The Associated Press reports: All bags are put through a scanner as passengers enter Sharm airport, and carry-on bags go through a second machine at the gate before boarding.

But a scanner in the sorting area for checked-in bags often is not working, all the airport officials speaking to AP said.

One of the officials said the breakdowns in the 10-year-old CTX scanner were because operators didn’t use it properly — “human stupidity,” he said — rather than technical faults.

He said he has seen people unplugging the machine to save power, or because they think they are “giving it a break,” which contributes to the breakdowns.

Another of the officials said the staff made sure the scanner was operating well enough whenever international experts came to review measures at the airport.

“We only care about appearances,” he said. “Once they (higher-ups) hear something is coming, suddenly everything gets fixed. … We wish we had visits every day.”

Several of the officials argued that it was “not that important” that the machine broke down because when it was working, it is only used to scan a sample of the bags, not all of them. [Continue reading…]