I flew from Ottawa to Vancouver and back the very week before authorities discovered plans by would-be terrorists to blow up commercial airliners at some undisclosed time. When I discovered on my way out west that our national airline of sorts (Air Canada) no longer provided in-flight meals and saw how much it cost to buy food and drinks while locked into the plane, I decided that I would take care of my culinary needs prior to boarding a plane back home.
What did I do? I noticed signs at Vancouver airport explaining that due to new air carrier policies, one could bring food purchased at concessions such as Subway or Tim Hortons onboard. Instead of paying a big fortune for a small "meal" on the plane, I opted to buy a couple Subway sandwiches and a six-pack of Dasani water and a 710ml bottle of Diet Coke. I brought all of the above onto the plane with me and enjoyed most of it all (I did share with my new wife of course!!) before we landed in Ottawa shortly after midnight.
Days later, this plot was discovered and the six-pack of Dasani was criminalized.
Am I thankful that a potential disaster was averted? Of course. Am I anti-security?
No. I do, however, have very strong feelings when it comes to the reaction of governments and the airline industry as a whole. I'd be
very shocked if security officials had ever dreamed of banning lipsticks, deodorant and Diet Pepsi from carry-on luggage before the investigation findings were published.
A few years ago we were told that nail clippers were forbidden. Now just about any liquid (have we ever used that word as much as we do these days?) other than breast milk and baby formula are banned. How long will this continue? What's next?
I'm all for ensuring the maximum levels of security as is possible, but are we going to react this way each time some nutcase cooks up yet another method of trying something nefarious? What if someone figures out how to weave some weapon into a wool-like substance that is then knit into a sweater or blouse? Will the discovery of such plans result in forcing airline passengers to disrobe and wear hospital gowns prior to boarding a plane? If it is so easy to make an undetectable weapon out of a liquid, what about a weapon made out of "X" (substitute X with every known and unknown matter) and when will it be banned?
That we must remain vigilant and do everything possible to avert another 9-11 type incident is obvious. Since would-be terrorists will stop at nothing to try and achieve whatever goal they have in mind, must the same be true about our counter measures?
As far as I can tell, we will never be able to eliminate commercial airline services. Consequently, air travel is here to stay. I just can't help wondering if some day we will all have to be x-rayed, cavity searched, stripped down and escorted into locked cells wearing state issued loin cloths, all in the name of national security.
Is something like that in our future? Time will tell.
