[Lizavetta]

bump

[cc2k]

Turning American airports and airplanes into an extended police state which maximally distrusts their own customers is the single stupidest thing the industry can do. For one thing, people just won't fly the planes as often. People will drive, instead. Or they won't travel at all. They will vote with their feet. There are a great number of us in the country already who refuse to fly, or fly very rarely, for two reasons: one, we don't like being treated like Soviet citizens instead of American citizens, and two, we know the security measures are a joke.

I've already cancelled a trip I was planning next month. I will not show up 2 hours early for the flight. And I won't fly without my trusty knife. And if the airline tries to refuse to refund my fare, they can expect a big fight. The only way I'll fly is if they honor the conditions in place when I bought the ticket. I will fight for a refund.

It's a shame that these regulations are being put into place. There's a lot of places I flew to on business that I can drive to in 4-6 hours. If the flight is an hour, and I have to allow 2 hours or more for the anal probes and complete search of my underwear and toothbrushes, I'll just drive. It's more convenient to leave when I want instead of when the airline flight is scheduled. That's worth another hour or two.

This is going to kill the short hop commuter airlines. Any flights on routes less than 400 miles will probably shut down within a few months. These aren't worth the trouble, even to business travelers.

[Eugene Tackleberry]

"Stupid federal regulations which disarm the customer require that any arms brought onto a plane be inserted in secure suitcases, and those suitcases flagged with a special FFF tag."

I was under the impression that baggage containing a declared firearm CANNOT be labeled as such. Someone please correct me if I am wrong -- am searching for a source, but if this is an error, it damages the credibility of the article.

[NittanyLion]

The greatest deterrent to hijacking is the knowledge that you will never elude authorities once you've committed the crime. Obviously, this was a non-issue for these particular terrorists. The next deterrence step is to give would-be terrorists the knowledge that they'll be killed in flight while doing little harm to passengers or crew.

Increasing security is fine in the short-term, but long-term it's just like gun control. You prevent any honest person from defending themselves, while the dishonest ones continue to find ways around any regulations in place. Forcing everyone on a plane to carry a knife would be a better measure than not allowing anyone to do so.

[The Raven]

Instead of banning pocket knives - how about banning arabs?

[j_tull]

Airliner security will continue to be a joke as long as security is an overhead cost to the airlines, rather than a function of the government. The free market has ABSOLUTELY FAILED here. No one despises big government or the police state more than I, but I have seen this travesty from the inside.

[1Old Pro]

How would you improve airport/airline safety?

HOTLINK ==>> AIRLINE SAFETY- Freeper suggestions- Do's and Don't's