Air travel restrictions

[Gardenman]

Originally Posted by piperclassique

We are of course assuming that the intelligence services have correct information. How do we know this?
And it rather appears to me that the day we all stop doing normal everyday stuff because someone we don't know has information they won't give us, is the day the terrorists have won. They won't need to kill us, we will have given in to them.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There's a very active terrorist group in Yemen who specialises in precisely that. It's material recovered during a raid by US special forces on one of their camps in January that's believed to be the cause of these travel restrictions.

Since they were recovered during a raid I'd wager that it takes time to do it. That not a lot of people have the know how to manage such. A pressure cooker bomb or a fertilizer/diesel fuel bomb on the other hand is something that anyone can make fairly easily without having to have a lot of $ and easy to find information. Or so I understand. Some pro-extremist websites probably have it all laid out for the would be terrorist. And there are things like the anarchists cookbook I'm guessing that have such info as well.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by crich70

Since they were recovered during a raid I'd wager that it takes time to do it. That not a lot of people have the know how to manage such. A pressure cooker bomb or a fertilizer/diesel fuel bomb on the other hand is something that anyone can make fairly easily without having to have a lot of $ and easy to find information. Or so I understand. Some pro-extremist websites probably have it all laid out for the would be terrorist. And there are things like the anarchists cookbook I'm guessing that have such info as well.

Probably quite hard to do whilst on a plane though, "Excuse me, could I just plug in my pressure cooker? I fancy a snack in 4 or 5 hours."

Also, I believe, fertiliser bombs and the like tend to be quite large and bulky.

I'd assume the size of the device banned has been picked as the minimum size that can hold an explosive big enough to do enough damage to a plane to cause a serious issue (Or at least a trade off between enough damage / too much inconvenience).

For those saying that your convenience is more important than your safety, well, it's a trade off that people make all the time. I tend to look both ways before crossing a road, sure it slows me down, but I can live with it.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

Probably quite hard to do whilst on a plane though, "Excuse me, could I just plug in my pressure cooker? I fancy a snack in 4 or 5 hours."

Also, I believe, fertiliser bombs and the like tend to be quite large and bulky.

I'd assume the size of the device banned has been picked as the minimum size that can hold an explosive big enough to do enough damage to a plane to cause a serious issue (Or at least a trade off between enough damage / too much inconvenience).

Who says that planes are the only target? Any meeting where lots of people meet (think marathons, but also shopping centers, office buildings, christmas markets, any place where people gather) could be targeted. Should they simply ban all those things? Most of those things you don't even have anything approaching the security at airports.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Who says that planes are the only target? Any meeting where lots of people meet (think marathons, but also shopping centers, office buildings, christmas markets, any place where people gather) could be targeted. Should they simply ban all those things? Most of those things you don't even have anything approaching the security at airports.

I'm pretty sure air travel restrictions are targeted at planes

Anywhere not in a flying sardine can needs a bigger bomb.

[jhowell]

Before 9-11 when I worked in New York City I would go to Yankee games after work and I could carry in just about anything unquestioned. After that it became difficult to bring anything into the stadium. Where I live now within the past year the local concert hall and amusement park added metal detectors at the entrances. I suppose this is the new normal.

[issybird]

If this becomes universal, people will adapt. On the individual level, I'd consider packing one of the readers that's just gathering dust now, if I were worried about breakage or lost luggage, and getting along with an MP3 player on board. I could see road warriors packing a cheap computer with nothing confidential on it, and then accessing business documents from the cloud or thumb drive at their destination. Similarly, I could see people deciding to pack a cheap tablet for their internet needs and leaving the iPad at home.

Business travelers will be the hardest hit, those who need to be productive while flying. Might airlines rent computers for use in the cabin?

[ShortNet]

Originally Posted by issybird

Business travelers will be the hardest hit, those who need to be productive while flying. Might airlines rent computers for use in the cabin?

Some airlines are already finding workarounds for business travelers. Turkish lets you keep your laptop till boarding and Qatar offers free laptop loans to business travelers for the length of the flight. No mention of loaning e-readers, yet...

[HarryT]

Of course, for the price if a business-class ticket you could buy several laptops .
Nice offer, though

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by issybird

If this becomes universal, people will adapt.

Yep, I've adapted by avoiding any place that requires a security check.

[HarryT]

I've just bought a high-security hard-shell Samsonite suitcase for my forthcoming trip to Egypt to keep my equipment safe when flying home.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I've just bought a high-security hard-shell Samsonite suitcase for my forthcoming trip to Egypt to keep my equipment safe when flying home.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I've just bought a high-security hard-shell Samsonite suitcase for my forthcoming trip to Egypt to keep my equipment safe when flying home.

So that's what's behind this The luggage makers are trying to sell new suitcases!

[HarryT]

That must be the reason .

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by davidfor

So that's what's behind this The luggage makers are trying to sell new suitcases!

If only....

Though, we also bought a hard-shell samsonite case for our trip in february...