A colleague recently posted an article from Smarter Travel that said that "counter-terrorism officials" were considering a ban on carry-on bags and personal electronics over the holidays because of intelligence that terrorists were targeting US flights bound for Europe. My first reaction was that we were in for more "terrorist theater" where thousands of travelers will be inconvenienced because of a vague threat. It also looked like a boon to baggage thieves, with all those cell phones, laptops, and cameras being placed in checked luggage, and possibly to the airlines who charge fees for checked luggage.
But my spider-sense started tingling. The threat was very specific: only Europe-bound flights were targeted, not US-bound flights. (And, of course, terrorists would never consider changing their targets just because we implemented draconian measures for those flights.) The article said that US officials had confirmed the intelligence about the attack, so I went to the original NPR article.
The NPR article originated with an article from a UK newspaper site. NPR did receive confirmation from "US officials" that they had intelligence suggesting a high-profile attack by al-Quaida over the holidays. However, the NPR article did not reference flights originating in the the US. In fact, it said just the opposite:
The plot, the U.K. newspaper reports and U.S. officials confirm, is thought to involve the smuggling of bombs onto planes bound for major cities in Europe. The plan did not seem to include any U.S.-bound flights, U.S. officials told NPR.
Turning to the original UK article, several things are immediately apparent. The intelligence is over two months old and supposedly came from US intelligence sources, according to an unnamed "airport security source". Neither Scotland Yard nor the Department of Transport (with responsibility for airline security in the UK) would comment on the allegations. According to the unnamed source, bans on carry-on bags and electronics were options that were under consideration. However, the article does a good job of explaining why such measures would be difficult to implement. And even the source says:
All electronics may be banned from hand luggage and placed in the hold, that has been considered, and there has been behaviour analysis training at airports but while it's effective, it's difficult to roll out quickly and is not a sufficient safety net.
The threat is aimed at Europe. The U.S has improved their security over the summer but we have not.
If we consider all three articles, it's easy to see how minor changes transform the threat from a UK issue to a US one, raising concerns that the Department of Homeland Security will once again over-react and make travel even more miserable than it is already. The threat of terrorism is very real, particularly in Europe but, as with any threat, it is important to keep it in perspective. We need effective security, not reactive security.
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