Travel security flaws – and how to fix them

Doctor, there’s an explosive device on your flight
When Dr. Kou Wei Chiu of Bellevue, Tenn., missed his Northwest Airlines flight in Seattle, he called 911 from a payphone and told them there was a bomb on the plane. Three times. Not a smart move, Dr. Chiu. The tardy passenger was arrested and charged with making a false threat against an aircraft. But the report needed to be put in context. The good doctor technically didn’t miss his flight. He arrived at the gate too late to board, which may have meant that the ground crew literally closed the doors in his face even though the plane was still there and the Jetway remained extended. Perhaps they even told him he was a “no show” and had to buy a new ticket. Northwest’s policy is that customers must be on board “15 minutes prior to departure” — a rule that’s pretty standard for an airline industry that is often more worried about its on-time record than its passengers.

That doesn't excuse Dr. Chiu’s behavior, but cutting off boarding 15 minutes before departure is silly. What I find remarkable is that there aren’t more airline passengers who feel so powerless that their only recourse is to phone in a fake bomb threat.

Let’s just ban parents from flying
It’s been a rough summer for kids who fly. A few weeks ago, a toddler’s sippy cup caused a stir at a TSA checkpoint. Earlier this month, a 19-month old boy and his mom were booted from a Continental Airlines flight because he kept repeating the words, “Bye bye, plane!” But things went from bad to worse last week when Tamera Jo Freeman was charged with hitting her children and threatening a flight attendant on a Frontier Airlines flight from San Francisco to Denver. Passengers reportedly witnessed Freeman repeatedly hit her 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son on their legs, shoulders and knees and said that the children tried to hide from her. Why was she taking a swing at her own offspring? Maybe they were misbehaving and she was afraid that they’d end up getting kicked off the flight, too.

I’m no fan of corporal punishment, and it’s my personal belief that the only kind of spanking that should be legal is the kind that takes place between two consenting adults. But that’s neither here nor there. One interesting solution to the problem of kids and parents who misbehave is a family section on the flight, which is something Southwest Airlines is currently testing. That could potentially ease the pressure on families, allowing them to have a smoother and stress-free trip.

Will any of these ideas fly? It’s too early to say if they have a chance. We can only hope that some of these solutions will be given a chance.

I’ll be taking a closer look at what makes the travel business tick in a new weekly column that will appear here. Your comments are always welcome, and if you can’t get enough of my column, drop by my blog for daily insights into the world of travel.

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