Failed terrorist attack prompts new international flight rules

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
The US Department of Homeland Security has directed the Transportation Security Administration to enact a series of heightened security measures in reaction to the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack on a plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit.



According to a report in the New York Times, international travelers bound for the United States are now being told "they could not leave their seats for the last hour of a flight, during which time they also could not use a pillow or blanket, or have anything on their laps," including a laptop.



The new directive also requires a thorough pat-down of all passengers on international flights to the United States and a physical inspection of all their carry-on luggage prior to boarding.



All international flights are now being required to enforce new rules during the final hour of the flight which includes: insisting that all passengers remain in their seats and prohibiting passengers from accessing any carry-on baggage or from having any blankets, pillows or other personal belongings on their lap during the final hour of the flight.



The new "final hour of flight" rules appear to be in reaction to the attempts made by the Christmas Day terrorist to ignite a chemical explosive he had smuggled onto the plane. During the final hour of flight, the flight crew is most likely to be preoccupied with making preparations for landing, and least likely to be available to observe attempts to ignite such an explosive, particularly if obscured under a blanket or pillow.



Canadian officials have responded to the new directive by essentially banning all carry-on luggage for passengers headed to the United States, the Times reported.



Pay no attention to the map



Additionally, airlines' international flights are now required to "disable aircraft-integrated passenger communications systems and services (phone, internet access services, live television programming, global positioning systems) prior to boarding and during all phases of flight."



The directive also insists that, while over U.S. airspace, "flight crew may not make any announcement to passengers concerning flight path or position over cities or landmarks."



The directive does nothing to prevent potential terrorist passengers from looking out the window to observe their location, and does not address the possibility that rogue passengers could obtain their own accurate position using a GPS device (such as a smartphone) that they brought onto the plane themselves.



Technology vs privacy



Efforts to flag suspect passengers and effectively and efficiently screen the general public upon boarding had been complicated by efforts to balance security with privacy concerns the Times noted in a second article on the subject.



Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian who attempted to ignite an explosive device during the Christmas Day flight, is the son of a prominent Nigerian banker and former government official who contacted the American Embassy in October to warn them that his son had developed a radical views, had disappeared, and had a visa to enter the United States good through June of 2010.



The boy's name was added to a list of 550,000 individuals with alleged terror connections, but was not added to the no-fly list, nor was his US visa canceled or flagged. On the other hand, there have been numerous reports of ordinary citizens and even young children being erroneously flagged for having a name similar to those on the no-fly list.



Additionally, advanced screening devices using "millimeter waves" to image a passenger's body with sufficient resolution to detect a concealed weapon or explosive device are only being used on a small fraction of passengers. Further, due to the objections of of privacy advocates, the use of these systems has been prohibited for passengers flying to the United States.



While the House has pending legislation to prohibit all use of this equipment for routine passenger screening, Congressional leaders are also voicing outrage over the fact that a known-to-be-suspect passenger was still able to board and smuggle on an explosive device.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 103
    I don't understand the privacy concern over the new scanners? (I read here: http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/millimeter_wave.shtm) You don't even have to break your stride to be scanned.
  • Reply 2 of 103
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Just curious why this news is in this particular blog?
  • Reply 3 of 103
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member
    What a bunch of paranoid fascist crap. Anyone who flies (and therefore tacitly agrees to this kind of security) is a fool and has no right to call themselves "free." Am I the only one that remembers what the world was like before the police state?



    In this particular instance, the events showed that the security they already had in place was actually working, but that by not following their own draconian rules, the police state dropped the ball themselves. How is it a rational reaction to dramatically increase security yet again, and infringe everyone's rights even more?



    Answer: it isn't. It just makes the cops look good and "saves face" for the security forces which failed us yet again.



    For all their bluster and all their weapons, the Americans sure are scaredey-cats. What happened to having a little courage? More importantly what happened to freedom?
  • Reply 4 of 103
    Why do we need new measures? Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the system worked just fine.
  • Reply 5 of 103
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    Just curious why this news is in this particular blog?



    Interesting, I'm a little confused too!



