Airline Security

But I'm sure as heck not staying in the US...

how long?: permanently! at what cost?: were american airports in a total state of bankruptcy befpore tuesday? i think that the cost of bringing security standards up to er....other standards, whatever it may be, is justifiable and unimportant. im sorry but from the sounds of things security is tighter at russian airports than at american on

There's the argument that lightning doesn't strike twice, then there's the counter-argument that every 'successful' crime inspires copycats, especially when all you need is a plastic knife and the desire to be a martyr.

TV worldwide has been showing that an aeroplane can be a devastating weapon, over and over and over and over and over again. Cheap (because you steal it); easy to obtain; easy to use. And pissed-off little rad-pol groups everywhere are thinking i. Why didn't WE think of that? ii. We just did.

Isn't that a reassuing thought, an armed Arabic-speaker on every flight?

*pulls a Tom Servo-style double take* "Well, I can see how that would...huh?"

I've learned that I'm to be sent to Saudi Arabia to serve a case on someone who's stolen lots of money, too. Shiteing it, moi?

Or do I just look like a drug dealer?

All they found in my bag were McVities biscuits anyway.

And Paul - that IS scary. Back at work our security status has now been upgraded but I can't discern any visible changes. Found out Whitehall wasn't evacuated last week although there seemed to be panic amongst City firms. Oh well. Perhaps the Partners just have certain "fetishes".

Not sure what's going on at work. It must all be paranoia. We do a lot of work with Middle Eastern Banks and the like, which may have spooked the firm. It's only partners and senior solicitors getting such, well, frankly odd treatment.

I have been briefed on the Saudi thing though. Got a memo and I have to wear clothes enabling me to 'blend in'! Errrr.

Irish security is fantastic too. Irish security check according to friend from Cork. Drive off ferry. Guard. Where are you going? Friend. Cork. Guard. Good trip! Friend drives off. Guard checks off "Irish accent. Safe".

Can I just say now that chemical and biological warfare scares me more than anything. Even more than nukes, I think. I think of that horrible Japan nerve gas subway attack and it freaks me out totally.

Have put out some feelers (or indeed claws) to find out what's behind the measures here...

You get a taste of what it's like out there right now, without any of the stress of being stuck. You'll be far better informed afterwards than the rest of us, simply through gauging what peoples' feelings are out there. Take a camera for god's sake.

If I was being sent to Afghanistan I'd be terrified. But Saudi Arabia, for a short period, will be fine.

Here's an idea: meet the thief dude, tell him you'll go awol for £2million, which will give him another month or so to move on, knowing they've found him.

Then take his £2 million and come straight back to work as if nothing happened, as if it went to plan. When he's in prison, start spending the cash. Strange Fruit can buy a venue.

as well you should as the rule is for a bag not bigger than 15cm square.

My bag was well within the guidelines, which is why I felt aggrieved enough to mention it now. Strangely, other security bods have actually complimented me on THE SAME BAG so I'll go with one-off dude being all happy about his small position of authority. Also smiley passive aggression, it does not work on the Minnesotans for some strange reason. I wonder why that is?

In a major change of policy, the Transportation Security Administration has announced that passengers refusing to show ID will no longer be able to fly. The policy change, announced on Thursday afternoon, will go into force on June 21, and will only affect passengers who refuse to produce ID. Passengers who claim to have lost or forgotten their proof of identity will still be able to fly.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13739_3-9962760-46.html?tag=nefd.top

Ha - that's hilarious.

I just flew twice with expired ID. The first time, they made step aside for a stricter search, wanding with the detector thing, hand-search of my carry-on. The second time the guy said, "Naw, no problem. We don't do anything if it's within a year of expiration."

Do you really not need ID to fly within the US? That's just bizarre.

I mean, over here you need photographic ID (drivers' licence or passport) for any flight at all.

Oh boy, I get to go through all this today.

Just say you forgot it!

i've always wanted to go by ship. and if a passenger ship wasn't available for my budget, i'd "work my way" over. i'm not sure what skills i have that would be useful on a cargo ship but i'm sure i could think of something. i know all the words to "long black veil" for instance.

i've heard varying reports of how easy or difficult this is to do. it sounds like if you're not a sailor or engineer or something, then you're probably an insurance liability, but if you know some sketchy dudes or old salts they might hook you up.

My dad is currently working on a ship on the New York-Southampton route.

