You have got to be kidding me. Here’s the reaction to our latest Osama wannabe’s ludicrously failed terrorist plot:
According to a statement posted Saturday morning on Air Canada’s Web site, the Transportation Security Administration will severely limit the behavior of both passengers and crew during flights in United States airspace — restricting movement in the final hour of flight. Late Saturday morning, the T.S.A. had not yet included this new information on its own Web site.
“Among other things,” the statement in Air Canada’s Web site read, “during the final hour of flight customers must remain seated, will not be allowed to access carry-on baggage, or have personal belongings or other items on their laps.”
I’ll refrain from further comment until TSA makes this official. Hopefully Air Canada just jumped the gun here. Because if this is true, it means our government has finally and irrevocably gone insane.
UPDATE: Plus there’s this from an accompanying story:
In effect, that means passengers on flights of about 90 minutes or less will not be able to get out of their seats, since they are not allowed to move about while an airplane is climbing to its cruising altitude.
Air Canada also told its United States bound customers that they would be limited to a single carry-on item and that they would be subjected to personal and baggage searches at security check points and in the gate area. It said this would result in significant delays, canceled flights and missed connections. Air Canada said it would waive the baggage fee for the first checked bag as a result of the new policy.
Aaron Potter comments: “If this is true, So much for flying with kids.” And it means the end of carry-on baggage entirely for anyone who also has a purse or a briefcase.
Apparently al-Qaeda doesn’t need to bother with real terrorism anymore: just light off a firecracker on a plane and the U.S. government will react as if a major city had been leveled. Why not just ban air flight entirely and be done with it?
