Report from Canada

OBOW poster Lucy provides this helpful report (via post comment) from Canada;

I got caught by the carry on ban while visiting my family in Vancouver for the holidays. Fortunately, I had enough time to pick up some locks for my bag before returning to LA on 12/30. My black Tom Bihn TriStar held up well to being checked. I used to have a red suitcase that would always end up with black scuff marks if it was checked.

I also bought a purse because I had only brought along a teeny purse (just big enough for a compact camera, a slim wallet and some lipstick). Since they were allowing “small purses”, I bought a shoulder bag that could carry a small book, my iPod and the power cord for my laptop.

Laptops were also permitted and I carried mine in this sleeve. It fits my 11” laptop perfectly! I love the sleeve because it has both a handle and strap. My previous one didn’t have either so I always worried about dropping it when I was getting it out for the xray. With this one, I can wear it cross-body until it’s time to put it into the bin (the bag is checkpoint friendly).

Cameras were also permitted. I saw one person with a camera bag but most others had their DSLRs “loose”, either in their hands or around their necks. I don’t know if the people with their cameras out had separate camera bags that had to be checked though. They all looked like they had kit lenses so perhaps they didn’t have any other camera gear.

Update on January 7, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Transport Canada says travellers can bring “common sense” carry-on articles on flights to the United States despite a list suggesting only 13 approved items are permitted.

In the wake of a failed terrorist plot to blow up an airplane on Dec. 25, the federal government banned carry-on luggage for U.S.-bound flights with the exception of 13 items. The list – which includes small purses, laptops, coats and medication – left travellers confused about whether they could take other things, such as books, iPods and computer cases.

In an interview Thursday, a Transport Canada spokeswoman said U.S.-bound travellers can bring additional items not on the list that are “essential” during flights. - Globe & Mail

Indefinitely:

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Those strict carry-on restrictions on U.S.-bound flights are the hot topic today as the Canadian airline industry meets with the agency in charge of air security.

The National Airlines Council of Canada, which represents carriers like Air Canada and Westjet, would like to see policies go back to the way they were before the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines jet on Christmas Day. Canada is the only country still enforcing the new rules banning carry-on luggage.

Transport Canada says the ban will stay in place for now, but is now letting passengers take books and magazines on the plane.  International meetings are also happening to see if the patchwork of rules in difference countries can be turned into one, cohesive global policy.

Remain seated...and freaked out

Halfway into the flight to LA, a passenger took a photograph and the icy blue flash from the camera bounced momentarily across the dimly lit cabin.

The anxious stares of near neighbours and the swift arrival of a flight attendant illustrated all too clearly the concerns felt by those travelling to a nation targeted by terrorists - for whom the plane is the weapon of choice. - ‘I boarded a plane with an aerosol can’ - BBC News



Checking a carry-on

The Canadian carry-on ban means a lot of people will be checking bags they never intended to check. Since you never know when this policy will show up in other places or when you’ll be gate-checked, it might be wise to choose the most rugged carry-on possible for 2010. The lighter/cheaper fabrics may be in danger of damage in the checked baggage blender. Unfortunately, more rugged usually means more expensive. Securing zippers and outer compartments is something to think about, too.

Reasons for the petition

I posted this on the Rick Steves Grafitti Wall where there’s been some interest in the Save the Carry-on petition:

My reasoning (for the petition) is that 1) if Canada can do it, so might other countries, and 2) the fact that the underwear bomber checked no luggage is constantly mentioned in media accounts as a “red flag”, and 3) there are reportedly members of Congress (possibly under the influence of the fee-happy airlines, flight attendant unions, or shipping companies) who would look favorably on carry-on bans or draconian luggage restrictions.

Obama the profiler?

Who saw this coming?

All travelers flying to the United States from other countries will face increased random screening, and all passengers from more than a dozen terrorism-prone nations will be patted down and have their carry-on bags searched, under new rules the Obama administration said will take effect Monday morning…

The Transportation Security Administration notified airline carriers Sunday of the changes for all flights entering the United States — with an emphasis on a “full body pat-down and physical inspection of property” for all people who are citizens of or are flying through or from nations with significant terrorist activity. TSA officials declined to name all the “countries of interest” on Sunday, but confirmed that the directive applies to the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. - Washington Times

TSA statement:

January 3, 2010

Today, the Transportation Security Administration issued new security directives to all United States and international air carriers with inbound flights to the U.S. effective January 4, 2010.

