It's in the bag - but does it need to be?

Now that the holiday season is (0) under way, airport travellers can be entertained (1).... one of the summer's most familiar sights: revolving swimwear. Many of the enormous suitcases on luggage carousels give up the struggle to stay closed, spilling (2).... contents across the moving rubber belt. The standard weight allowance (3).... most flights is 20 kg for checked-in luggage, plus (4).... further 5 kg as hand baggage. (5).... is more than enough for a two-week supply of T-shirts and paperbacks.

(6).... millions of us persist in a back-breaking exercise that involves emptying almost (7).... entire wardrobe into a suitcase, paying porters and taxis to transport our luggage, hunting desperately (8).... trolleys at busy airports, and arguing with cabin crew (9).... how much (10).... be carried on board. And that's before we have to work out (11).... to carry back the souvenirs we buy on holiday.

Large stuffed animals, life-size sculptures and birds in cages are just (12).... of the more challenging items that passengers (13).... attempted to bring back from holiday, says a spokesman (14).... the International Air Transport Association.

The best advice is old but trusty: take half as much luggage and twice as much money as you think you (15).... need. You can always wash your shirt abroad, but you won't find a branch of your bank.

Exercise 47. Read the text and answer the questions.

What are the 'traditional goods'?

What is the 'smuggler's eye'?

What tricks do smugglers use?

ANYTHING TO DECLARE?

The Queen's Ware­house at Heathrow is a large basement in the main Customs House on the north side of the airport, conveniently close to the police station. It is stuffed with goods seized by Customs in the Queen's name.

The warehouse reflects the trends in smuggling by passengers. The 'traditional' goods, as the Customs men call them, still stand out in pure volume. In a typical year, 1996, passengers arriving in Britain were relieved of 2,824 proof gallons of spirits, and 1,879 watches. More than 11,000 of them had 20,716 lb of tobacco confiscated. Most of this will pass through the warehouse, together with the expected haul of cameras and photographic equipment.

The amateurs give the Customs men their biggest challenge, for least reward. The professionals, smuggling cannabis by the hundredweight and cameras by the £100,000 worth, are often caught after tip-offs. The small-time returning holidaymaker has to be detected.

A good nose, or what the victim might consider sixth sense, is vital. The Customs people call it 'smuggler's eye'. It is indefinable, of course, but it is the quality that makes a really good Customs man as he screens hundreds of passengers pouring past him on a six-hour shift.

Every guilty passenger has tell-tale traits. The normally timid become over-boisterous, the placid bite their lips, the domi­neering are ingratiating, bossy women turn sweet. The 'eye' is mainly a question of feeling who is acting out of type.

The process starts much earlier than most passengers realize - at the moment when they pick their luggage off the conveyor belt. It is there that the Customs men weigh up attitudes. Most people who are stopped in the Green Channel have been earmarked for inspection from the moment they first picked up their case.

Smugglers like to go through Customs in the middle of the queue. If their bag comes up first, they will often let it go round on the conveyor belt and only pick it up after other passengers from the flight have started off through the channels. Likewise, they get agitated if the bag is late and they have to go through at the end.

Some attempts are almost as old as smuggling itself. Passen­gers are caught with a two-gallon bottle of Scotch, and say inno­cently that they thought they were allowed a single bottle duty free, irrespective of size.

Other smugglers show a touching belief that priests, doctors and other respectable men are not searched. A house painter arrived at Heathrow with 300 watches hidden in a woman's girdle round his waist. He was dressed as a Roman Catholic priest with a passport to match. He was fined for the watches, and imprisoned for smuggling when disguised in Holy Orders. Few amateurs have heard of section 73 of the Customs and Excise Act. It provides that anyone either armed with an offen­sive weapon or in disguise whilst attempting to avoid Customs duty is liable to imprisonment.

From Airport International by Bryan Moyahan

Discussion

1. Is it important to have Customs at international borders? Why/Why not?

2. What must you declare at Customs?

3. What kind of items do people try to smuggle?

4. Could more be done to stop smugglers?

5. Have you ever been asked to open your suitcase? What happened?

Exercise 48. Fill in the gaps using topical vocabulary.

The rules for passengers who are going abroad are similar in most countries but sometimes there might be a slight difference in formalities.

If, for instance, you are supposed to begin with going through ______, you'd better fill in the ______ before you talk to the customs officer. An experienced customs officer usually smells a ______, but he may ask any passenger routine questions, for instance, "Have you got anything to ______?" or "Any spirits, tobacco, presents?" The usual answers would be, "Yes, I've got some valuables, but I've put them all down in the declaration, or "I've got two blocks of cigarettes for my own use" or something of that kind.

Then you go to the ______ counter where your ticket is looked at, your things are weighed and______, a claim-check for each piece of luggage is inserted in the ticket and you are given a______, which has a seat number on it. Of course, if your ______ weighs more than twenty kilos, you have to pay extra. The next formality is filling in the immigration form and going through______. The form has to be filled in block letters. You write your name, nationality, permanent address and the purpose of your trip. In most countries there is also a _____ when your carry-luggage is inspected. This is an anti-hijacking measure, and anything that might be dangerous or disturbing to other ______ must be handed to one of the crew and only returned to the owner after the plane has reached its destination.

After fulfilling all these formalities you go to the _____ where you can have a snack, read a paper, buy something in the _____ shop and wait for the _____ to board the plane.

