Back in early 2018, a regional airport north of London addressed the ever-growing concern of romantic travelers who were planning to pop the question during a Valentine getaway: How to slip an engagement ring through security without alerting a soon-to-be fiancée.
“It would put a big damper on someone’s meticulously planned romantic trip if their big surprise was revealed even before they’ve boarded the plane,” an East Midlands Airport spokesman noted at the time. “Arguably, there are more romantic places to be proposed to than in our security hall.”
During the week of February 12, 2018, the airport offered up a “secret code” to those who planned to propose during their trip. To obtain the code, the suitor had to email or text a request, and then the suitor received a secret code that could be revealed to the security staff at the airport.
That code alerted inspectors to divert the ring carrier to a separate lane from his partner, so that the bag search remained away from the partner's view.
Now, a similar campaign has been introduced on a broader scale at the much larger London Luton Airport (East Midlands serves 4 million passengers each year, while Luton serves four times as many).
The "Ask for Harry" plan is very simple and it works like this.
Travelers going through security at London Luton Airport simply need to use the phrase, "Does Harry still work here?" That secret code will alert security staff to check through luggage discretely, without pulling out the ring and ruining the surprise.
The new protocol was launched by the airport in collaboration with with the jewelery company Queensmith, which revealed via its "2024 Marriage Proposal Report" that 53% of its UK-based respondents opted to propose abroad, and that 76% of those proposers felt stressed at the prospect of going through airport security with their partner and a hidden ring.
The airport suggests that flyers should go through security normally, with the receiver of the ring going first. If the giver's bag does get flagged, the suitor should simply ask the security agent, "Does Harry still work here?" This will alert the staffer that something special is in the carry-on bag. Ideally, the partner will have completed the inspection and be well away from the security area.
It will be fun to see if other international airports will build on London Luton Airport's initiative. Might we soon be seeing an "Ask for Antoine" program in France or an "Ask for Alejandro" edition in Spain?
Credits: Image by BigStockPhoto.com.