New carry-on luggage limits and screening measures after Northwest Airlines terrorist incident

The restructions sound like those that should apply to the transportation of dangerous prisoners from one prison to another. To avoid all trouble, why not strip-search us and handcuff us to our seats?

How does it help that pax can’t read a book during the final hour of a flight? And what about kids flying, who will be impossible to keep quietly occupied during that last hour with no books or other amusements?

Regarding Ronda Cantin’s post – you have EIGHT typos. Apparently your spell checker is turned off.

Someone screwed up in a BIG way, that’s obvious. If it wasn’t Schipol (most likely culprit), nor Nigeria (other likely culprit), then all that’s left is….Delta! Maybe someone from the inside planted the devices; that way when the suspect was screened he’d be clean. He finds his stuff at 19A and does his thing…only problem, it didn’t work.

That, or it’s a government fabricated incident, God knows what for!

“Maybe someone from the inside planted the devices; that way when the suspect was screened he’d be clean.”

It’s entirely possible that the security screeners just sucked. I’m bad about checking through my carry on bag before I leave, and I’ve made it through security several times, both domestically and internationally, with both a Swiss army knife in my bag and a couple rounds of stray, un-shot ammunition at the bottom. Half the time I was tagged for additional screening, but even the explosive-sniffing machine didn’t detect the ammunition (and I’m highly surprised that my bag, which spends a lot of time at the rifle range, didn’t set it off on its own due to powder residue that is surely all over it). This kind of ineffectiveness is what allows terrorists to slide right on by, and we need to focus on better screening, rather than idiotic rules that seem to think that my book is a weapon and that allowing folks to watch an in-flight movie is counter to their safety.

This is really going to be toughest on travelers with young children. I remember the 30 minute rule in and out of DCA and that was tough enough. We avoided using that airport until they finally eliminated the rule. It was obviously determined to be an ineffective security measure, so why would they implement a one hour rule? These measures are more restrictive than any post 9-11 rules…why?

I anticipate that these directives will be implemented inconsistently amongst airlines, but with any luck they won’t be around long enough to matter. I’m eager to hear clarifications for what you can do in the final hour. How about food, medicine, changing your wet child? Can you keep those supplies and a few small toys in your seat back pocket? Surely if you’re flying with a lap infant, he/she can stay on your lap in the final hour, right? Maybe your baby must be stowed too.

Are flight attendants collecting passenger-supplied pillows and blankets for storage “in the galley and not in overhead bins”? Are passengers even allowed to carry on such items?

What do you suppose that the airlines will use the most recent incident as an excuse to get around DOT regulations that prohibit parking passengers on the tarmac for more than three hours?

Not that I take issue with safety regulations, but I loathe the idea of TSA and the airlines using an isolated incident as a pretext to take away comfort items from passengers (blankets, pillows) and the few remaining passenger rights (i.e. limits on airlines holding passengers captive on the tarmac). If the past is any indicator, the airlines will turn around and force passengers to “rent” blankets and pillows from the airlines, and the DOT will stand down on tarmac rules due to “emergency” or threat level.

The US needs better alternatives to airline travel. Why don’t we have high-speed rail as between European cities? A little competition might just force the airlines to return to passenger-focused travel.

It is possible to provide for security concerns while maintaining focus on customer service.

Yet, not all the stuff in the underbelly of the plane is searched half as much as the passengers….go figure….

@Marlene Simmons “We’re supposed to fly 11.5 hrs … and not have in-flight entertainment and not read something during the last 60 minutes of the flight?”

Start the singalong:
99 bottles of beer on the wall…99 bottles of beer… you take one down, pass it around….

After a few rounds of that, books and magazines will be magically restored.

Here we go again… Why is it the strength of our security measures consist of reacting to incidents that have happened rather than being proactive in trying to prevent any incidents from happening? We are considered a strong and powerful nation but when it comes to out thinking terrorists, we lag far behind. When we employ people who think outside the box enough to begin thinking creatively and like the terrorists we will be able to be proactive instead of reactive. Who is it that thinks only the last hour of the flight poses a threat? What about on take off or sitting on the tarmac waiting to depart? Come on America get off the old school way of thinking and be proactive. Taking measures to defend something they already did is not going to work. 911 already proved that.

So all a terrorist has to do is yell “Boo” and we all lose more rights. And particularly a terrorist that has been reported by HIS FATHER no less. Credit card issuers and NTSB; two of a kind. We’re being made miserable for our own good.

These new rules are assinine and should all be terminated. The in-flight rules are the most idiotic. The pat-down won’t work because now everybody knows and the physical searches of bags may work if it is done randomly but how long will it take before the public refuses to fly the unfriendly skies and the airports and airlines start losing money big time. The only winners in this are those that wish too bring harm to the U.S. Let me clarify my statement. Every time something happens we lose more of our civil rights and all the terrorists do is sit back and laugh at the U.S. while those of us who live in the U.S. are forced to endure excessive searches and questioning by the TSA goons. We as Americans have lost most of our civil rights to travel through airports and for those who think it is ok for the government to do this you are sadly mistaken. Once the government takes something from you or imposes a new rule it is very hard to repeal it although it can be done. I work for the government but not the TSA and some of the things they do just don’t make sense and would be great cannon fodder for the late night comedians.
My suggestion would be to have cameras at each gate area; have roaving behavioral analysis teams at all airports and K-9 teams at all airports. This is not intrusive and if there is a suspected problem the bahavioral analysis team and police can respond to the gate area to determine if the situation is harmless or needs further inverstigation.
Racial profiling does not work since some of the more recent terror attacks or attempts have been done by radicalized Americans or Europeans who are white.
I just read in a press release from a reporter who was returning from Cancun to the U.S. that a baby was actually frisked and screamed in anger at being manhandled by private security at Cancun airport. A baby. I feel sorry for the parent or parents who had to see their baby being abused. WTF. I have a four month baby boy and I will drive before I put my son through that type of treatment.
If the TSA would spend less time looking for toothpaste, shaving cream and cologne they might actually be able to do their job and not make everybody suffer.

Traveling tomorrow from Canada to US via Seattle. Alaska Airlines has told us to prepare to have no carry-on whatsoever…we will have some grocery bags in hand to prevent us from carrying our wallets and book in our arms if THAT is allowed. perhaps we should just all go naked? Or maybe they should just start racial profiling. hmmm.

It still mystifies me that we will trade ANY of our liberty for security. Have we become such cowards in America? We get into cars by the millions everyday and, actuarily, risk our lives to a far greater degree in doing so than we ever could if we immediately went back to no airline security at all. From 1980 to 1995, more acts of terrorism took place than in any period before, or since. Yet I traveled the world as a single young woman, without incident during that entire period as did millions of others. I didn’t need security then, and I don’t need it now as one old enough to belong to AARP. We have always been targets. Only recently have we been convinced that we lack the courage to look the guys holding the weapons of fear in the eyes. I want us to straighten our spines and defend our liberty! Living in fear is like dying alone in the dark. Oh; and the next guy I see In front of me in the security line who quotes the founding fathers and then cowers before some rude TSA attendant instead of TELLING that attendant to treat him with some respect, is really getting a piece of my mind. ‘Nuff rant. Don’t just call your Reps. In Congress: Take a plane and go SEE them. It’s that important if you want your kids to understand anything about what the liberty to move one’s person unhindered really means in a lifetime.