Increased flight security following attempted terrorist attack

[T16GEM]

I'm hoping that somebody will publish the new flight security rules. At the moment it's very hit and miss and I'd be very annoyed if I was to turn up the airport with my laptop (no removable battery on it), be ordered to place it into the hold and then have it stolen from the luggage.

I have just checked on Continental's site (we are flying with them next week) and they have no changes on their at all, so I may call them later on in the week just to check what is what.

 

[Cyrano]

Hopefully the American authorities will be equally consistent with their checks.
When we flew out of MCO we saw many passengers walk through security with liquids

Have to agree with others I think the new measures are a PR exercise designed to make Americans think they are safer. Important word think

 

[buzz for boys]

my friend flew today and she said that she was allowed a laptop and she did have IFE just no skymap !!
They were however not allowed out of their seats for the last hour of the flight which she said seemed like a lot longer but as everyone was so jumpy over the whole terror thing everyone did as told !!
Hoping that helps people who have small kids and you can now get back to planning !!

 

[ukstitch]

I hope they reinstate the sky map - I quite like using it to see how much further I've got to go - especially after I've had a long sleep on a delayed night flight when you've been asleep for a few hours and wake up a little confused and don't necessarily know how much longer time wise because of the delay.

 

[jockey]

my friend flew today and she said that she was allowed a laptop and she did have IFE just no skymap !!
They were however not allowed out of their seats for the last hour of the flight which she said seemed like a lot longer but as everyone was so jumpy over the whole terror thing everyone did as told !!
Hoping that helps people who have small kids and you can now get back to planning !!

Thanks, suppose the last hour in the seats not that bad, we are normally seated anyway for the last 20 mins whilst the aircraft is in the descent, sometimes longer. As long as I can bring on my iphone and DS for kids I will be happy

 

[T16GEM]

Thanks for that info Louise, who did your friend fly with?

 

[disneyholic family]

Thanks, suppose the last hour in the seats not that bad, we are normally seated anyway for the last 20 mins whilst the aircraft is in the descent, sometimes longer. As long as I can bring on my iphone and DS for kids I will be happy

actually an hour can be a terribly long time if you're having stomach problems..

i was on a flight where as we were making our approach at the end of the flight, the flight attendants were banging banging banging on the bathroom door, yelling at the person to get out....since the plane is not permitted to land with someone in the bathroom..

when the man finally did come out - poor man - he was ghost white.....he had a really bad case of montezuma's revenge and even two seconds outside of the bathroom were clearly a hardship for him...

i don't know how he even managed to survive not being in the bathroom during the landing and deplaning.... he was clearly suffering terribly..
no way could he have survived an entire hour...

 

[buzz for boys]

Thanks, suppose the last hour in the seats not that bad, we are normally seated anyway for the last 20 mins whilst the aircraft is in the descent, sometimes longer. As long as I can bring on my iphone and DS for kids I will be happy

They had ds and iphone and there was no issues but they did have to put them away for the last hour but like you say you normally have to put everything away for descent anyway so its just a bit earlier !!
Im sure everything will be clarified quite quickly by others that are travelling too!!

 

[buzz for boys]

Thanks for that info Louise, who did your friend fly with?

Sorry yeah should have put that it was Virgin from Manchester !!

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

First of all, you sound angry. Kindly direct your anger toward the American authorities who are issuing and enforcing these new rules, not me. Sheesh.

Naturally, they should have acted on all of the tips about this particular passenger. No kidding.

All I said was that I have no problem obeying the new regulations, and that I think more air travel restrictions ought to be in place...whether that's here in and over this country, or in and over yours.

Yes it's a pain, yes it's inconvenient.

Hey, I was just voicing my opinion; that's allowed here, right?

Of course and by the same token I am allowed to voice my opinion of the same matter? or under the New TSA regs is that not to be allowed over US territory as well?
I do not agree with you that turning everyone into terrorist suspects, removing even more fundamental freedoms for no reason than to have a knee jerk reaction because that TSA failed in its job, yet lets make travellers pay for our failings is right.
We do not need any more restrictions, we require that the USA security serviuces does its job right in teh first place.
The last time people stated that " we accept our freedoms being removed for the security of the state" was in Nazi germany.
Of course I am angry, that all the signs were there yet the DHS failed to do its job, failed to profile correctly (why? scared of being labled racisit?) and yetr again, its the rest of the world that has to suffer (or decide not to fly to the USA, causing more economic chaos for the American people)
Again, the blinkered view of the TSA, that flights coming into the USA have to sit down and shut up for tha last hour, yet flights inte4rnally will not suffer this, because what? no terrorists are in the US borders? Oaklahoma bombings seem to dispel that idea. Again, it seems that its OK to blow up a plane over the Atlantic, or over europe, so lonmg as its nbot over US soil, or why else is this stupid law being enacted?

 

[jockey]

They had ds and iphone and there was no issues but they did have to put them away for the last hour but like you say you normally have to put everything away for descent anyway so its just a bit earlier !!
Im sure everything will be clarified quite quickly by others that are travelling too!!

I spoke with VA this morning, at the moment they say they are enforcing the one piece of hand baggage and there are extra checks at the boarding gate too ie body searches. They say they have not been told to enforce the seating one hour before landing and you are allowed electronics on board including iphones .

