An official statement has NOT yet been made by the TSA, but the following are unconfirmed, strong possibilities of what restrictions international travelers coming to the USA may face from now on.
Two foreign airlines, Air Canada and British Airways, did disclose the following steps in notices on their Web sites.
The airlines said the rules had been implemented by government security agencies including the T.S.A.
These two airlines have already implemented the policies, for now. They come in the wake of the terrorist attack on Northwest Airlines flight 253 on December 25, 2009.
The new restrictions began to be instituted Saturday on flights from Canada and Europe to the USA.
Passengers coming to the U.S. from overseas should be prepared to:
Be allowed only one carry-on piece of luggage
Have nothing on their lap during the last hour of travel: no blankets, coats, purses etc.
Not be allowed to retrieve anything from their carry-on bags in the final hour of flight.
Not be able to use the restroom in the final hour. As one traveler quips: “So, what happens when you're an hour out, and the plane has to be put in a holding pattern? Is that 1 1/2 to 2 hours of no getting out of your chair?”
Customers may retain any reading material issued by the airline and/or a personal book. They may also retain a jacket or sweater as long as their hands are not concealed by the garment.
Be subject to a thorough pat-down at the boarding gate prior to boarding, concentrating on upper legs and torso.
Be subject to property inspection at the boarding gate prior to boarding, with focus on syringes being transported along with powders and/or liquids
No longer use any form of electronic entertainment.
Not be able to view the on-board map (presumably so they can’t tell when they are over the US mainland). This is apparently by order of the US government.
The above is all the result of the attempted bombing on December 25, 2009. Again, there hasn't been an official word from TSA. However, Air Canada did mention many of the restrictions on its website, here:
More on this incident can be seen in part 2.
For a previous article on when the travelers fought back, see here.
For an article on the original incident, when the travelers screamed and yelled fire, see here.
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Comments
Honestly, this is ridiculous. So not only can you not use the washroom in the last hour (what if you have medical problems, do you have to get permission like a child?) and you can't use any electronic entertainment devices? So what about the people who have a fear of flying and listen to music? is that out too?
Let me guess, everyone in the USA can do as they please but everyone outside of the Country has to do as they say?
Really? And they wonder why so many people dislike them....
For the record, i have nothing against Americans but this is ridiculous. Aren't the body scanners and full pat downs enough? Might as well as stop traveling by plane now.
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