You can all calm down now

Over the next couple of days, the British Airport Authority will loosen the restrictions on hand luggage that came into force last week, following a foiled attempt by terrorists to blow up a number of out-bound flights to the US. This follows a downgrading of the “terrorism threat level” by the Home Office (the ministry that runs internal affairs such as policing) from “critical” to “severe”.

For people addicted to their iPods — this author included — the news is very welcome. When I travel even the 40 minutes into London by train, my iPod is as essential to me as my train ticket. Being stuck on the day-long haul from Berkhamsted to Lincoln, Nebraska, the trip I take for family get-togethers, doesn’t even bear thinking about.

There still are restrictions though. Each passenger can carry only one item, and said item must be no larger than 45 x 35 x 16 cm. This is certainly big enough for most portable computers, even the 17-inch MacBook Pro. Electrical items have to be removed from luggage and scanned separately. With one or two exceptions, no liquids can be carried onboard.

So, all’s well that ends well. Indeed, the upside is that we may finally see some sensible restrictions on carry-on luggage. Many in the airline industry have been concerned by passengers carrying on ever larger and heavier items of baggage, items that, in the event of a crash landing or even simple air turbulence, can break open the overhead luggage bins and cause injury to those nearby. One study of the subject suggests that there are 4,500 injuries caused in this way within the United States alone.

It would also be nice to force people to share overhead luggage space equitably. All too often, the first on board will hog the luggage compartment above them, with coats, stuffed animals, and goodness knows what else. Passengers boarding later on will have to make do with cramming things under their seat or feet, resulting in a trip hazard should the aeroplane need to be evacuated quickly.

Perhaps the thing that surprises me most about air travel is that we take it for granted. When you think about it, it’s an amazing feat of engineering and economics that so many people are able to move about so quickly and for so little money. These recent threats to our safety help to remind us that we live in an amazing age of technological wonders and personal freedoms, and that we should never take them for granted.

Neale Monks