The new directive includes long-term, sustainable security measures developed in consultation with law enforcement officials and our domestic and international partners.

Because effective aviation security must begin beyond our borders, and as a result of extraordinary cooperation from our global aviation partners, TSA is mandating that every individual flying into the U.S. from anywhere in the world traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced screening. The directive also increases the use of enhanced screening technologies and mandates threat-based and random screening for passengers on U.S. bound international flights.

Update on January 4, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

“Swabs better than body scanners” - buy Q-tip stock…

Update on January 4, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

“Inhuman” conditions?

Update on January 4, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Text of leaked TSA security directive at Gizmodo

Update on January 4, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Ignoring it internationally:

“Everything is the same. There is no extra security,” said an aviation official in Lebanon, one of the countries on the list. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

The Obama administration ordered the changes after what authorities say was a failed attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a jetliner bound from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day. - AP MyWay

Update on January 5, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Joan Rivers, terrorist. I always thought she was scary but this is a bit much.

"Unususal punishment & flailing over-reaction"

Air travellers are being punished for the failure of the ‘security’ services who claim to be protecting us from terror.

We now see how useless this expensive and self-important industry is. Not only did they fail to act on a specific warning about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab delivered by his own father.

They even knew that underpants-borne bombs of this type were being made in Yemen, because on August 28, 2009, Abdullah Hassan al-Asiri, who had also been in Yemen, used a near-identical device to try to kill the Saudi Deputy Interior Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.

While it makes sense to use more body-scanners (I have reached the age when I am quite flattered that the Government wants to know what I look like naked), the other measures in response to the Detroit incident are actually mad…denying pressurised, bursting passengers the use of the lavatory for an hour is a cruel and unusual punishment and a flailing over-reaction. Simple vigilance would be far more effective anyway. - Peter Hitchens (not his  brother Christopher) in The Daily Mail



Security queen of the world

The US is so good at efficient, enlightened, effective airport security that Secretary J’Nap is going to spread our wisdom around the world. DHS press release:

Secretary Napolitano Dispatches Senior Department Officials to Review Security Procedures With International Airport Leaders

 

Release Date: December 31, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary

Secretary Napolitano to travel in the coming weeks to build on these efforts

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today announced that she is dispatching Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute, Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman and other senior Department officials on a broad international outreach effort to meet with leaders from major international airports in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America to review security procedures and technology being used to screen passengers on flights bound for the United States.

“As part of the ongoing review to determine exactly what went wrong leading up to Friday’s attempted terrorist attack, we are looking not only at our own processes, but also beyond our borders to ensure effective aviation security measures are in place for U.S-bound flights that originate at international airports,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Because I am fully committed to making whatever changes are necessary to protect the safety of the traveling public, I am sending Deputy Secretary Lute and Assistant Secretary Heyman to work with our international partners on ways to collectively bolster our tactics for defeating terrorists wherever they may seek to launch an attack, and I will follow up on these efforts with ministerial-level meetings within the next few weeks.”

Click to read more ...

Scanners - practice makes deadly

Comforting…

A body scanner at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport would not necessarily have detected the explosives which the would-be syringe bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had sewn into his underwear. A Dutch military intelligence source told De Telegraaf newspaper that Al Qaeda has its own security scanners and has been practicing ways of concealing explosives.

The terrorist group has even carried out test runs at smuggling explosives through European airports, the paper reports. - Radio Netherlands

Repost - War against the carry-on

From OBOW - April 12, 2007 (the links are dead, hopefully the “organization” is too … UPDATE - Yes, the guy’s company went into receivership):

Luggage Express chairman Richard Altomare wants to ban luggage on airplanes - not all airplanes, mind you, just passenger planes. He’s quite happy to load your luggage (for a not-so-small fee) on his cargo delivery planes and is lobbying in Washington to end the traveler’s right to carry luggage. And he’s kind enough to support the “Coalition for Luggage Security”. One look at this group’s website would convince you that Lady Liberty, the founding fathers, and Uncle Sam himself approve of this ridiculous intrusion on travelers’ liberty. More from Mr. Altomare:

