Increased Security Measures implemented

So there are 550,000 individuals on the watch list (what's that as a % of the world population?) when one of them is turned in by his very respectable family (well banking used to be repectable) refused a visa by your closest ally, and yet doesn't get extra screening - WTF.

Of course this comes as no surprise to anyone in the US, where an army officer goes Jihad and kills thirteen and all the bleeding heart US media can focus on is that he likely went postal just like so many other stressed employees. Here the first reaction is never to judge and always give your enemy the benefit of the doubt, because if you don't they'll sue you! And of course with the insane US judicial system they'll end up owning you.

Really looking forward to SFO-LHR on 1/21.

Of course the best thing is that the rules will be enforced differently in every freaking US airport.

Finally someone has come up with an explanation for removal of blankets and cushions.

It was to make it less likely that pax. would pee in their seats in the last hour.[:I]

Now they have discovered how difficult it is to distinguish a pants bomb from an incontinence pad. [i]

Expect some changes in this part of the regulation in the very near future!

quote:DALLAS December 28, 2009 (AP)

Airline officials say in-flight security rules have been eased after a two-day clampdown.

At the captain's discretion, passengers can once again have blankets and other items on their laps or move about the cabin during the tail end of flight, two industry officials briefed on the situation said Monday.

Restrictions were put into place following a bombing attempt on an international flight that landed Friday in Detroit.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because federal safety officials had not publicly announced the changes.

Hopefully, as the big bods come back from their lovely Christmas holidays they are starting to see some sense! Now, lets get to letting me watch some IFE on my flight! [}:)]

[Scrooge]

Just an FYI, V:Port is now working again, without the skymap.

quote:Originally posted by Bill S
Most parents are a little insane.

Incoming!

Seriously, there has been so much media hype over paedophiles that they are seen around every corner.
Anyone who goes near a child is a suspect.
And even worse we teach our children this!

Is this sane?

Are there more paedos. around now than when we were children - and when there was little or no media panic?
Did we all suffer constant attacks that have scarred us for life?

We now have a situation where children are afraid to be 'touched' by a nurse, a doctor or other health professional.
And we assume every numpty security guy must be a sex freak....Is this sane?

Security personnel do have checks - just like teachers and the many others who deal with children.
Parents are actually present during the security screening - what are you afraid of????
Is such a fear rational or irrational?

I now await the howls of protest.......


[^][^][oo] Well said Bill!
This world has gone totally barking over such issues as this. It's not like security is gonna whip little Johnny away from Mum and Dad to a private secluded area to cunduct said search is it!
Unfortunately, these radical types would probably think nothing of planting some sort of device on a child, probably even their own ! so why should they be exempt from a search?


Regards,

NOC

I am definitely thinking twice about flying to the US again. I refuse to put up with all these silly restrictions so I think I'll be holidaying elsewhere (but still on VS).

quote:Originally posted by MrSquare
quote:DALLAS December 28, 2009 (AP)

Airline officials say in-flight security rules have been eased after a two-day clampdown.

At the captain's discretion, passengers can once again have blankets and other items on their laps or move about the cabin during the tail end of flight, two industry officials briefed on the situation said Monday.

Restrictions were put into place following a bombing attempt on an international flight that landed Friday in Detroit.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because federal safety officials had not publicly announced the changes.

Hopefully, as the big bods come back from their lovely Christmas holidays they are starting to see some sense! Now, lets get to letting me watch some IFE on my flight! [}:)]


I hope that's true and is good news.

[Darren Wheeler]

Da Boss has returned to work and is now biatch-slapping some underlings after having to undergo a full body search and no blanket????

[fozzyo]

Will be interesting to see the revised security after the 30th (think that is when I read an update will be published). No shoes because previous attempt had a ShoeBomb, and no trousers because this guy had a CrotchBomb?

Mat

I am not even a little insane, but I think it is unacceptable for any child to be patted down to the extent I have been.

I was on VS19 when it left from Gatwick to San Francisco during the August 2006 liquid bomb scare, and had my balls cupped at the cabin door by the Security team, I was n't the only passenger to experience this.

As someone who has a CRB to work with young adults, I am only too aware of what can happen, what accusations that actually occur and how it can ruin a reputation or career.

I will be flying to Germany with around 40 Scouts and Cubs, and as I will be one of the leaders responsible for their well being, I take that responsibility very seriously indeed. The Scout Association I am a member of, mandates I take part in this training every 2 years.

I don't deny that in some parts of the world there are child soldiers, if the norm is to pat down in the same manner that I had, I will not be flying overseas with my children any more. Nor will I fly with children in my charge.

[Nottingham Nick]

The quick relaxation of the silly new rules is also being reported on Boston.com
It is a straight lift of the AP feed Bill reported earlier, so doesn't make it any more official, but is good news.

