A lot has changed in the travel world since 9/11. It was a huge turning point in security and how we go about traveling safer on planes. The desire to travel abroad on airplanes dramatically decreased after 9/11.
You can't blame us for being scared after 4 hijacked planes were used as terror weapons against our nation. Eight years later, the industry is still hit very hard after the tragedy.
Its hard to remember how it was to travel before 9/11. Then again, I did not travel a lot prior to 9/11. (I was actually supposed to go to Puerto Rico the week before 9/11, but my mother who is a news buff like me, warned me about terror threats made from Osama Bin Laden against the United States for the summer.)
When it comes to Carry On Items, there are so many new restrictions as to what sized bottles you need to bring.
Don't think they will be lenient. I had a 4 ounce bottle and they took it away.
There are a handful of items you can't even bring as a Carry On anymore.
| Item | Carry-on | Checked |
| Box Cutters | No | Yes |
| Ice Axes/Ice Picks | No | Yes |
| Knives - except for plastic or round bladed butter knives | No | Yes |
| Meat Cleavers | No | Yes |
| Razor-Type Blades - such as box cutters, utility knives, razor blades not in a cartridge, but excluding safety razors. | No | Yes |
| Sabers | No | Yes |
| Scissors - metal with pointed tips and blades shorter than four inches | Yes | Yes |
| Swords | No | Yes |
Oh darn. I wanted to play with my new sword on my flight. Shucks.
(The list itself is
here. It is a very very long list. That is just an idea)
For those working in the travel industry, it is even harder to get into. There is a rigorous new training initiative to teach Flight Attendants mandatory safety maneuvers such as CPR and how to exit passengers during a hijacking.
But most importantly, the most changed aspect about travel is travel itself! There are numerous studies about how flight travel decline rapidly after 9/11.
In a 2006
report by the BTS:
"Airline passenger travel and capacity (measured in terms of available seats) fell drastically after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, when our national air space was temporarily closed. The numbers of airline passenger and seats remained low in subsequent months, but have recovered in the following years. Available seats have increased more slowly than air passenger travel, and have only recently reached the pre-9/11 peaks; in contrast, air passenger travel reached its pre-9/11 peak in July 2004 and has continued to grow. Thus the aviation industry has accommodated passenger growth with few additional seats, which means fuller planes."
Many airlines disappeared such as National Airlines, Midway Airlines, while others came together to save each other during this airline crisis.
To me, since 9/11, it is a new 8 year old procedure that some people still aren't used to. I know many people deeply affected by the tragedy that refuse to travel by airplane. Some that suffered severe depression as a result. Meanwhile, I know other people that see this opportunity to see the world and take advantage of deals encouraged to get Americans to travel a lot more. Everyone has been impacted one way or another.
Has 9/11 changed the way you travel? How do you feel about the changes?
Comments (6)
I flew from Newark to Los Angeles 2 weeks after 9/11. While everyone was scared to fly so soon after, I felt safer then I ever have flying. The airports were empty, except for the security and army stationed with loaded weapons everywhere (which was slightly unnerving, but I knew they wouldn't be shooting me...) I honestly don't think about it, if anything, I probably feel safer now.
My dad used to travel back and forth from California to Chicago in the 90s for business. He said that before 9/11 there literally was no security and you could go to the airport half an hour before your flight.
Sometimes, the restrictions are really annoying and inconvenient, but the country is really just trying to ensure that nothing like 9/11 ever happens again. I'm sure Americans would also be complaining if no security procedures were taken whatsoever. I guess it's just better to be safe than sorry.
It's definitely more inconvenient with the longer wait times due to heightened security... And there definitely are not enough planes for the number of passengers, I always have delays flying to Newark because it's such a hub of traffic.
I actually just came back from Taiwan today ... on 9/11. They seem to be getting more and more relaxed than the year before, but that might just be my own opinion.
Yes I have noticed a great change between Pre-9/11 travel and Post 9/11 travel. Pre-9/11 we never had these things that are called "random checkings." Funny how they seem to "randomly" find the guy with an Arab or Muslim name, brown skin color, but of course, it's all random. Traveling and buying duty free was much more fun. You could actually carry the soda you bought not two seconds ago right in front of the security lady, past the security point. What's next, no shoelaces because you "might" be able to strangle someone??
I've never traveled. So I wouldn't really know. I do want to visit the big apple once in my life.