Domestic Airport Security - Changes for 2010?

[Scuba Steve]

Has anyone heard of any changes to domestic air travel in response to the attempted bombing of that flight to Detroit a week or so ago? I've heard that international travel inbound to the US is now a bit more difficult, but haven't heard about changes to security within the US. I'm flying out on January 4th and my travel schedule for the first half of 2010 is a lot busier than it has been in the past, and would like to know what to expect this year. I'd hate to run into unexpected changes when I get to the airport in a week.

[legion]

Nothing has been announced.

[willtel]

My wife returned from England yesterday on a Delta flight. Every passenger was searched by being patted down and the seams of their clothing were checked, separate lines for men and women. All hand luggage was completely searched in plain view of other passengers, bags within bags were opened and all fluids were inspected and smelled. Their flight was 170 minutes late departing, all delays were from security screening.

In flight was normal except for the last hour. No one was allowed out of their seat for the last hour of the flight. No access to hand luggage was allowed during the last hour, no blankets, pillows, or jackets were allowed to be on your lap and had to placed on the floor. Bathrooms were locked.

Who knows how long they will keep this up. I'm glad I only fly for pleasure, more hoops to jump through means less tickets sold to passengers.

[Christien]

As far as I know it's only for international, in-bound US flights. Delays and cancellations at the Toronto airport have been headline news for the last 2 days - typical delay is 2 hours, some as much as 5. Cancellations are way higher than normal (can't remember the #s).

The real problem, as far as my own travel is concerned, is the new rule that you can't leave your seat or have anything on your lap for the last hour of the flight. Considering that all our flight travel to the US is leisure which means kids come, it means no more flights to the US at all, at least not leaving from here (can still drive to Buffalo and fly from there). But that's a really ridiculous rule - kids can't hold pee, vomit, etc. for an hour, let alone sit there and stare without books, toys, etc. I think I'd rather be blown out of the sky then fly an hour with a plane full of screaming, peeing, puking kids

[stomachmonkey]

As a youth we used to bounce in and out of Germany a few times a year. Military Passport meant squat to German security.

I remember everyone walked into a draped area and everyone got a pat down.

[stomachmonkey]

Nothing on your lap the last hour of the flight? Stupid. So next time they'll try blowing it up hour and a half before the end.

Does it really matter how far from the destination the plane is? Blown up is blown up. Same end result.

[Scuba Steve]

Joy... I could see this being extended to domestic flights sometime. Does no jackets and whatnot during the last hour also mean no magazines if you brought it on outside of your carry-on? Seems hard to enforce that with every seat pocket having at least a couple of things stuffed in there by the airline.

All the screening for carry-ons would be more of an inconvenience to me because of the huge lines and delays this would create. People already carry on too much stuff to try and get out of a checked bag fee. I'd hardly carry anything on if it weren't for company policy that we aren't allowed to check laptops with our luggage. This Dell with a huge power supply and 17-inch screen weighs a ton.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by willtel

My wife returned from England yesterday on a Delta flight. Every passenger was searched by being patted down and the seams of their clothing were checked, separate lines for men and women. All hand luggage was completely searched in plain view of other passengers, bags within bags were opened and all fluids were inspected and smelled. Their flight was 170 minutes late departing, all delays were from security screening.

In flight was normal except for the last hour. No one was allowed out of their seat for the last hour of the flight. No access to hand luggage was allowed during the last hour, no blankets, pillows, or jackets were allowed to be on your lap and had to placed on the floor. Bathrooms were locked.

Who knows how long they will keep this up. I'm glad I only fly for pleasure, more hoops to jump through means less tickets sold to passengers.

Yep, this is exactly the sort of dehumanizing BS i was expecting.

I hate flying.

[Hugh R]

Read a magazine, go to jail.

[Deschodt]

Now waiting for the first reports of passengers crapping themselves, or peeing themselves, due to this assinine new rule.. Hell, if the idiot had tried this 3h before landing, we'd have a 3h rule now.. How much sense does this make ?

What's next ? I'm thinking shackles, or better yet, sleeping gas during the entire flight...