One of the old NYC crew took a freighter from the West Coast of the US to Australia, Nick. I think it took about 5 weeks? It wasn't exactly cheap once she threw in the cost of Amtrak from NYC to LA, I don't think, but I guess it's normal to reserve a few passenger cabins on freighters for less than a cruise ship passage.

i know all the words to "long black veil" for instance.

Congratulations you have won an entertainer's job on a low budget country and western cruise.

The idea of travelling to the states by freighter has always appealed but research shows that as a passenger on a freighter it is quite expensive. You can get to Reikjavik by rail ferry and road but making the bridge to greenalnd or newfoundland is difficult.

by "expensive" you mean actual money being paid?

several times more than the cost of flying but you get two weeks full board on a container ship.

http://www.freighterworld.com/places/transatl.html

o_o

TALL SHIP DO YOU SEE

no ID required to travel domestically in the US

I must say I like the idea of Duluth to Europe:

http://www.freighterworld.com/places/greateur.html

yeah you can travel as a passenger on a lot of freight ships, for pay

actually working yr way over isnt very feasible

weren't the 9/11 flights domestic? that policy is sorta cray-zay.

I am actually going to be looking for tall ship jobs in the fall. I don't have impressive amounts of sailing experience, and applying in the low season may be unlucky, but wouldn't it be totally amazing if it worked out? (Not for Atlantic crossings though, that's pretty uncommon for tall ships)

no ID required to travel domestically in the US

I've been asked to show govt issued photo ID for every domestic flight I've taken since 9/11. Granted, I've always had it with me and never refused to give it to them, but the airline checks it at the counter and the TSA checks it prior to heading into the baggage scanner/metal detector area.

Do you choose blue, green or EXTREME BLACK DIAMOND security

http://media.idahostatesman.com/smedia/2008/05/30/14/835-0530_online_airport.standalone.prod_affiliate.36.jpg

Expert Traveller woman looks seriously pissed-off.

Expert traveller woman is probably pissed off at the person in front of her unable to do the shoes jacket laptop carryon dance in double quick time

wtf, anyway? Casual Traveller, does that mean "happy to stand in looong queues and get pissed about by airport security because I'm not Ms Arms Akimbo Hissy Fit Expert Traveller"?

i think she looks very proud of herself

expert travellers don't need luggage, obviously, unlike losers who take their family on holiday, or bother to pack stuff.

Familes aka Mr & Mrs "It Is So Important That We Take Our 3-Month-Old Baby On This Long-Haul Flight".

Ban air travel for kids under 4 8 18

great numbers to pick for strike-thru there mister.

so FIVE people were detained in two separate plane incidents for taking too long in the lav yesterday?

FREEDOM

Fighter jets! Making out!

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29151212/detail.html

that's a lot of boxes checked off the purity test all at once

so FIVE people were detained in two separate plane incidents for taking too long in the lav yesterday?

teenaged me would have been locked up for years if this were probable cause

I assume the story that two "people" were making out means they were men, or that TSA was unable to determine their gender.

"making out" was what was in quotes. i was assuming that meant at least a bj.

Swimmer with broken jet-ski walks undetected into JFK, crosses two runways.

http://www.wjno.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=104668&article=10338959

Our long national nightmare is over, etc.:

T.S.A. to Let Travelers Keep Their Shoes On, Ending Hated Rule
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/travel/tsa-shoes-removal-airport-security.html

I just went thru security at DCA 20 min ago with a stainless steel frying pan in my bag. Needless to say the x-ray picked it up. They let it go but said other airports might not be so forgiving.

PreCheck made life easier.

We missed a connection in Amsterdam. We had two full hours and it wasn't enough. About 90% of the blame I lay at passport control, with Schiphol staff abandoning all idea of their usually efficient short connection track + the fact that two of us couldn't go through the automated control. 10% was security, where the new machines are so good that any liquid or small electronic device gets picked up and they are very zealous at opening one bag after the other to show you what you forgot at the start the line when you were busy juggling bags and emptying your pockets. Don't think a single passenger in front of us didn't see their bags opened, and we fared no better.

I just went thru security at DCA 20 min ago with a stainless steel frying pan in my bag. Needless to say the x-ray picked it up. They let it go but said other airports might not be so forgiving.

I'm enjoying the thought of someone hijacking a plane wielding a frying pan, Looney Tunes style. Probably wouldn't be so amusing in reality.

Modern-day Ned Kelly.

“They should feel relieved knowing that technology has advanced so significantly that T.S.A. officers can detect threats while wearing shoes,” he added. “In the old days, this wasn’t the case.”

TSA were barefoot yokels you heard it from him

But how are the officers going to count past 10 now?