operation with the toy gun we would have failed the compliance test.” In other words, the security agent could have lost his job had he not confiscated the banned item. “While we apologized to the family for the inconvenience caused we did say that we would hold onto the Minion toy so the family can collect it on return from their holiday,” said the spokesperson.
This family, from Nottingham, said that they were stunned when security officials said that a “Fart Gun” was not allowed under rules governing replica weapons. In the US, TSA’s idea of “replica” weapons has, in the past, included a sci-fi ray gun belt buckle, a toy monkey holding a 2 inch plastic toy gun, a steam punk watch, a perfume bottle, a photographer’s blower, Aluminium foil, peanut butter, candy, pies and cupcakes. In schools, dangerous items such as Hello Kitty bubble guns have been deemed ‘terroristic’, with children as young as 5 years old being suspended for bringing them to school. Meanwhile, people are routinely waltzing through airport security lines with swords, knives, explosives and guns. Of course, many agents are too busy groping women and searching old people’s diapers to bother checking for anything else.
[7] Airport Security Confiscated A Child’s Super Dangerous Minion Fart Gun, Break.com, Aug. 17, 2015
