I flew down to Alabama for the Big Family Christmas this year. That meant I also flew back the day after Christmas.
Which was also the day after some idiot tried to blow up a plane over Detroit.
My sister and I were lucky — the new “security precautions” didn’t get put into place until after we were safely home. But the news has been full of nothing else since then, and it leaves me shaking my head in wonder.
“Nothing in your lap for the last hour of flight.” What? What good is that supposed to do? Even if everybody followed the procedure, how does that stop some nut from blowing everything up 61 minutes before the end of the flight? Or two minutes into the flight? And are they going to send the flight attendants to patrol the aisle to enforce it? Is it OK if I lean sideways and hold my knitting so it hangs into the aisle instead of covering my lap?
The whole thing has once again extended the distance I am willing to drive in order to avoid flying. Not because I am afraid to fly — because flying has become annoying and no fun at all. I am very near the point where I’m willing to drive anywhere within the continental U.S. in order to avoid flying. The only reason not to is that one of my cats is on medication, and pilling her twice a day is kind of a lot to ask of a volunteer cat-sitter, so I’m reluctant to add too many days of in-transit time to a trip. Another few additional “precautions,” and I’ll start looking into cruise ships as an alternative to flying for international travel.
I like driving. I like seeing all the things I see on long trips. I like having my own car to drive around in when I get where I’m going, and I really like not having to worry about the weight of the things (*cough* books *cough*) I buy when I’m out of town. (So many bookstores, so little time…) Most of all, I like being in control of what I’m doing and when.
I used to like flying just as much. If I had a long layover — three or four hours, say — I could meet friends for lunch or dinner at the layover airport. If I felt cheap and hungry, I could bring my own snacks and water for the plane (and even if I didn’t, they fed me something that resembled dinner). Heck, half the regular travelers carried large bottles of water on long flights to combat the dry cabin air; it was one of the most commonly recommended tips for frequent flyers. And flying is still the fastest way to get from A to B most of the time.
Not anymore. At most airports, all of the restaurants are behind the security — if I want to have lunch with friends on the way, I have to arrange to have a four or five hour layover so I can haul my stuff out, get picked up and driven somewhere, and get back an hour before departure to get through the security line again. If I feel cheap and thirsty, I’m out of luck — the only water I can carry on is the overpriced stuff I buy at the airport kiosks. And while the security lines do move a lot faster and more smoothly now (most of the time), they do still add time to the trip…and you have to allow extra because you never know when you’re going to find that something’s broken or gone wrong and it’s going to take you 45 minutes to get through.
Taken one at a time, these are mostly minor inconveniences. Taken all together, they’re annoying enough that I prefer to drive or take the train whenever possible. But the real kicker is that they don’t do any good. People keep sneaking forbidden stuff through security…and even if they couldn’t, I can think of half a dozen things that are allowed that could be used as weapons even without modifying them. If you have people who can make you James Bond style gadgets camoflaged as other things, all the security stuff isn’t going to do much more than slow you down a little.
So I’m taking fewer trips, whether for business or pleasure, and driving for as many of them as possible. Not quite the effect I think the powers that be were looking for.
Amen. (And an extra Amen! to the bit about bringing back more heavy books than one started with!) If you haven’t already seen it, there’s a cogent argument at Gizmondo on this subject that you may find interesting: http://gizmodo.com/5435675/president-obama-its-time-to-fire-the-tsa
Agreed! I never flew before 9/11, but I think it’s been pretty ridiculous since. It’s too bad I don’t have a car and live across the country from home (I’m a college student), or I’d probably drive just to save on stress!
I’m seriously considering renting one of those Cruise America RVs the next time we travel to visit family. That way, we could take at least some of our animals with us. Maybe we’ll do a local dress rehearsal around town beforehand to see how well they do in the RV before planning a long trip.
I can’t figure out that lap prohibition, either. What is that supposed to accomplish?
I fully agree here. It is annoying. Its hit Canada as well, and people are being delayed all over the place because of the ‘new security’.
Frankly, I’ve always dreamed of travelling, seeing the world, and far off places. But in recent years, I’ve come to decide to let that dream go for now. Like you say, not from fear. . .but because its so darned inconvenient to travel, why should I bother?? If I really have to go somewhere, I’ll stick with somewhere I can drive. (Thankfully, Canada is a big country – a driving exploratory excursion could keep one occupied for a couple months if one had the money to do it at all. . .)
But planes? Yeah, they’re almost a write-off now.
re: water on airplanes, just passing on a tip my dad gave me: if you don’t mind drinking tap water, you can bring empty bottles through security, and then fill them inside at drinking fountains.
Security guards don’t stop you from taking an empty water bottle through. If you are ok with the airport water, you can simply fill it up on the other side.
I agree that the new restrictions are ridiculous!
I saw a (Swedish) documentary/ivestigative piece awhile ago (the way time flies it could well be a few years ago by now) and seemíngly most airlines allow people to carry bottles of alcohol bought in the tax free shops onto the plane – when it’s a matter of profit, safety can be compromised, apparently. (Not much has changed since the Titanic, has it?) Now, one can do a lot more damage with a bottle of alcohol – the flammable alcohol, and the bottle itself – than one can do with – say – a tube of toothpaste…
Nothing in one’s lap? Does this inlude books?
(Someone blew up a plane?!
Wow, I’m surprised I didn’t know about that, but then again I never watch the news)
Honestly, I don’t like flying. I try not to think about all the things that could go wrong, but it’s hard not to.
Airport security bugs me, and the thing about not having something in your lap doesn’t make any sense to me.
But hey, what do I know?
P.S. Happy New Years to everyone 🙂
KBell – No, he didn’t blow it up, he just tried. And most of the security requirements strike me as “security theater” – stuff that doesn’t actually help, but just makes it look as if someone is trying to do something. What they succeed in doing is just annoying people, I think.
LRK – Yeah, it included books, laptops, even blankets. Then, a few days later, they backed off on the “nothing in your lap” and “no movement around the plane in the last hour” requirements and are now looking at beefing up pre-boarding searches. Bruce Schneier, the security guru, calls it “security theater,” and boy, do I agree.
That must be so agravating! I wonder what those rules were for…