Changes in Security and Regulations that Affect Air Travel

The month of April ushers in changes in a set of regulations to control how the airlines deal with their passengers in adverse situations so as not to strand them without remedy or resources in possibly dangerous circumstances. The second is the easing of and modulating of some security measures that had been instituted after the Christmas bomber attempted to take down a plane with his underwear that refused to explode.

I remember the first time we were stranded on an airplane for an extended amount of time. We were in Kona Airport on the Big Island of Hawaii. It was during the time when the airplanes were developing hairline fractures on their engines which developed the unfortunate habit of falling off of the planes and causing them to crash.

The plane that was coming out of England with our replacement engine had needed to be replaced since it too had developed a hairline crack on its engine. We were sitting on the tarmac long enough to be served dinner, to watch two full length movies and to later hear our fellow passengers complain because there was nothing
else to do while we waited and listened for the latest updates on how the repair was going.

I think it took about six hours. They didn't invite us to wait in the terminal. But to be perfectly fair, there was a lot more going on in the plane than in the terminal. Kona's airport is very small and is open air.

The next time, I was on a plane in Meridian, Mississippi waiting for the mechanic to show up. They couldn't locate him for hours. We were on the tarmac long enough to be issued replacement tickets which expired by the time we finally got to Atlanta. That time, we sat about four hours. They did invite us to deplane. But the airport is so small that there were more amenities on the plane than in the terminal.

When it comes to bomb threats or disasters and how our security community tends to react to them, I choose to wait it out for a while before I take another flight. I give them some time to think things through and to start regulating things with a bit more reasonableness and not with such heightened reaction. I've been the hapless victim of security overreaction and misdirection and I prefer to avoid it when possible, so I postpone my business trips or work around them.

As for the newest security measures, they were instituted the first part of April, replacing the ones that had been instituted right after Christmas 2009. The policies will cover all passengers coming into the US from all countries outside the US and not just the fourteen that were being covered since January.

The measures include levels of increased security and unpredictable screening during the check-in and boarding which will include advanced imaging, sniffer dogs, pat-downs, behavior analysis and explosives detection along with other unmentioned methods. These will replace the heightened baggage checks and secondary screenings that had been in place since January.

There will be no different treatment of passengers leaving the US, than before the Christmas incident.

There may be a noticeable increase in security measures in international airports. It is recommended that you check with your departure airport to see if you need to be there earlier than usual to take into account additional security measures.

Several nations such as Australia, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, Italy and Nigeria are using the same security measures technologies as the US.

A passenger in the US may choose to replace the advanced imaging with a pat down by a same gendered security agent. When in an international location you will need to check out their local regulations. If the country you're returning from doesn't have the same security technologies, their methods may include luggage inspections and pat downs as well as other measures.

The next newest regulationshelp to address the hapless and arbitrary stranding of passengers for unreasonable and unsafe periods of time. They are known as the "passenger's rights" regulations.

These regulations go into effect the end of April, 2010 and outline what the airlines must comply with or face a possibility of very stiff fines of up to $27,500 for each passenger per violation incident.

The list includes passengers being allowed to deplane when being held for three or more hours without takeoff, and the easy access to food, water and functioning bathroom. The only exception is when there is a security, safety or disruption of airport operations issue at stake.

This provision also includes the airlines bad habit of scheduling regularly delayed flights. But that could be difficult to enforce since the offenders can reassign the offending flights with new numbers. It also requires that each of the airlines list on their websites the on-time ratings for all their domestic flights. The airlines are trying to get around this provision.

Additional Reading:

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Tourist Must-Sees in the Tampa Bay Area

Sources:

http://www.btnonline.com/businesstravelnews/headlines/airline_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004080321
TSA Shifts Air Security Measures, Jay Boehmer, APRIL 02, 2010

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/guidance_international_flights.shtm

http://www.portfolio.com/business-travel/2010/02/10/airline-passengers-rights-regulations-come-a-decade-too-late/index.html
The Facts on PAX, Joe Brancatelli, Feb 10 2010

http://www.mimegasite.com/mimegasite/articles/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004077458