A good book to read about air travel, airports and planes is Ask The Pilot. Written by a former pilot who now writes for Salon magazine, it's packed with nostalgic looks back and air travel history, answers to many questions that you probably have wondered about but never asked, and a brutally honest view of today's travel security hysteria.
Here's a excerpt:
"Neither all the determination in the world, nor the most sweeping regulations we dare codify, will outsmart a cunning enough saboteur. Preferring a path of lesser resistance, terrorists will fight along a moveable and eternally porous front. Even our leaders admit this, yet over and over, even as we languish in security lines to have our luggage and dignity eviscerated, we give in to the notion that just about anything, no matter how illogical, inconvenient or unreasonable, is justified in the name of safety." (Full article)
This was written in 2004, but is very relevant in light of recent events.
You can see more about the book and the author here, or on Amazon.
August 12, 2006
August 11, 2006
Air travel just got alot more complicated
New flight restrictions were issued following the recent alleged terror plot. In addition, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United advised passengers to arrive three hours early for flights.
The new rules include:
• No liquids or gels of any kind in carry-on baggage. The items must be in checked luggage. They include all beverages, shampoo, sun tan lotion, creams, toothpaste, and hair gel.
• Baby formula and medicines are exempt from the ban, but must be presented for inspection.
• All flights from the United Kingdom must send passenger information for intensive screening before departure. Passengers on international flights will be subject to heightened inspection upon arrival in the U.S.
Here's the full article on CNN.
Banning water and makeup seems crazy. I like what this guy has to say about catching terrorists:
Rafi Ron, former head of security at Tel Aviv, Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, said screeners should focus more on finding suspicious people than on hunting for potential terrorist tools.
The new rules include:
• No liquids or gels of any kind in carry-on baggage. The items must be in checked luggage. They include all beverages, shampoo, sun tan lotion, creams, toothpaste, and hair gel.
• Baby formula and medicines are exempt from the ban, but must be presented for inspection.
• All flights from the United Kingdom must send passenger information for intensive screening before departure. Passengers on international flights will be subject to heightened inspection upon arrival in the U.S.
Here's the full article on CNN.
Banning water and makeup seems crazy. I like what this guy has to say about catching terrorists:
Rafi Ron, former head of security at Tel Aviv, Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, said screeners should focus more on finding suspicious people than on hunting for potential terrorist tools.
"It is extremely difficult for people to disguise the fact they are under tremendous amount of stress, that they are going to kill themselves and a lot of people around them in a short amount of time, and all the other factors that effect their behavior," Ron said.
Duh! Keeping me from bringing a harmless bottle of water doesn't make things safer. Keeping a crazy person from getting on a plane does.
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