Travel Security
Airline

Travel Security for airlines has ever-changing precautions.

Travelers have bought post-9/11 shoes (slip-ons, no metal), bags (bigger, more compartments), even bras (no underwire) to smooth the ride through security. People have stopped wearing knee braces and removed medical devices rather than deal with a strip search at security. Carry the identification card showing the tiny X-ray to prove it really is the knee replacement setting off the sensor. The adjustments are constant.
Excerpted from The New York Times – 11 September 2003

Confusing security: The TSA has been screening every checked bag at U.S. airports, but the way they do so varies from airport to airport. John DiScala, CEO of the JohnnyJet.com travel Web site, says "It's driving me nuts. I'm a travel expert, and I have no idea of what's going on."
Other travelers try to avoid checking luggage. They send bags ahead via delivery service or limit themselves to carry-ons. For other tips, see www.tsatraveltips.us.
Excerpted from USA TODAY – 25 July 2003

Beware of a common crime of travel security: A man bumps into a woman to distract her while his partner snatches her purse off the x-ray machine conveyor belt. They both disappear into a crowd before the theft is noticed. Never put your things on the conveyor belt until you're sure you can immediately pass through to retrieve them. Baggage Claim is also rife with thieves.

On September 11, 2001, heroic passengers on United Flight 93 fought the hijackers and caused their jetliner to crash into a Pennsylvania field instead of an apparent Washington target. That taught Americans an indelible lesson: to attack hijackers. The Airline Pilots Association says pilots need all the help they can get.

If hijackers are wielding sharp-edged weapons, a passenger can grab a seat cushion as a shield or wrap a jacket around his arm and hand to deflect a blade. If you merely defend, you're likely to lose. You must attack the criminal and help the flight attendants. Even small movements like throwing objects or hot liquids at a hijacker could save lives. Use anything from belts used as whips to serving carts to ram him. Overwhelm him with the sheer number of passengers. See Hostage Taking and Improvised Weapons.

• DoorStop Alarm – a door wedge (both a siren and a physical barrier to forced entry) at www.magellans.com.
• Doorknob Alarm at www.guarddog.net.
• Stash clothing (such as a money belt) at www.magellans.com.
• Stash safes (a.k.a. diversion safes): ordinary cans (of hair spray or whatever) modified with hidden storage space.
• Child alarm to keep your child near you at www.guarddog.net.
• See Pepper Spray & Devices for more (first check airline regulations as well as local laws at your destination).

Go to
• Travel Security - Overview
• Camping: human predators sometimes hunt human prey in isolated wilderness.
• Hotels and motels are ideal hunting grounds for predators posing as guests or staff.
• Airline: air travel has more precautions than ever. (YOU’RE NOW ON THIS PAGE)
• Foreign: predators hunt for vulnerable travelers in unfamiliar territory.
• Recap of Travel Safety.
• Pepper Spray & Devices for Travel Security.

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Travel Security - Overview
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