I think we can all agree bringing a gun to an airport is about the dumbest thing an air traveler can do. But what's the next dumbest thing? Probably protecting your iPhone with a case shaped like a gun, and then bringing that to an airport.
Apparently one flier never got that memo, and decided to go ahead and bring his iPistol (not its real name) to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport Monday, the Mirror reports.
Unsuspecting passengers were delayed at the airport's low-cost carrier terminal M while they awaited information from authorities after flight operations briefly came to a stand still. Later, they were subjected to a second security check. Yep, every single one of them had to go back through additional screening. Schiphol airport authorities would not comment on details of the incident citing a police investigation.
Earlier this summer, police officials in the United States warned the general public that this case was a terrible idea, and we pretty much assumed everyone agreed. (But apparently that was not the case).
Police officials went so far as to recommend that people not purchase the case due to its misleading appearance. With split-second decisions being made on a daily basis by police officers, this seemingly playful phone case could have grave repercussions. New York Senator Chuck Schumer even suggested the sale of these cases may be illegal, acknowledging a federal law that requires toy or imitation guns to have an orange mark at the end of the barrel to show they are not real.
The Amsterdam incident is not the first to have triggered police response as a result of the confusing case. Police were alerted in Winnipeg, Canada, when a man was spotted with the case on a nearby beach.
Online retailers have agreed to stop selling the case, but a few are still listed on eBay. Let's hope travelers use better judgment when they step into a public area with this case.
