Loss of Privacy

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I was perusing the internet, reading articles, when I came across a comment on reddit about what it’s like flying outside the US.

I’ve just returned from a two week trip to China and went through Chinese airport security five times and I just wanted to say what a delight it was. The procedure went like this;

-Present your boarding pass and passport to an agent.

-Put you bag through the X-ray, remove your laptop, and keep your shoes on.

-Go through a metal detector.

-Collect your things and be on your way.

This is the way airport security should be. I felt like it was the 90′s again!
This is, indeed, how it felt to fly in the 90s. My experiences were just like this, with the added fact that you could actually walk someone to the gate to see them off.

In the US, you are treated automatically like a criminal. You need to take your laptop out of a bag, take your shoes off, be felt up, be subjected to harmful radiation from full body scanners, and whatever else the TSA can dream up for us to endure. The United Kingdom is strikingly similar to the US in its embracing of security theater.

There is one important thing that we all forget in all of this extra security. Every single supposed attack on the United States since 9/11 has come from outside the United States, yet none of the countries except the USA and UK have instituted ridiculous rules and regulations in order to treat their own citizens as if they are criminals at all times, while inadvertently admitting it’s all unnecessary.

There was no need for the increased security theater. There never was. Yet, we have it while someone is getting rich off of scaring Americans. It sure would be nice if we could return to a time when air travel was nice and people were treated like human beings instead of criminals.

In what they say is an effort to reduce costs, Ryan air has said they will remove all but one toilet on their planes. After initially saying that they would look into charging to use the facilities on their planes, Ryan Air decided that removing all but one toilet would add additional seats and eliminate the need, for the moment, to increase prices.

Ryan Air already has the maximum allowed seating on a plane, but they plan to push regulators to expand that so they can install additional seating. While there is no legal requirement for toilets on planes, it is simply common decency to have them available, particularly on long flights.

“We’re trying to push Boeing to re-certify the aircraft for six more seats, particularly for short-haul flights”, said Mr O’Leary. “We very rarely use all three toilets on board our aircraft anyway.”

The prospect of only one toilet being shared by 195 passengers and six crew caused alarmed in the travel industry. A spokesman for Abta, the travel association, said “We all know how inconvenient it can be if a toilet on a plane is out of order or the annoyance of queuing if someone has air sickness in one of the cubicles. This move could be a step too far in Ryanair’s on-going mission to provide a totally no-frills service.”

The airline is constantly looking for more ways to save money and raise revenue. If it cannot add in six additional seats, look for more fees to appear when booking a ticket.

The controversial Ryanair boss also insisted that the airline will continue as before, whatever the outcome of an investigation into fees for debit and credit cards. At present the airline charges an “administration fee” of £6 per person per flight, avoidable only by paying with Ryanair’s “Cash Passport”.

When all the fees are added in, just how much cheaper is the flight and how willing are people to go without the basic necessities of life?