“We’ve moved 31 million suitcases and we’ve never misplaced or lost one,” he claims. “The suitcases are picked up by one of 4,000 companies that we contract, including UPS, FedEx and DHL. The luggage is barcoded and tracked from the beginning and tracked the whole way.” He says the company is moving “300 to 500 orders a day … More and more people are using us. This is an alternative. I’m not saying it’s a replacement for the existing system yet.”  — from ATWonline.com

…YET? How about NEVER! A  luggage ban would hurt everyone except cargo companies like Altomare’s. Travelers may be in for a real fight in coming years.

 MORE - How about this from the Coalition for Luggage Security’s blog:

“The Coalition for Luggage Security was created to help create safer skies by separating luggage from passengers. Creating a new concept where by things are done differently is often a challenge, but a worthwhile one. Being active as an organization, and as a member can help create positive change in all areas including luggage security, passenger security, airline security and airport security.”

Separating luggage from passengers - I thought that was the airlines’ job…

Security Theater 'R' Us - Daily roundup

The TSA is expected to release another round of security changes today in the wake of the terror scare.

The flight crews on individual airlines can decide if they’re going to enforce some of these rules TSA put in effect since the Christmas Day bombing attempt…

Among the precaution, once the flights take off, airlines have the option of taking the following precautions:

Requiring passengers to remain in seats 1 hour before arrival

Disabling on-board communications services

Not announcing flight path or positions

Banning any items in laps 1 hour before arrival. - WABC-TV, NYC

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Queue for up to three hours to be “patted down,” go through additional scans and physical searches of hand luggage, one hand carry item only, be told to stay in your seat for an hour before a plane lands, note that flight trackers are switched off (along with all other IFE which is integrated, no pillows to be hugged, no blankets to be worn on top, and no crew announcements to hint as to location or landing schedule. This is how the USA has responded to a lunatic who set himself on fire in a plane. But the over-reaction is already wearing thin.

The USA’s Transportation Security Administration or TSA has said that the new rules - at least insofar as they relate to what happens on an aircraft - are now to be regarded as a matter for the discretion of the crew. - Chief Officers Network 

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NYT “Room for Debate” on the Israeli security model.

NPR on roughly the same subject: behavioral screening/analysis as opposed to “profiling.”

Daily Tech: Obama Could Decree Wider Use of Full-body Scanners in Airports

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Obama’s options:

But broader policy changes have greater ramifications — tradeoffs that the Bush administration was well aware of. And while increasing security may seem like a political no-brainer, some frequent travelers have become so incensed at what they call “security theater” that they are recoiling at steps already taken, such as banning the use of blankets and personal items in the last hour of some flights.

 “I flew 265,000 miles last year,” said Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer and security analyst. “You know what really pisses me off? Making me check my luggage. Not letting me use my laptop, so I can’t work. Taking away my Kindle, so I can’t read. I care about those things. I care about making me safer much, much less.” - Politico

(Schneier implies on his own blog that this quote is a little misleading as to emphasis)

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Was the crotch bomber a loner? It gets curiouser and curiouser, as Alice was wont to say in Wonderland. Wouldn’t she have loved security theater?

Update on December 31, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Update on December 31, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Thinking outside the bag

I’m not endorsing all of it, but this blog entry displays some original thinking on airport security:

Another way to limit risk is to provide approved carry-on luggage at the airport and sell reusable bags (like the green shopping bags) that could be turned in at departure and then reissued on arrival. Security personnel would do the transfer themselves as part of the hand search and the resulting bags would be assured to fit in the overhead space and assure hard limits on carry-on luggage were enforced. This seems vastly better than what Canada recently did by banning carry-on luggage outright.

Get used to this sort of thing: carry-on luggage - for some reason - is the scapegoat in all this.

TSA on the offensive - against bloggers

The TSA is using its vast resources against the real threat: two bloggers who wrote about the post-pants bomb security directives. I know I can count on OBOW readers to send me a cake with a file in it if they come after me.

Update on December 31, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Gadling and others report that the subpoenas against the two bloggers have been withdrawn.

