Aviation security risks, Swedish style
The BBC reports on the latest aviation security threat in Europe:
Sweden’s national dish is an acquired taste, to say the least.
Some say surstromming, a fermented herring, smells like rubbish left out in the sun for days.
But now the fish has been banned from several major airlines, classified along with dangerous weapons like shoe bombs and firearms….
…now major airlines like British Airways and Air France argue the cans are pressurised goods, and must be classified as potentially explosive.
The dish is no longer allowed on their flights, and the sale of the delicacy from Stockholm’s international airport has been stopped.
That has made producers of the surstromming choke on their fermented fish, calling the airlines’ decision “culturally illiterate”.
It is a myth, they say, that the tinned fish can explode.
They admit, however, that a punctured tin would emit a foul smell, and that the content might spill quite forcefully, like a punctured can of beer.
