August 10, 2006
Air Travel Just Got Even More Annoying
Sea-Tac is currently fucked. The wait at security averages 82 minutes. Said a spokesperson:
"These are some of the worst lines we've seen at the airport," Betancourt said. "If people miss their flights, they should go home. The airlines absolutely can't do rebooking in the terminal today."
Here's why: British officials uncovered a plot to destroy airplanes with some mixture of liquid gel that would be smuggled on an airplane. In response, our TSA (nice, proactive work, guys) has banned all liquids from carry-on luggage. No water, no toothpaste, no duty-free George Dickel, nothing.
Aerosol is already banned, so that reduces to one the number of allowable states of matter on planes.
We first got an inkling of this driving south on I-5 this morning. A readerboard above the freeway at the Convention Center said something like "no liquids or gels at Sea-Tac," which we assumed applied to cargo trucks, or something. Anyway, we were happy not to be flying today.
The American public, brain surgeons that they are, respond with these types of brilliant actions, as reported by the New York Times:
Airline officials said that some passengers were leaving behind items like shampoos and lotions before passing through security checkpoints, and then buying replacements at shops on the terminal concourse, in the mistaken belief that they could then carry them on the aircraft.
Good work, folks.
In Britain, they've essentially banned carry-on luggage, including things like iPods, which is probably what will end up happening here, eventually. More and more, traveling on a plane is like traveling on a prison bus.
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I too fear that iPods and other electronic devices will soon be a memory on flights. While I understand that they could pose potential security risks the fact is that things should be done on the front end to screen carry ons better.
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No George Dickel? These days, that's the only way to make it through a flight!
Seth - way to hit the nail on the head with this one!
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C'est vrai! A ton of flights from the UK to Geneva for folks coming where we are to bike (Les Gets/Morzine in France) got royally delayed and/or cancelled yesterday. Industrious little terroristes...
Too much a pain to post right now, so I'll just leave this comment. For those jealous of us cavorting in the Alps, you can now gloat that it is pissing cold rain, and they're predicting snow as low as 1,400 meters for the next 2 days. That's the metric system, thick-headed Americans...if you don't know it then FGI.
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So presumably now the explosives are contained in a garbage can at the security checkpoint where 82 minutes of people are densely packed together? That is, instead of dispersing the threat over many airplanes, ALL the passengers for ALL the planes are congregating around a volatile hefty bag.
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My name is Victor Cox and I am the CEO of Never Check It (www.nevercheckit.com). As a frequent business traveler who has always carried on my bag, I was perplexed on what to do about the new restrictions.
In order to continue to carry on my bag, I have introduced a free service that allows travelers to pre-order toiletries and other banned items before they fly. This will ensure that travelers will be able to carry-on luggage, which will save valuable time, money, and help alleviate the stress associated with travel.
I am not sure how long the restrictions will last, but for now, I will continue to carry-on my bag and pre-order my toiletries before I fly.