Have you taken an international flight since that Nigerian with an explosive device attached to his body tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines jet on Christmas day? This religious fanatic went to the restroom for about twenty minutes less than an hour before this international flight from the Amsterdam was scheduled to land in Detroit. Luckily when he got back to his seat and attempted to ignite the bomb he failed. His actions have greatly impacted those of us taking international flights. Here’s what happened to me when flying from Mexico to the U.S. recently.
When I arrived at the airport, the lines for check-in were longer because those searching the bags were doing a more thorough job. They opened packages as small as the equivalent of 2 packs of cigarettes, and they were confiscating anything that looked suspicious. You should have seen the smile on the checkers eyes when she spotted this very large box labeled 1.7 liters of Bacardi Rum in my bag. And how sad she looked when she realized that rather than rum to confiscate, it held clothing. It appeared that this check-in procedure took about 20 percent longer per passenger than normal. The next search, where each passenger and his carryon luggage is scanned, took no extra time.
By the time I got to the gate I still had an hour before my flight, so I surfed the web on my laptop using the free wireless connection offered to Infinitum subscribers. We started boarding earlier than usual because we were searched again before we were loaded on to the busses that would take us to our planes. They again searched the carryon luggage that was scanned earlier. When they discovered my laptop, they made me start it up to ensure it was real. We then loaded the bus that was to take us to the plane. We sat there for the longest time for reasons unknown before the transported us. The rest of the trip to Seattle including changing planes in Salt Lake City seemed pretty normal.
Although I did not experience the following on my flight, several people on other flights to the U.S. were not allowed to use the on-board restrooms for the last hour of their flights and the attendants collected blankets and pillows earlier than usual. Each carrier is different, so before you fly internationally you should check to see if the rules have changed.
One added point; I’ve been commuting between Guadalajara and Seattle or Vancouver, BC for 13 years, and never have I had it so good — technically speaking. Once the plane entered U.S. airspace, I could connect to the internet or continue to watch a movie on the drop-down screen. The flight between Salt Lake City and Seattle was even better; there was a screen in front of each passenger that offered 18 satellite TV channels to choose from, including CNN, CBS, ESPN etc, or one could go on line.
Again, before taking your next international flight check with your carrier to see if there have been any changes, some have tightened the rules on the type of material you can take as carry on.
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