Some of these formalities are repeated when you arrive at your______. The customs declaration and the immigration form are often filled in on _____ the plane. At the airport you may be met by a specially trained dog who will make sure that you are not carrying drugs, and the _____ officer might want to know at whose invitation you are coming and whether you have a ______ticket.

There is another inconvenience you have to be prepared for when travelling long distances by plane. It's the_____, a difference between the time you are accustomed to and the new time. At first you won't be feeling very well because of it, but don't worry - it won't take you long to get used to it.

Exercise 49. Complete the following sentences:

1. A special tag was tied to my bag at the airport when...

2. Visibility was poor, we...

3. They put off our flight by half-hour because...

4. As we approached Petersburg I fastened my safety-belt when...

5. The IL-86 gathered speed for the take-off and...

6. The stewardess handed round sweets as we...

7. The weather man promised a thunderstorm, so...

8. When the plane rolled up to a stop the passengers…

9. I felt airsick because...

10. You don't feel the descent of the plane in your ears so badly, when...

11. We have enjoyed the flight as ...

12. Watching through the big window that overlooked the airfield he saw...

13. Due to delayed departure the connection time …

14. Crew showed passengers to their seats, and a wide selection …

15. If the passenger has nothing to declare…

16. Air passengers often suffer delays caused by…

Exercise 50. Explain in English the meaning of:

a take-off, to cancel a flight, to put off a flight, an airfield, a runway, an air-hostess, a non-stop flight, visibility is poor, an air pocket, an emergency landing, a pilot, a connecting flight, flying time, gangway, open ticket, non-smoking cabin, luggage allowance, hand luggage, nothing to declare, boarding pass, flight attendant, charter flight, supersonic airliner, overweight luggage, green section of customs, baggage carousel, short connection.

Exercise 51. Translate into English.

1. Он взял билет на самолет в Берлин через Амстердам.

2. В разных аэропортах установлено различное время окончания регистрации.

3. Столичные аэропорты рекомендуют пассажирам приезжать на регистрацию рейса заблаговременно, чтобы избежать недоразумений и очередей.

4. В салоне самолета разрешается перевозить только одно место ручной клади.

5. В целях обеспечения безопасности пассажирам запрещается перевозить как при себе, так и в багаже некоторые предметы.

6. Вы не слышали - уже объявили посадку на Лондон?

7. Вылет самолета задержался из-за плохой погоды.

8. Мы вылетели из Киева и приземлились точно по расписанию.

9. В 11.00 четырехмоторный самолет с 86 пассажирами на борту вылетел в Лиму.

10. Свободных мест в самолете почти не было.

11. Haш самолет летел на высоте 8000м.

12. Если в каком-либо пункте пассажир прерывает полет более чем на 72 часа (трое суток), он должен подтвердить свое намерение продолжить полет забронированным рейсом.

13. Перелет был очень тяжелый (удачный). Погода была прескверная (отличная). В течение четырех часов видимость была нулевая (прекрасная). Нас совсем не ка­чало (нас качало очень сильно).

14. Меня никогда не укачивает на самолете; я чувствую себя в воздухе совсем хорошо.

15. Cамолеты оборудованы для полета при любых метеороло­гических условиях (на любых высотах, на больших скоро­стях).

16. Мы видели, как самолет (а) кружился над аэродромом; (б) покачал крыльями; (в) начал выруливать на старт; (г) рванулся вдоль по взлетной дорожке; (д) совершил отличную посадку; (е) набрав скорость, отор­вался от земли; (ж) исчез в облаках; (з) заправляли горю­чим; (и) совершил вынужденную посадку, потому что правый мотор вышел из строя.

17. Мы попали в воздуш­ную яму.

18. Чем меньше скорость самолета, тем сильнее качает машину.

19. Экипаж пассажирского самолета обычно состоит из пилота, второго пилота, штурмана, радиста, борт инженера (flight engineer) или механика и стюардесс (бортпроводниц).

20. На борту самолета можно закусить, получить журналы и газеты. Обслуживание пассажиров входит в обязанности бортпроводника (стюар­дессы).

GENERAL DISCUSSION

1. Why do people go to these places at the airport? (Departure lounge, lost & found, currency exchange, baggage claim, check-in desk, customs, security check, immigration, airline office).

2. Describe the security measures for visitors in Russia. Are they adequate, or should they be reviewed?

3. Should personal information be stored on a national database? Why / why not?

4. Will Russia introduce biometric passports / ID cards? Do you think this is a good development?

5. Describe the inside of a plane .What part of the plane does the crew occupy?

6. Speak on the duties of the captain, an air hostess.

7. What are the regulations during a flight?

8. What modern devices make flying a safe means of travelling in case of bad weather?

9. What measures are taken against a possible hijacking of a passenger plane?

10. What can you see through the portholes of a jet plane if visibility is good?

11. What do you like or dislike about travelling by air?

12. Name the airlines you have flown (with). Which airline has the best check-in service? Why?

13. Why are flights sometimes cancelled?

14. Have you ever relied upon last-minute cancellations?

15. Flying is probably one of the safest ways to travel, but there can be problems. Discuss what can go wrong on the ground and in the air.

16. What for you is most important from an airline? Put the following in order of importance:

• safety

• comfort

• punctual departures and arrivals

• good food and wine

• attentive cabin staff