Katie Doyle, Girl About Town

Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006 - 9:46 a.m.

Okay, so I'm freaking out.

FREAKING.

OUT.

You guys know how I feel about flying in the best of times, when no one is planning for anything to go wrong. There is no fucking way I can get on a plane under a fucking threat level of red.

Red, people, not orange. Motherfucking Red.

And okay, I know I don't have to fly for 2 more months (less one day, exactly), but YOU fucking get on a plane when you know two months ago people were hellbent on blowing it up, and they may or may not still do so. I love how British Airways is explaining this, btw. They're claiming there was just an unusual amount of airport "congestion" today, so THAT'S why they cancelled every fucking flight out of Heathrow today, not because British Intelligence just arrested a bunch of people who were planning on blowing shit up, and they don't know where the rest of the gang is. The only reason I know this is a terrorist threat is because Dags told me in email there was shit brewing, and I looked on the TSA website.

Here's the list of restrictions that just went up on the British Airways website today, buried on like a 3rd level page:

With immediate effect, the following arrangements apply to all passengers starting their journey at a UK airport and to those transferring between flights at a UK airport.

All cabin baggage must be processed as hold baggage and carried in the hold of passenger aircraft departing UK airports.

Passengers may take through the airport security search point, in a single (ideally transparent) plastic carrier bag, only the following items. Nothing may be carried in pockets:-

pocket size wallets and pocket size purses plus contents (for example money, credit cards, identity cards etc (not handbags));
travel documents essential for the journey (for example passports and travel tickets);
prescription medicines and medical items sufficient and essential for the flight (eg diabetic kit), except in liquid form unless verified as authentic.
spectacles and sunglasses, without cases.
contact lens holders, without bottles of solution.
for those travelling with an infant: baby food, milk (the contents of each bottle must be tasted by the accompanying passenger) and sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight (nappies, wipes, creams and nappy disposal bags).
female sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight, if unboxed (eg tampons, pads, towels and wipes).
tissues (unboxed) and/or handkerchiefs
keys (but no electrical key fobs)

Every other item must be carried in customer�s hold luggage.

For clarity, passengers are advised that no electrical or battery powered items including laptops, mobile phones, portable music players, remote controls etc can be carried in the cabin and must be checked in as hold baggage.

All passengers must be hand searched, and their footwear and all the items they are carrying must be x-ray screened.

Pushchairs and walking aids must be x-ray screened, and only airport-provided wheelchairs may pass through the screening point.

In addition to the above, all passengers boarding flights to the USA and all the items they are carrying, including those acquired after the central screening point, must be subjected to secondary search at the boarding gate. Any liquids discovered must be removed from the passenger.

In addition to the psychological angst this is causing me, I now have the problem of how to get my cameras and laptop and all it's peripherals home. I can not ship them via the baggage hold of a commmercial airliner in a frigging BOOK BAG. Aside from the probable damage this will do, the possibility of theft is ridiculous, especially for the brand fucking new Canon ELPH and the 50gig external harddrive I have to get home, both of which will pretty much fit in someone's jean pocket. So I'm going to have to ship all that home to myself via insured international mail, which is going to cost somewhere over at least 150 euros. I can deal with everything else getting lost, but not that computer and hard drive or my cameras, with all my photographs on them.

Fuck man. When you travel, you really shouldn't have to plan for terrorist plot contingencies. I'm in EUROPE, for Pete's sake. It's not like I headed off to Beirut. :(

Now I have to head down to see if I can find a place with CNN International, so I can find out what the fuck is UP with this shit.

Peace out,
Katie

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