Seriously, how long before people organize themselves and charter private jets to avoid this crap? Can't take that BS anymore, I've completely stopped flying... How about simpler answers: Profiling (as the israeli how, it works for them), serious security checks (i.e leave my baby's bottle alone and find explosives with sophisticated explosive sniffers)

[island911]

Originally Posted by Scuba Steve

Has anyone heard of any changes to domestic air travel in response to the attempted bombing of that flight to Detroit ....

No carry-on, and at the gate you take off shoes, and all clothes, and leave them to be checked on. Then the anal exam. ...because we are too proud and soFisticated to profile.

[pwd72s]

I'm fortunate in that I don't have to fly...I sure as hell won't be flying anywhere. Not fear of flying, not fear of terrorism...just avoiding the pain in the ass experience.

So, in a way, I guess the terrorists won this one.

[rouxroux]

This lunacy has been cancelled 2 days in.............

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by rouxroux

This lunacy has been cancelled 2 days in.............

Yup... but that was still typical knee jerk overreaction to poor security procedures... We need to fix those...

I still vote for profiling, it does not need to be a bad word. Chances are that a young guy from the middle east or Yemen is way more likely to carry a bomb than a grandma from wisconsin. So you check that one a little deeper than grandma... You don't have to be rude about it, you just pick who you run thru the sniffer test...

The guy had a US visa for pete's sake, and waltzed thru security with "undetectable" explosives, while I have to empty my baby's bottles, 'cause you know, water is dangerous... Who's checking those lists ??? Who's devising those BS measures ?

At this point, I don't think the terrorists are even that serious about blowing up a plane. They don't need to. Even when they fail, this sort of security stuff can bring the airline industry to its knees in no time, they can get to us economically. It's pretty serious !

[legion]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

How about simpler answers: Profiling (as the israeli how, it works for them), serious security checks (i.e leave my baby's bottle alone and find explosives with sophisticated explosive sniffers)

No, we have to do everything possible to avoid offending the people who want to kill us.

[island911]

Originally Posted by legion

No, we have to do everything possible to avoid offending the people who want to kill us.

We really do. I mean, it just wouldn't be proper to be rude to the little sheet-heads. Nope, we need to abuse grandma from Wisconsin, and let the little sheet-heads pass, to show the world how we've transcended racism. ..so what if a few planes get taken out....(green text implied)

[tcar]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Nothing on your lap the last hour of the flight? Stupid. So next time they'll try blowing it up hour and a half before the end.

Does it really matter how far from the destination the plane is? Blown up is blown up. Same end result.

The pants bomber said he had to activate over US soil.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Nothing on your lap the last hour of the flight? Stupid. So next time they'll try blowing it up hour and a half before the end.

Does it really matter how far from the destination the plane is? Blown up is blown up. Same end result.

This was the serious answer on Sunday. "It is better for the plane to blow up over the ocean than over a populated city."

Fargin unbelieveable!

[red-beard]

BTW, as I pointed out in another thread, I flew in from Mexico yesterday, and we were definitely under extra security.

At the gate, every passenger had every bag hand inspected. Every person was wanded. We were not patted down.

On the plane, we were informed that pillows and blankets would no longer be available. Alos, the last hour of the flight, everyone would be required to remain seated. No one would be allowed to have anything on their lap and no one can access overhead compartments and no one can access anything under seat.

My flight was 1.5 hours. We were told that after the plane reached altitude, we would have 15 minutes to use the bathroom, etc.

THEN the Stewardess started doing the drinks (mostly coffee) and muffins (morning). I thought this was quite ironic. Before she had a chance to finish handing out drinks, she had to announce no more bathroom runs! Stupid!

Now as I understand it, I could have kept using my cell phone and headset for music. At the time, it seemed we could not have anything other than an Airline supplied magazine during the last hour. Laptops had to be put away.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by red-beard

At the time, it seemed we could not have anything other than an Airline supplied magazine during the last hour. Laptops had to be put away.

Please tell me you can still read a book. A good book is my flight survival technique.

Ian