Originally Posted by
GUWonder
Would Putin really ban US and European flights to Russia during the duration of the Olympics over carry-on luggage restrictions? They already have a sort of PR disaster so far about these Olympics.
Yes, Putin would. Take a look at the measures he has taken in creating the "Ring of Steel" around the Olympics. Banning flights for lack of security would be nothing compared to that.
In fact, not all flights would have to be banned. He can simply tell airlines which will not cooperate that they have to divert to another country (eg: Poland) and that flights from Russia and the country which allowed the landings would take the passengers the rest of the way.
This would be basically the same thing as someone in Beirut who wants to fly to TLV. He can not do it directly so he flies to Cyprus or Amman and then on to Israel.