In the wake of the terrorism attempt Friday on a Northwest Airlines flight, federal officials on Saturday imposed new restrictions on travelers that could lengthen lines at airports and limit the ability of international passengers to move about an airplane.
The government was vague about the steps it was taking, saying it wanted the security experience to be “unpredictable” and that passengers would not find the same measures at every airport — a prospect that may upset airlines and travelers alike.
But several airlines released detailed information about the restrictions, saying that passengers on international flights coming to the United States will apparently have to remain in their seats for the last hour of a flight without any personal items on their laps. It was not clear how often the rule would affect domestic flights.
Overseas passengers will be restricted to only one carry-on item, and domestic passengers will probably face longer security lines. That was already the case in some airports Saturday, in the United States and overseas.
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On its Web site, American Airlines said the T.S.A. had ordered new measures for flights departing from foreign locations to the United States, including mandatory screening of all passengers at airport gates during the boarding process. All carry-on items would be screened at security checkpoints and again at boarding, the airline said. It urged passengers to leave extra time for screening and boarding.
As usual, TSA is responding to their failure by punishing us. Being forced to stay in his seat would not have stopped this guy. Not being able to read or use his laptop or anything would not have stopped this guy. It’s possible that screening at the gate of international flights would help—this guy found a loophole by boarding his flight in Nigeria. On the other hand, the British press has indicated that this was not the problem. The guy apparently had explosive underpants. How do you screen for that?
Once again, TSA is going in for the failed philosophy that you stop terrorists by searching little old ladies and babies for weapons and bombs. They do this not because they think it will work. They do this to look like they’re doing something. They make life hard for the rest of us and call that progress.
Take it away, Balko:
Seems to me that what this, Flight 93, and the Richard Reid incident have shown us is that the best line of defense against airplane-based terrorism is us. Alert, aware, informed passengers.
TSA, on the other hand, equates hassle with safety. For all the crap they put us through, this guy still got some sort of explosive material on the plane from Amsterdam. He was stopped by law-abiding passengers. So TSA responds to all of this by . . . announcing plans to hassle law-abiding U.S. passengers even more.
I thought that Obama would be a little less prone to this panicky bullshit. And he continues to disappoint.
Update: More information: we were warned. Why don’t we put as much effort into following these warnings as we do into inconveniencing innocent people?
Update: More from Cato.
Update: Janet Napolitano thinks the system worked.
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