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


    What a bunch of paranoid fascist crap. Anyone who flies (and therefore tacitly agrees to this kind of security) is a fool and has no right to call themselves "free." Am I the only one that remembers what the world was like before the police state?



    In this particular instance, the events showed that the security they already had in place was actually working, but that by not following their own draconian rules, the police state dropped the ball themselves. How is it a rational reaction to dramatically increase security yet again, and infringe everyone's rights even more?



    Answer: it isn't. It just makes the cops look good and "saves face" for the security forces which failed us yet again.



    For all their bluster and all their weapons, the Americans sure are scaredey-cats. What happened to having a little courage? More importantly what happened to freedom?



    People have short memories. Unfortunately most people don't realise how much much was done by our ancestors to give us the limited freedoms we have now, that's why people seem prepared to watch those freedoms slip through their fingers.
  • Reply 6 of 103
    What exactly does this have to do with apple? Is Appleinsider trying to become a major source of news now? Cause if so you might want to consider a name change lol.
  • Reply 7 of 103
    My 5-year old daughter made TSA's terrorist watch list. Her twin sister did not. Go figure. And good luck getting an explanation.
  • Reply 8 of 103
    This line almost makes the article worth staying on AppleInsider:

    "The directive does nothing to prevent potential terrorist passengers from looking out the window to observe their location..."



  • Reply 9 of 103
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


    What a bunch of paranoid fascist crap. Anyone who flies (and therefore tacitly agrees to this kind of security) is a fool and has no right to call themselves "free." Am I the only one that remembers what the world was like before the police state?



    I encourage you to leave your compound in Montana and visit places like China, Burma, Iran, Syria, or Libya. Maybe then you'll have some idea what a police state is really like.
  • Reply 10 of 103
    WTF does this have to do with apple?
  • Reply 11 of 103
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BetaBee View Post


    WTF does this have to do with apple?



    ditto.
  • Reply 12 of 103
    Quote:

    Terrorism: The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.



    Given this definition, I don't think "Failed" is the appropriate description of this terroristic act. Other than the lack of a cleanup crew and weeping families shown on TV, our government's response is exactly what it would have been had the terrorist managed to blow the plane out of the sky.
  • Reply 13 of 103
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gobble gobble View Post


    I encourage you to leave your compound in Montana and visit places like China, Burma, Iran, Syria, or Libya. Maybe then you'll have some idea what a police state is really like.



    While I agree with you that there are numerous examples of nations that are far more of a "police state" than the United States, you are mistaken if you somehow thinks that means that US citizens haven't given up some of their freedoms for the illusion of security
  • Reply 14 of 103
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BetaBee View Post


    WTF does this have to do with apple?



    Perhaps his iPod was filled with Islamic propaganda?
  • Reply 15 of 103
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gobble gobble View Post


    My 5-year old daughter made TSA's terrorist watch list. Her twin sister did not. Go figure. And good luck getting an explanation.



    As we seem to have a silly off topic posting by AI I may as well chime in! I've been on the no fly list since 2002 although one whole year I seemed to be cleared and I had no issues then it started again.



    It has made flying a nightmare as I have to be there well ahead of time and prove who I am. I cannot pre confirm on line and print boarding cards at home as my wife can. I have been told many times they have no way of narrowing the criteria by such things as age, race or sex. I guess Cheney had a ten year old set up the database up in Act on a PC. I have high hopes the new pro science administration will fix this soon.
  • Reply 16 of 103
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gobble gobble View Post


    I encourage you to leave your compound in Montana and visit places like China, Burma, Iran, Syria, or Libya. Maybe then you'll have some idea what a police state is really like.



    Not American. Wouldn't live there if you paid me.
  • Reply 17 of 103
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    Just curious why this news is in this particular blog?





    Apple makes computers and smartphones. These regulations prevent their use an hour before landing, or in shorter flights from Canada, completely prevent any laptop use.



    Conversely, having a GPS enabled iPhone on board completely voids the intent of forcing airlines to stop presenting passengers with GPS/flight location data.



    If you are wondering why an article is on AI, think for a moment and save yourself the embarrassment related to posting a ridiculous and unnecessary question.
  • Reply 18 of 103
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BetaBee View Post


    WTF does this have to do with apple?