Nick

More and more information is coming out regarding the relaxation of rules...

quote:CHICAGO (Reuters)

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has eased airline security rules that were put in place in the wake a foiled Christmas day terror plot, a source with knowledge of the rules said.

U.S.

The TSA will now let pilots decide whether to allow passengers to keep items in their laps or require them to remain seated during portions of the flight, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The TSA also will let pilots and airlines determine whether in-flight entertainment systems that show a plane's location should be turned off to avoid a security risk, the source said.

A TSA spokeswoman declined to confirm the change.

'TSA will continuously review and update these measures to ensure the highest levels of security,' she said.


So now it's in the hands of the very capable VS pilots! How easy is it to switch the Moving Map back on? Do VS passengers see it as an important part of the IFE?

[Scrooge]

I do, I spend most of a flight reading a booking and watching the map, though the ones on VS are pretty basic.

I am glad to see these restrictions being lifted anyways.

[ChuckC]

quote:Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
The quick relaxation of the silly new rules is also being reported on Boston.com
It is a straight lift of the AP feed Bill reported earlier, so doesn't make it any more official, but is good news.

Nick


The same is being reported on our evening news stations.

Chuck-

I just flew into JFK tonight from CDG with Air France. There didn't seem to be any differences once onboard and during the flight, but the absolutely ridiculous extra security screening before boarding at CDG was definitely in effect. At the terminal they had barricaded off the end bit of it, which had 2 gates, including my JFK and a Detroit flight there. Everybody had to pass through this makeshift screening section to board the plane. I had just come off a Manchester flight, and with only an hour connection time, I ended up right at the back of the ridiculous queue, which had 500+ people who were getting on my flight, and a couple hundred getting on the Detroit flight. I had no intention of standing up that long, so I sat and got something to eat and drink while I waited for the line to die down. Almost 2 hours later it had, so I went through.

This extra screening can't go on for long, it's a farce, and will continue to throw airlines schedules way off. You can't have security staff physically empty and go through every single passengers' hand luggage and then pat you down before you get on a plane, it just doesn't work.

This might be controversial, but I am definitely not in the camp that says 'well, if it makes flying safer, then we should put up with the inconvenience'. Sorry, but we shouldn't put up with the inconvenience. If some idiot wants to do something to a plane, then they will find a way. You take risks in everything you do in life, every time you get in your car, get on a bus, train, plane. Accept the risk and move on. Having to get to your gate 2-3 hours before departure is unacceptable. As is having Homeland Security tell you that you can't read a book during the flight, or you have to have your hands visible at all times, or you can't use the toilet. We aren't prisoners. We pay to be transported from A-B in a degree of comfort. Being treated like we are being transported to jail, and feeling like we might as well be handcuffed is not acceptable. I hope these ludicrous measures come to a swift end, and if not, then I hope for once, us, the paying passengers kick up enough of a fuss to get noticed. That's my tuppence worth.

PS As I mentioned, there were NO differences once onboard my flight. You could use whatever electronics you wanted, get up and wander around, all the IFE was functioning, the skymap worked, as did the tail cam, and there was no mention of having to return to your seat 1 hour before landing. I think the seatbelt sign went on about 20-30 mins before we landed.

Good news that the impractical restrictions are being lifted. I'm assuming that there will have been a proper threat analysis performed, and that the 1 hour lock-down, disabled IFE, etc., won't have provided any threat reduction. If so, then good to see some common sense prevailing.

I'm glad that the US agencies now seem to be accepting that there has been a problem in the intelligence gathering, watch-list databases and profiling, as let's face it, it seems that this guy shouldn't have even got past check-in without some secondary screening.

As to what will happen with the pat-downs, I'd guess they will either be around for a while before quietly disappearing, or will be replaced by increased use of the millimetre-wave radar scanners, coupled with correctly working watchlists and visa systems.

Still, glad I've re-routed via YVR on my current trip .

Mike

quote:Originally posted by Scrooge
I do, I spend most of a flight reading a booking and watching the map, though the ones on VS are pretty basic.


Me too, or working with the map on, or sleeping with the map on so if I wake I can quickly judge whether to put my head down again or not! It's an integral part of my journey.

I do fear VS won't get this right quickly though.

quote:Originally posted by aft1981
This might be controversial, but I am definitely not in the camp that says 'well, if it makes flying safer, then we should put up with the inconvenience'.


I am so with you - this was a massive failure of the system, and for the TSA chief to go on air so quickly to say the system worked is farcical. Heads should roll. I'd like to know why a man on a watch list, reported to a US embassy by his family, buying a ticket with cash days before a flight, travelling supposedly for two weeks with no luggage, connecting from a largely muslim country does not attract any extra attention at all. All these things seem to be de facto yet with all the massive resources thrown at blunt and dumb procedures, no one connects up the dots to at least say, 'let's take a look at him more closely'? Amazing. There may be 550,000 people on a watch list, but heck, with all these resources how much effort does it take to target those who actually travel to the US each year with a taking aside and a serious look at?

