December 27, 2009 Explosive reaction
Word is that the new, emergency security measures instituted in reaction to the Christmas Day bombing attempt are “deliberately” unpredictable (as opposed to accidentally unpredictable for the last several years?). This is bad for carry-on travelers who always bear the brunt of security measures. Some snippets from a nightmare travel weekend:
- “Hand baggage restrictions last imposed in the wake of the liquid bomb plot in 2006 were back in place on most flights to America while security staff were ordered to conduct full body searches for every passenger at departure gates.”
- “as aircraft entered US airspace, with passengers confined to their seats for the last hour of their flight, banned from having access to books, newspapers or even blankets or pillows.”
- The term of the new restrictions: “indefinite”
- In-flight maps, phones, and wi-fi - switched off
- Carrry-on luggage limted to one and only one from the UK, zero from Paris with only a clear plastic baggie allowed!
(Source - UK Telegraph)
Frank@OBOW
From the TSA:
Q: What additional security measures is TSA taking domestically?
A: TSA has a layered approach to security that allows us to surge resources as needed on a daily basis. We have the ability to quickly implement additional screening measures including explosive detection canine teams, law enforcement officers, gate screening, behavior detection and other measures both seen and unseen. Passengers should not expect to see the same thing at every airport.
Q: What additional security measures are being taken for international flights to U.S. destinations?
A: TSA issued a directive for additional security measures to be implemented for last point of departure international flights to the United States. Passengers flying into the United States from abroad can expect to see additional security measures at international airports such as increased gate screening including pat-downs and bag searches. During flight, passengers will be asked to follow flight crew instructions, such as stowing personal items, turning off electronic equipment and remaining seated during certain portions of the flight.
Q: Do passengers need to do anything differently to prepare for checkpoint security procedures? Has anything changed in terms of what passengers can bring in their carry-on or checked bags?
A: At this time, security checkpoint requirements for passengers departing U.S. airports remain the same. Passengers do not need to do anything differently, but they may notice additional security measures at the airport.
Q: Should passengers plan to arrive at airports earlier than normal?
A: Passengers traveling within the United States should give themselves extra time to check in and proceed through the security checkpoint before their flight, especially during the busy holiday travel season. TSA advises that passengers traveling on international flights to U.S. destinations allow extra time for security and arrive an additional hour earlier.
Q. How long will these measures remain in place?
A: TSA will continuously review these measures to ensure the highest levels of security.
Reader Comments (6)
NO carry-on from Paris?! If such continues, I may decide to send everything via Fed Ex (or some such overnight carrier) and just stuff my pockets with whatever I can get away with. Those baggage handlers who like to "sample" products from the baggage will have a field day with such a restriction as more people will be forced to check a bag.!
Another nutter makes travel life more difficult for all!
Makes me wonder if I should "travel" vicariously through a good book with pictures and well written descriptions!
So now arrive 4 hours early for international flights.
The one hour remaining in your seats...is that going to make that much of a difference? We seem to be one step behind. But restrictions on passengers during the flights are not the answer. The proper screening on the ground must happen to be really safe - of both passengers AND baggage.
I hate the incompetent TSA and DHS and their Security Theater. The best bet at this point might just be to eliminate them and start over.
Pure overreaction, poorly thought out. Designed only to look as if they are "doing something".
I have no international trips planned for the next few months. But I sincerely hope that the passengers on those flights rebel.
No Debt, the problem is that you cannot 100% screen the passengers. You could with the bags but not the passengers unless you x-ray them or subject them to a cavity search. I hope they will not go there but, unfortunately, it seems less utopian than the propositions I wrote in the other thread to improve the US reputation.
So that's the first point. The second point is that everybody has a price. You could smuggle a bomb on board through catering, cleaning, crew, mechanics, luggage handlers, ground personnel with airfield access. All viable options and easy targets.
So even if you did a cavity search on all passengers and hand screened every single piece of luggage that goes on board, you couldn't do that to all personnel not only on a daily basis but anytime they are getting close to an aircraft.
Also, even if it was possible to protect civil aviation, which it isn't, how do you protect buildings (see the first WTC attack) or bridges or stadiums for example?
Any security measures the country puts in place are just going to make living here worse and not really help anything. They need to be proactive in improving relations with those countries and those people that don't like them. After all, it is more honorable to make amends, admit mistakes and seek friendship than to just make war abroad and try to protect the country within its borders. Sure the former is a bit harder because for some people it might be a loss of face but in the long-term it is the only thing that at least has an inkling of hope in it.
Till
Perhaps, as is wont, after the incident lots of rumors started flying. Has anyone experienced more drastic measures these days?
The pre-boarding security was substantially more lengthy, and seemed to delay the flight by 2 hours. Although it's possible the flight would have been delayed for some other reason, at the scheduled departure time about 90% of the passengers were in the gate area, being screened again.
The process we went through was this: the standard metal detector and x-ray setup was used before getting to the gate. After passing through the metal detector, I was selected for a pat down, even though I didn't set off the metal detector. It appeared that about every other person was being patted down (my wife wasn't patted down here, so not everyone).
When we got to the gate, every passenger was checked again at boarding, before going down the ramp to the plane. Our carry on bags were thoroughly hand searched, and everyone was patted down.
As you can imagine, this took a very long time. We checked in 3 hours early, and went to the red carpet lounge. About 80mins prior to scheduled departure, we headed for the security checkpoint. It took about 60-70mins to get through. Without the departure delay, we might have missed the flight. We were in business class, so we got to go through the second pat down ahead of others, but it looked like it might take another hour or so to get through that line.
While waiting on the plane, we could see out the window that even the ground crew and baggage handlers were being checked.
In summary though, as of Jan 1, at least one carry-on item was being allowed in Paris. Arriving 3-4 hours early is probably accurate at CDG, and head straight to security. It's hard to explain all of the details, particularly if you're not familiar with the layout of CDG, but they actually had a line set up where we waited for our turn to be allowed to get into the security line. Some of the airport staff tried to convince a fellow passenger to come back later (she had about 2 hours until her departure time). She refused, and she was right to do so.