And in the 1980s, nobody had laptop computers. That ancient era was ended by genius computer marketers at IBM, Dell, and Apple... Should we ban those too?

Are you an FA, BTW?

So now there is officially no basis for the security rules at all. Anything that can scare a passenger is now officially prohibited? That is beyond outrageous. These days, young Muslim men scare the bejeezus out of a lot of travelers--much moreso than an empty water bottle. So should they be prohibited too?

It's one thing to have absurd rules. But you are literally setting up a lawless vigilante state when the only rule is "anything that might scare someone else is prohibited."

I keep thinking things can't get worse here, but every week they do. It's just amazing what irrational totalitarianism the TSA has gotten people to buy into. Worse, they've convinced screeners and passengers to try to "one up" the TSA by inventing their own, even stricter, rules and imposing them on their fellow travelers! This is like some kind of dystopian sci-fi novel.

delete

T-Shirts in Arabic aree no longer allowed either apparently. See this thread.

I think those passengers who were uncomfortable have every right to choose not to get on that particular flight. If you're uncomfortable then don't fly. Why do we as a society find it necessary to take away someones personal freedoms for their own comfort of imagined safety? Oh, by the way, if he was a "terrorist" why would making him change his shirt have any effect on his plans?

I think we should all start wearin Arabic shirts now. I found some that would be great. One says "Got Milk?" and another says "Don't Mess With Texas" (I am not sure the rules for posting items for sale so just do a search for Arabic T-shirt" if you want. I may wear a "Got Milk?" shirt on my LAX-IND flight at the end of the month. :D

They said the problem was that once it was refilled on the plane a passenger "could" believe it contained an explosive. :rolleyes:

So now, water was not just banned, but now its an explosive??? :confused:

Apparently that's why they banned all liquids and gels. The TSA/Governments say the mixture inside "could" be an explosive or something that can be mixed with something else to make an explosive. Anyways, that's the story they are telling about the supposed foiled attack on the planes coming in from London. I am having a difficult time swallowing pills this large.

People here are so critical of the TSA people, but you have to respect them. They have so much creativity and imagination, to come up with these rules and explainations, often on the spur of the moment.

So... even after the *enhanced* security measures, *they* are telling us
that the things past the TSA checkpoint may possibly be dangerous..
say water.. hmm...

Also you cannot bring water purchased at the airside onboard. Which implies
the things sold at the airside may not be secure. so whats the point of
TSA checkpoints?


I need to consult a second grader to explain this logic :confused:

That's perhaps the most amazing question I've ever been asked.

Certainly not. I'm a 46-year-old passenger/businessperson who remembers a recent era when people did not have to be ferociously irrigated every ten minutes -- in conference rooms, while walking city streets, and in airports and airplanes! -- for fear of collapsing. This whole idea that we must have constant access to a personal brand-label water supply is relatively new and IMO overblown. (As is the idea that our companies will collapse if we are not in constant cell/Blackberry contact, etc.) In our work and travel culture, the "minimum equipment list" of items we will absolutely, positively perish without gets longer and easier to make fun of with each passing year. Bear in mind that circa 1968 a businessperson traveled without cell phone, email access, personal computer, personal water supply, personal pager, etc.; he/she did not die, and business somehow still got done.

Sorry--you have a username similar to an FA who posts from time to time (I think it's Bear96 or something).

Your idea that we should allow the terrorists to force us to revert to 1968 (jeez, in your last message it was the 1980s--will the next suggestion be the 1800s?) is absurd. Laptops, iPods, personal water... It's your choice whether you use these things or not, and I'm not judging your choice, but for you to support the government forcing your lifestyle choices on the rest of us is extraordinarily selfish. Especially when they refuse to demonstrate the actual viability of the binary liquid explosives obtained from an airside vendor scenario that they are lording over us as the reason for the water ban.

My friend, please read what I posted. I never mentioned terrorists. I never mentioned government. I never said I want my "lifestyle choices" forced on the rest of you. I never said what my "lifestyle choices" are. I never said I wanted to go back to 1968. I never endorsed or condemned the TSA liquid ban.

All I said was that I think it is overdramatic at best to contend that going for an hour without a personal hydration solution at one's fingertips constitutes some terrible privation. And that a lot of us are guilty of characterizing accessories as necessities. And that in prior eras people didn't expire from lack of said accessories.

For the record, I think the liquid ban, like most window-dressing, Kafkaesque TSA rules, is completely moronic.

I like that now. Also being able to carry bottle of water onboard means
you dont have to look for or buy water for the road ahead. Its just
convenient and would save you a couple of bucks and a lot of time.

BTW do you talk to your customers like children, too? ("Settle down"??)[/QUOTE]

Only when they are irrational, assume I don't care, or assume I am scared. :D

"That's perhaps the most amazing question I've ever been asked.

Certainly not. I'm a 46-year-old passenger/businessperson who remembers a recent era when people did not have to be ferociously irrigated every ten minutes -- in conference rooms, while walking city streets, and in airports and airplanes! -- for fear of collapsing. This whole idea that we must have constant access to a personal brand-label water supply is relatively new and IMO overblown. (As is the idea that our companies will collapse if we are not in constant cell/Blackberry contact, etc.) In our work and travel culture, the "minimum equipment list" of items we will absolutely, positively perish without gets longer and easier to make fun of with each passing year. Bear in mind that circa 1968 a businessperson traveled without cell phone, email access, personal computer, personal water supply, personal pager, etc.; he/she did not die, and business somehow still got done."

This reminds me of the Grumpy Old Man skit that I see in SNL reruns. Given that you're platinum on two airlines, you probably don't understand how hard it is to get water in coach. Back there we don't have one FA/10 people. The first advice that people are given in travelling is to stay hydrated. Why should this surprise you? You travel a lot. Your body loses a cup of moisture an hour in the dry airplane environment. It shouldn't be any surprise to you that people want to have some water.