As a result of the panic over the “liquid” threat to air travel in London, musicians from the Bolshoi Theatre had to take the train back to Moscow instead of flying.
Russian musicians returning from London after the Bolshoi Theatre’s season face an overland journey because of the new UK cabin baggage ban on planes.
They are under contract to keep their instruments with them and cannot check them in as hold baggage, chief conductor Alexander Vedernikov said.
This is probably just the beginning of a new wave of restrictions on passengers. But I have to wonder whether any of it really makes air travel safer.
Especially when reports emerge that the threat of this plot was far below the level of imminent.
In contrast to previous reports, the official suggested an attack was not imminent, saying the suspects had not yet purchased any airline tickets. In fact, some did not even have passports.
The source did say, however, that police believe one U.K.-based suspect was ready to conduct a “dry run.” British authorities had wanted to let him go forward with part of the plan, but the Americans balked.
At the White House, a top aide to President Bush denied the account.
I certainly feel more secure – at least I do when MI5 is in charge of the investigation.
My problem with the airline restrictions isn’t that they don’t make me feel safer, but they always seem to be reactive, not proactive. Basically, everytime they stop a threat (be it this latest in England, that attempted shoe bomber, etc.), they increase the screening. The problem is that, at least for the time being, the threat has passed. Eventually they relax the security until another threat has occurred and then is passed. If they are really concerned about safety, they need to keep security up, but they never seem to be able to do so.