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For any anxious flyers about to head off on holiday, it is not good news that guns and air travel have hit the headlines so much recently. Despite stringent security measures at airports, it seems that it is still possible to get a gun (replica or the real thing) on board a plane.

A passenger about to fly from Manchester to Bangladesh on an Emirates flight was arrested last week after a gun was discovered in his suitcase. Even more worrying for those concerned with the threat of terrorism is the fact that the 44 year old has a PhD in chemistry. He has since been remanded in custody.

A few days later, a judge at Preston Crown Court told a former bank manager that he was very lucky to be escaping a prison sentence. Karl Crookall had brought a replica F-92 pistol from Gerona, where he had bought it, into Blackpool airport after a holiday with his wife and young son last year. An x-ray of his luggage had revealed the pistol, complete with 49 rounds of blank ammunition. Somewhat alarmingly, Crookall on being interviewed by police, admitted to having an obsession with knives and firearms following an accident which left him with a neurological condition. He has given up his gun licence and received a suspended prison sentence of 28 days.

A man from Aberdeen discovered last week that even joking about possessing a fire arm on a flight can have serious consequences. He had told the steward on a plane about to take off from Edinburgh to Egypt in April that he had a gun. He has been charged with causing a breach of the peace and the sentence will be announced next month, following background reports being obtained.