Glad to hear some of the frankly idiotic measures are being eased.

I know I'm new here but I'd just like to say that those asking for profiling are absolutely correct. I am a Muslim and I have absolutely nothing to hide and I accept that we should be looked at more thoroughly because it is Muslims who in the recent past have done the most to deserve it (granted an extremely small percentage). If we don't start taking responsibility then we won't start to sort this problem out, and it is a problem.

Those people who say profiling is racist are simply ignorant themselves and do us all a great disservice. Islam isn't a minority religion (a quick search on google will prove this) and to say label this as an 'us against them' mentality is just as stupid and backward as some of the measures that were introduced in the past few days. The only reasonable request would be to do these checks in the best possible way to perserve our dignity which I think anyone would deem reasonable.

Understanding and acceptance should work both ways and quite frankly I don't see it. I can only thank people from other faiths for being more understanding than some from my own.

Regards,

L

The main problem with the US Watch List is the difficulty involved in removing people from that list.
People are added due to the slightest indicator - hence the 550,000 currently on the list.

The list of names is then disseminated to all airlines.

Even a similar phonetic name to one of the suspects can land you on their List.

The TRIP mechanism is supposed to allow frequent travellers to be designated as having a 'bad' name but having been given clearance. Unfortunately many airlines took some time to set up mechanisms to record that clearance.
So there were Watch List people on almost every flight and often many - too many to designate all as selectees and be fully searched. In any case such designation was a major pain in the ar@e for those many innocent people repeatedly selected. The 'Watch List' rapidly became ineffective and unworkable but those responsible simply did not recognise that fact.

Hopefully the review will result in changes. But it is unlikely that those changes will be quick. There are 550,000 people to be given clearance (or not!). Imagine the current pressure not to make a mistake and then have the media going ape over a future terrorist having been cleared and removed from the list!

There is likely to be a period when many people on the list will be selectees and have extra attention. As they get pi@@ed off with this attention, many will apply for TRIP clearance. The TRIP clearance system will not become any quicker!

I do have some sympathy for the TSA. They are in an almost impossible situation. They get the blame from all sides. Whatever happens.

There is no escape from the fact that to do a fair and proper evaluation of 550,000 'suspects' AND the many people with similar names cannot be quick or simply - whatever resources and efforts are made available.

Our patience is needed over this - if we press too hard, mistakes, and their consequences, are inevitable.
We might accept the occasional 'mistake/consequence' but would public opinion? Would the media?
We can see the current reaction to a failed attempt. And the blame placed on the TSA.

I even have sympathy for many of the airport security personnel. They are badly tarnished by the occasional numpty, seriously aggressive or as most likely in the above description, power mad idiot determined to impose indignity upon his selected targets. But if everyone is placed in a position that they are so afraid of the consequences of complaint then these few will continue to wreck public cooperation.

[Nottingham Nick]

To give a perspective on what the authorities are up against. This BBC news report has a picture of how the powder was concealed in the would be bomber's underpants.

Looking at that, it is difficult to see how any screening process at the airports will detect it. [:0]

I still sure however, that turning off skymaps and stopping people reading their novels / newspapers in the last hour of the flight won't deter any terrorists.

Nick

quote:Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
has a picture of how the powder was concealed in the would be bomber's underpants.




Looks like he was a stranger to Daz too ! [:w]

[Darren Wheeler]

The only real way to detect would be the full body scanner or strip-searches. The manual way would basically result in airports grinding to a hold due to space and resourcing problems. Even El-Al doesn't go to that level.

quote:Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
The only real way to detect would be the full body scanner or strip-searches. The manual way would basically result in airports grinding to a hold due to space and resourcing problems. Even El-Al doesn't go to that level.


Or use sniffer dogs

[Darren Wheeler]

quote:Originally posted by hackneyguy
quote:Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
The only real way to detect would be the full body scanner or strip-searches. The manual way would basically result in airports grinding to a hold due to space and resourcing problems. Even El-Al doesn't go to that level.


Or use sniffer dogs


Indeed. And we all know where most dogs just love to sniff....

The sooner they relax the rules again the better, I made a child cry today having to take her wheely princess bag off her, and the frustration in some peoples faces was easy to see. The 75's delayed today but security screening started around 9am and it was ridiculous, shoes off, bags on tables, everyone had a pat down (with regard to some eariler posts the pat downs on children were nothing really, just a quick check) then everyone was to stay in one area, if you wanted to go out you leave your bags in the secure area and have to again be searched when going back in.