    Let’s see if we can piece this puzzle together….
    — Flights bound for the US aren’t allowing passengers to use electronic devices for last hour.

    — Apple sells electronic devices commonly used on planes.

    — Apple’s consumer base often intersects with people who fly planes.
  • Reply 19 of 103
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    Just curious why this news is in this particular blog?



    You must have missed the section where it later said:



    Quote:

    Since this recent act of terrorism and the lack security on flights due to government budgets. The feds will be seeking innovative ways to tighten security screenings. They'll be reaching out to technology companies, particularly Apple Inc. The Companies use of it's iPod touch has caught even the governments eye and the may be collaborating on the device to add an integrated camera along with important back-end software, that scans for objects that cannot be detected by the human eye, metal scanners, or a metal detector. When asked by Apple for any comments into the collaboration. Steve Jobs himself had something to say on the rumored team-up. "Working with ANY Government is a bag of hurt. Apple doesn't discuss about unreleased products"



    Why is this front page news should be the question?



    Look despite our countries hard efforts to prevent terrorism (Or ANY country for that matter), there will always be stories like this.



    Our society is growing more immoral and careless for life everyday. The news only reports negativity and gossip. That's why I careless for TV and don't watch it. Nothing is positive these days, even reading news on the Internet. It's like a sin to report Good news now!.



    This current administration doesn't know anything about Terrorism they barely know math . The current handling of the financial meltdown is proof. Astronomical Health Care meetings to drive us further in debt.



    Health Care should be handled as such: The government need to put a 40% Tax on fast-food chains that do not have healthy products on there menus.



    Also ALL TYPES companies should encourage employees to stay in-shape by giving them bonuses for losing weight if there obese.



    The only people who deserve health care are those who have terminal illness's or have generational illness's.



    Terrorism should be handled as such:



    Anyone caught being a terrorist automatically gets life or death by lethal injection. Also the prisons they'll be in should be prisons that are the size of a porter potty.



    Also this should all be done discretely to eliminate the news from broadcasting it, which will prevent the terrorist from seeing their comrades as martyrs.



    The people are 75% to blame and the govt for the other 25%. People of ALL NATIONS FORGET WE THE PEOPLE ELECT WHO IS TO RUN THE COUNTRY AND WHAT THE LAWMAKERS CAN DO. Remember the tea party anybody????? Or even historic figures such as Ghandi or Jesus Christ (If you believe in him I dont want to offend anybody, but I do and iRespect others who dont) Martin Luther King whom changed the world for the better by protesting what's wrong with society and demanding change.



    Its call The UNITED STATES.. The people in our states must Unite together against Evil and immorality, United We Stand, Divided we Fall. People need to loose the notion of Black White Red Green Yellow etc.. and Judge people by their actions, if your a bad seed you don't get rewarded, if your a good seed you get rewarded.



    Lets help others, through not only giving $$$$ but time and knowledge, lets open the doors for each other, lets treat woman with respect, lets treat the less fortunate like their fortunate. THERE IS POWER IN NUMBERS..... IF EVERY AMERICAN WENT TOT THE WHITE HOUSE AND DEMAND CHANGE, CHANGE WOULD HAVE TO COME, OR WILL BURN THE PLACE WE BUILT DOWN AND ELECT NEW PEOPLE WHO WILL DO WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT.



    LET THE PEOPLE IN CHINA AND THE MIDDLE EAST BE HEARD AND LET MORE DEMAND CHANGE FROM THERE GOVT.



    LET PEOPLE LOOSE THERE OUTER PREJUDICE AND LOOK FOR THE INNER GOOD IN A PERSON!!!!!
  • Reply 20 of 103
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Glockpop View Post


    Apple makes computers and smartphones. These regulations prevent their use an hour before landing, or in shorter flights from Canada, completely prevent any laptop use.



    Conversely, having a GPS enabled iPhone on board completely voids the intent of forcing airlines to stop presenting passengers with GPS/flight location data.



    If you are wondering why an article is on AI, think for a moment and save yourself the embarrassment related to posting a ridiculous and unnecessary question.



    You feel the need to be rude often?
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