Carry-on ban is a possibility

I just heard aviation expert Michael Boyd tell Neil Cavuto David Asman on Fox that a Canadian-style carry-on ban in the US is a real possibilty and that there are a number in Congress who would welcome it. Why? I say it’s because freight companies, airlines, and unions make political contributions. Flight attendants would love it and so would there corporate bosses - who would rake in the checked luggage fees. Don’t be surprised if this thing has legs. Sign the Save the Carryon petition.

Update on December 31, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

The quote:

MICHAEL BOYD, PRESIDENT, THE BOYD GROUP: Not really. Bottom line, this whole thing is a joke.

Taking carry-on luggage away from passengers in Canada is not going to fix the problem that we saw over in Amsterdam. But we have been monkeying around with the wrong things with security for eight years. And now the bill is going to due. It may be too late.

We are doing things like this, rather than hardening — hardening our airports and our airport security. So, yes, we have — we have got people in Congress who would love to see this happen.

Defying logic, not terror

The WSJ Middle Seat Terminal’s Scott McCartney has put together one of the better summaries of the measures in place since the “pants bomber” lit up.

TSA has a long history with the flying public of little communication, scant explanation and seemingly mind-boggling rules. The same mistakes are repeating. The flying public deserves clear, logical rules about air travel and enough information to understand why steps are being taken. - complete post

Update on December 30, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

NYT - “For security ideas, ask business travelers”



Update on December 30, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Easing up already, pilot discretion? - NYT

Gale D. Rossides, the acting director of the Transportation Security Administration, said her agency had given airline captains discretion in determining when passengers could move about the cabin during a flight and whether they could have blankets or pillows on their laps.

More changes in security measures will take place in coming days, Ms. Rossides said in an interview Monday.

Some airlines and their passengers have been critical of the measures, which were hastily imposed after Friday’s terrorism attempt by a 23-year old Nigerian. But Ms. Rossides said the agency was intentionally trying to make immediate, simple changes even if they were to be revoked later.

Security roundup, body scanner edition

USA Today’s Today in the Sky blog has a good roundup of airline security news, including:

The Netherlands will immediately begin using full body scanners for flights heading to the United States to prevent future terrorist attacks like the Christmas Day attempt by a young Nigerian. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, managed to board a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport carrying explosives but failed to successfully detonate them.

In a preliminary report, the Dutch government on Wednesday said the plan to blow up the Detroit-bound aircraft was professional but called its execution “amateurish.”

Update on December 30, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Canadian US-bound carry-on ban

News release from Transport Canada:

As a result of a terrorist incident on Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 25, 2009, additional security measures were put in place at Canada’s airports for flights to the United States.

On December 28, Transport Canada put in place enhanced security measures for passengers on flights bound for the United States. Effective immediately, US bound passengers are not allowed to bring carry on bags into the cabin of the aircraft, with some exceptions. Passengers may carry with them the following items: medication or medical devices, small purses, cameras, coats, items for care of infants, laptop computers, crutches, canes, walkers, containers carrying life sustaining items, a special needs item, musical instruments, or diplomatic or consular bags.

Transport Canada also has authorized the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) to use RCMP and local police officers to actively assist with some procedures specific to the screening process.

The purpose of this is to alleviate the immediate pressures at the security checkpoint resulting directly from the temporary emergency measures announced by Transport Canada on December 26th.

Additional searches of passengers and their exempted items will continue. Delays can be expected so passengers are advised to arrive at the airport three hours in advance of their scheduled flight. — www.tc.gc.ca

Ban underwear

I just heard a story on CNN about the advisability of banning carry-on luggage altogether. And it said Canada, for now, has already done so! Banning underwear makes more sense than banning carry-on luggage. If you haven’t heard, the Christmas day bomber’s explosive was “anatomically correct” and concealed in his jockey shorts — so would it have been detectable even by the “virtual strip search” scanners? Probably not. Stay tuned.

