FYI... Just got a reply back from Suzanne Boda, the VP for In-Flight, in response to what NWA is doing in light of the recent events...

Just want to get the right info out to those who are flying in the next few days and may be concerned about the "liquid ban"...

I don't like the fact that I will not be able to protect myself from all the funk on a NWA plane after the TSA takes my bottle of Purell. It would be one thing if NWA cleaned anything but since the seat back pockets, tray tables, and bathrooms tend to be overloaded with funk it will be like walking in to a leper colony with zero protection. I'm doomed!

[QUOTE=fromYXU]Since flying is not an individual activity it is time for you to give up some little comforts.

Your choice will then be: not fly, drink less coffee, buy your coffee past security.

I have to admit, some of the statments seen here and else where on FT make me think of highschool....

I guess that settles it then, the I am more mature ( = smarter?? ) reasoning always trumps all.

mike

Just an update as I finished my MHT-DTW-MSY journey today. There is inconsistancy (surprise!) in the way TSA is handling the secondary / gate screening. Apparently some airports open every bag and rummage the bags at the gate but I found some just mentioned to you at the gate to dump any liquids you picked up in the airport and left it to the honor system to dispose. Some TSA opened all bags at the first check point, some did regular screening there but opened them at the gate. May all depend on staffing issues, but it's not worth losing any valuable or essential toiletries.
Security is messy though, so come to the airport early. Once you clear security, connections went pretty well. Things were just a few minutes delayed in both DTW and MEM.

Thanks for the info.
This is the first confirmed news of the sort I've heard from any airline -- they should get the news out -- NW certainly needs good publicity right now.

Has anyone heard if they actually found one of these supposed explosive devices? It seems that some terrorist group only has to do is talk about some McGyver type plot on a cellphone, have the NSA snatch that conversation out of cyberspace, and, as demonstrated today, have a profound impact on the American way of life. Heck, you would think that the spook types would remember the word "mis-information". Worked wonders during the Cold War. I personally don't think the insanity will clear up for quite awhile. As in the past, it's so easy to let the genie out of the bottle, you just can't convince him to crawl back in.

Just trying to keep things in prespective!

Seriously, you should see some of the threads out there! Some will not fly unless they can have liters of water with them, others worry about nosedrops and some will drive thousands of miles instead of getting into a plane!

I believe that technically the shoe regulation (can you believe we live in a world where the concept of "shoe regulation" can be legitimately discussed) was that any shoes with a sole over 1" thick had to be taken off and run through the x-ray machine.

Of course, the problems began immediately. 98% of the time I wear 1 particular pair of shoes when flying. Honestly, the sole is probably just about 1" thick. There are certain airports where I have never been asked to remove them. There are other airports where I am always asked to remove them. Certainly "unpredictability" on the part of TSA could increase security. But what I'm describing isn't "unpredictability"...the same airports always do the same things. That's purely arbitrary. All it would take is a terrorist to go through a few airports and realize that in Memphis they never ask you to remove your shoes, but in Indianapolis they always do. Gee, I guess it'd take an IQ of about 58 to realize you shouldn't book a flight out of Indy if you're a terrorist wearing plastique shoes. And the 1" rule is hilarious in and of itself...like you couldn't do damage to a plane with a 1/2" sole (say a pair of flip-flops) made entirely of C-4. Nope...only a full 1" sole could harm a plane. Or you couldn't hide some implement in a shoe with 1/2' soles just as easily as you could in a pair with 1" soles. Whatever.

I have no objection whatsoever to security measures that make sense. I'm on the team. But let's devote some thought to what we're doing...being reactionary is just stupid.

Right now only airports with flights between the US and the UK are on "full orange/red" alert. Tomorrow it's going to be throughout the system.

Passengers can expect double screening

Update: I'm now at MSP, and although security was more crowded and slower than usual, it's not dramatically different, except for the deodorant, toothpaste and bottled water piled up at the checkpoints. (I went through the carryon-only "skyway" checkpoint.) I had a forgotten tube of lip balm confiscated and my bag opened on suspicion of gel deodorant possession. (That was a shaving brush.) Bottled water is widely available in the "sterile" area.

My wife flies LAX-BNA tomorrow on AA, and apparently they are not letting car security key fobs in carry-ons, but I can't confirm this. I guess we'll see tomorrow.

You are sadly correct.

I hear you.. NWA does not have the cleanest planes around... I use to keep a bottle too. Ugghh

What about these

Purell Wipes

Has anyone seen "V for Vendetta"? Fear is a great tool to control people.

Yeah, i always bring purell too.

Maybe we should put streptococcus on the terrorist list, it has definately killed more people than terrorists. That way NWA will be requried to clean their planes.