 

[HeresYourEars]

Of course and by the same token I am allowed to voice my opinion of the same matter? or under the New TSA regs is that not to be allowed over US territory as well?
I do not agree with you that turning everyone into terrorist suspects, removing even more fundamental freedoms for no reason than to have a knee jerk reaction because that TSA failed in its job, yet lets make travellers pay for our failings is right.
We do not need any more restrictions, we require that the USA security serviuces does its job right in teh first place.
The last time people stated that " we accept our freedoms being removed for the security of the state" was in Nazi germany.
Of course I am angry, that all the signs were there yet the DHS failed to do its job, failed to profile correctly (why? scared of being labled racisit?) and yetr again, its the rest of the world that has to suffer (or decide not to fly to the USA, causing more economic chaos for the American people)
Again, the blinkered view of the TSA, that flights coming into the USA have to sit down and shut up for tha last hour, yet flights inte4rnally will not suffer this, because what? no terrorists are in the US borders? Oaklahoma bombings seem to dispel that idea. Again, it seems that its OK to blow up a plane over the Atlantic, or over europe, so lonmg as its nbot over US soil, or why else is this stupid law being enacted?

Of course you are. Just please don't attack me. Okay? I'm not attacking you, or anyone else. Calm down.

You'll need to ask someone in authority why the law is being enacted.

The TSA is an American branch of government, so naturally the only thing they have control over is what happens over America! Why in heaven's name would they even try to address issues over the Atlantic or over Europe? They have no authority to do so!

As I've said a couple of times now, I understand this will be a big hassle for visitors coming in to this country. Sorry bout that!

I'm happy to hear your views, but again, please stop directing your anger at me personally. Not cool.

 

[ukstitch]

What did occur to me this morning is - why specifically the last hour?

If you're flying to somewhere like New York, then most of that hour is going to be over the Atlantic.

Alternatively, if you're flying to LA, then a lot more than that last hour will be over USA land.

Now - I appreciate that during that last hour, the pilot is trying to bring the plane down, but I would imagine that a terrorist would do more damage my either detonating their device at the highest point possible (so any time that is not take off or landing would do just fine) or over a large populated area (so anywhere over the USA would do for that).

It just seems to make no sense to me

 

[wickesy]

What did occur to me this morning is - why specifically the last hour?

It just seems to make no sense to me

It's because this particular terrorist spent twenty minutes in the toilet sorting out whatever it was he needed to do with his devices and then started to try to detonate them as the flight was descending so, much as with the liquid regulations, the authorities are trying to ensure that particular situation can't happen again.

 

[ford family]

What did occur to me this morning is - why specifically the last hour?

If you're flying to somewhere like New York, then most of that hour is going to be over the Atlantic.

Alternatively, if you're flying to LA, then a lot more than that last hour will be over USA land.

Now - I appreciate that during that last hour, the pilot is trying to bring the plane down, but I would imagine that a terrorist would do more damage my either detonating their device at the highest point possible (so any time that is not take off or landing would do just fine) or over a large populated area (so anywhere over the USA would do for that).

It just seems to make no sense to me

The air route to NY comes in over eastern Canada and then follows down the north east states. Take a look at a globe and you will understand better, the quickest route is north west then south.

As to the last hour, planes fly on auto pilot until a few minutes before landing and will even fly past if the pilots nod off!

ford family

 

[ukstitch]

The air route to NY comes in over eastern Canada and then follows down the north east states. Take a look at a globe and you will understand better, the quickest route is north west then south.

As to the last hour, planes fly on auto pilot until a few minutes before landing and will even fly past if the pilots nod off!

ford family

oh yes - I'd completely forgotten that, although I thought this was also partially related to staying within x miles of a landmass as well

As for the comment above about the terrorist being shut in the loo for 20 minutes - there's nothing stopping him doing that 2 hours before landing now. When they do that and the rule becomes no moving 2 hours before landing, they'll do it 3 hours before... etc etc etc

 

[wickesy]

As for the comment above about the terrorist being shut in the loo for 20 minutes - there's nothing stopping him doing that 2 hours before landing now. When they do that and the rule becomes no moving 2 hours before landing, they'll do it 3 hours before... etc etc etc

I agree with you but as with previous attempts the visible security is always one step behind the bombers.

For what it's worth I think this keep everybody seated thing has been imposed by the, for want of a better phrase, 'holiday cover' and once everybody has got together and discussed it rationally that will be removed. As Obi has said it is very telling that this has only been imposed by the TSA and, as far as I am aware no other country has imposed it.

 

[Cyrano]

It's because this particular terrorist spent twenty minutes in the toilet sorting out whatever it was he needed to do with his devices and then started to try to detonate them as the flight was descending so, much as with the liquid regulations, the authorities are trying to ensure that particular situation can't happen again.

Thank goodness he wasn't in the toilet for 2 hours then

 

[dbriggsq]

It seems to me that it's always a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has done the proverbial - examining everyone's shoes after the 'shoe bomber' - restricting liquids after the attempted liquid explosive and making everyone sit down with nothing in their laps after this last incident.

There's no point in doing it afterwards - we need to be able to predict what these people will do next. If this guy was on a suspect list then surely he should have been intensivly searched before flying even if he wasn't on a 'no-fly' list.

 

[tinks_1989]

rather put more people off flying

cheaper flights then