Update on December 29, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

“Flailing panic”

Those responsible for these omissions (security failures leading to the Christmas day “bombing”) should be located and disciplined, and the gaps plugged. But I fail to see why airline passengers should be punished, as planned, for the failings of the authorities. A ban on more than one piece of hand luggage seems to me to be wholly unrelated to this event, and mere opportunism. I am not quite sure why security is being stepped up at British airports, which were not even involved in this incident (unless it is security for passengers arriving from Lagos, in which case we need to ask why this needs to be stepped up). A ban on in-flight maps (and in some cases in-flight movies) seems to me to be verging on the insane. Are we also to be stripped of our watches, so we can’t work out roughly where we are anyway? I take it that matey flight-deck announcements about speed and weather will also be banned, so as not to give terrorists help in working out the plane’s position. Why not black the windows out, in case we recognise a lake, a river, a coastline or a mountain range?

And then there’s the plan to strap bursting passengers, bloated with the water they’ve drunk to try to stop dehydration, and unsettled by pressurisation, into their seats for a whole hour before landing, with the lavatories locked. Pursue this unhinged logic a little further, and all passengers should be issued with giant nappies, blindfolded, shackled and tranquillised, Guantanamo-style - and not told where the plane is going, either. This is presumably the securocrats’ dream, a wholly safe world where only officials can travel.

Airline security seems to me to have reached a point where it resembles collective punishment, and punishment of the wrong people. It wasn’t the flying public that caused this mess. On the contrary, it was a passenger (as did those aboard United 93) who bravely tackled Mr Abdulmutallab. And I’m still anxious to know if this bomb was a real threat. The culprit, as I’ve said, presumably thought it was and so deserves everything he gets, if found guilty. - Peter Hitchens, dailymail.co.uk (underlining mine - ed.)

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)

Update on December 27, 2009 by 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.

One bag = suspect?

The botched Christmas Day bombing was disturbing enough. The suggestion from this news story even more so for one-bag, no-check travelers:

Police know that the KLM ticket that Abdulmutallab travelled on was purchased on 16 December, with cash, in Nigeria. The departure airport was changed from Accra to Lagos shortly afterwards. When he took his window seat, number 19A, he had only one piece of hand luggage and none in the hold – unusual for someone who was allegedly planning a two-week stay in Detroit. - independent.co.uk

Ouch. What onebagger hasn’t gotten some suspicious glances on international departures? But we must hope it doesn’t become a guaranteed red flag. More on the failed attempt and why it is likely to make the security experience more unpredictable and likely more draconian:

Officials with the federal Transport Security Authority in the US said that while enhanced security measures had been imposed at airports across the country and abroad after the attempted bombing, it had no plans to alter basic procedures or requirements for passengers. But at least one US senator said she intended to convene urgent hearings on what new steps might have to be taken to protect international air travel. Senator Susan Collins of Maine said: “This incident is a disturbing reminder that the terrorist threat is still very real.”

Some airlines will be introducing tough new security checks.

Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, said: “With the full support of the Prime Minister, Transport Secretary, Foreign Secretary and ministerial colleagues, we will ensure that the UK continues to have in place the most appropriate security measures to protect the public from the terrorist threat, wherever it originates from.”



Update on December 27, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Tougher measures worldwide were demanded yesterday by the US Transportation Security Administration as it sought to prevent a repeat of the lapses that allowed a bomber on to flight 253 on Christmas Day.

New measures immediately put in place at Heathrow and other British airports included stricter security checks such as more frequent body searches just prior to boarding, and a strict limit of one item of hand luggage. Some airlines will now compel passengers to sit in their seats for the last hour of a flight. - independent.co.uk

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After checking in and going through security as normal, passengers can expect extra bag checks and body searches at the departure gate before boarding flights.

And travellers were being told to remain seated for the final hour of the journey, with no access to the bathroom or overhead lockers, and nothing on their laps. 

Airport operator BAA said: “Passengers travelling to the United States should expect their airline to carry out additional security checks prior to boarding.

“To support this important process, which will take time, we would advise passengers to leave more time to check in and limit the amount of baggage being taken on board the aircraft. - independent.co.uk



Here's why you take a flashlight

Eurostar train passengers where trapped in the Chunnel for hours - some in complete darkness. It seems the high-tech trains couldn’t handle the temperature differential between frigid France and the warm Channel tunnel and broke down, four in a row. And the poor passengers had to organize their own escape. This sounds like a good reason to have one small bag and a good flashlight.

OBOW Fourm post: Is a flashlight really that important while traveling?