QUOTE OF THE WEEK
It remains tough to figure out the right balance between security and traveler privacy/convenience for today's air travelers, as I noted in this recent post following the latest UK terror plot.
The latest update on what travelers need to do while traveling to and from a variety of locations globally, can be seen on this American Airlines page here. While laptops and electronics are being permitted in the US, and even in the UK for now, the broad ban on toiletries, gels and liquids, remains in place worldwide.
This quote from the Saturday edition of the UK's Financial Times, is notable given that it comes from the CEO of RyanAir, Michael O'Leary:
"Terrorists must be rolling around the caves in Pakistan laughing at us..."
"We are not in danger of dying at the hands of toiletries".
Now, that's a "Quote of the Week" in my book.
RyanAir is Europe's biggest low-cost airline, an analog of US carrier JetBlue.
Obviously, he has a vested interest in this issue, as can be seen from the cheeky, cheesy, and plucky promotional graphic on the front page of RyanAir's website.
The FT article, titled "Britain faces airline backlash over new travel restrictions", adds that Mr. O'Leary,
"has threatened to sue the UK government for compensation unless normal service resumes with seven days."
The article goes on:
"The British Airline Pilots Association said it was "illogical and frankly bizarre" to stop pilots taking aboard toothpaste or contact lens fluid fluid, given that they carried thousands of gallons of volatile fuel on each flight."
It remains to be seen if the airlines and related associations can have an impact on curtailing the wild, reactive, swings in the security pendulum. But it's noteworthy that they're speaking out.
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