Now, you all know that a recent Amsterdam-Detroit flight was very near to being blown out of the sky by a Nigerian named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. This individual apparently tried to blow some penthrite by washing it in some acid. There were many reactions to this event, but overall -as could be expected- security measures are already being blown up and some of these may have dire consequences for passengers traveling on a photo trip. The most easily ascertained (and some of them are already confirmed) are:
- More than ever, the use of an electronic device is prohibited during the take-off and landing phases of the flight. This implies clearly that photos are prohibited (the camera is an electronic device).
- Weight rules for cabin luggage are enforced with even more rigidity that before. Previous packing advice is still applicable, but flexibility nearly disappeared in most airlines. Make sure that you travel light or delay your flight to a later quieter date.
- During the last hour of flight, nothing is allowed on your knees, not even a blanket or a book. Don’t even think of spending the last part of the flight with a photo magazine of an Art Wolfe book.
- Many products and materials are still prohibited in planes. Be attentive and don’t bring air blowers and liquids (sensor cleaning solvents and similar are better in the checked-in luggage in small quantities).
- The flight crew is generally informed to disable the electronic and network equipments like telephones and WiFi (that we started to see appearing as an option of some international flights). So, do not hope to spend too much time transmitting pictures from the plane; It will be nearly impossible in less-than-90-min flights and somewhat inconvenient on many others. [1]
- On the contrary, identity checks should be re-inforced but with no significant impact on photo travels (if you have an acceptable legal status, of course).
Avoiding the countries considered as “potentially dangerous” is also a good idea since these trigger additional controls and checks that may be source of problems. Currently, the French Ministère des Affaires Étrangères lists Yemen, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Algéria and Mali (source: Le Monde). But the whole list of country passports considered worth additional cheks by the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has been leaked and it includes: Cuba, Iran, North
Korea, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq, Yemen and Algeria. You are advised to limit your trips there…
Those -like me- who were relying on the relative calm of the recent months to see the generalization of reasonable measures like those taken by Australia which seemed ready to somewhat relax the rules applicable to the presence of some potentially cutting objects in cabin luggage. But it seems that the opposite is taking place and that it will be more and more difficult to travel. When are we going to see Ryan Air 2006 advertisement prediction of traveling stark naked?
