New York

CRITICS who have long complained that airport security measures are mostly "security theatre" have given a recent aviation gun-smuggling drama poor reviews.

On Dec 10, while 1.7 million other passengers were being routinely screened for weapons at security checkpoints in airports around the country, the authorities say that a man carrying a backpack containing 16 firearms with ammunition flew aboard a Delta Air Lines passenger jet to Kennedy International Airport in New York from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The suspect was arrested in New York that day after a months-long investigation into gun smuggling to New York from Atlanta.