Flight from chaos

Travelling back to Colombo from London, Hiranthi Fernando has firsthand experience of the new security measures on flights

Last Sunday, August 13, Heathrow Airport was chaotic. The cancellation of almost a third of flights from Britain's busiest airport had plunged travellers into the fourth day of travel chaos, triggered by the foiling of an alleged airplane bomb plot.

Scene at the Heathrow Terminal 4 on Aug. 11. AP

There were long queues forming in every direction with hardly space to put a foot in, leave alone one's suitcases. There were queues for the airline counters and queues for the VAT refund counter and queues for just about everything. The rain made matters worse and groups of people were waiting around in marquees erected outside the building in the hope that their flights would take-off eventually.

Police officers armed to the teeth stood around the airport, making one nervous to even pass close to them. Meanwhile, tough new screening measures had been introduced for the operating flights, resulting in unavoidable long delays.

I was booked on an Etihad flight to Colombo, together with my family. Although the flight was scheduled to take off at 21.15 hrs (9.15 p.m), we were there before 18.00 hrs (6 p.m.), expecting delays. Having fought our way through to the check-in counter, we were given plastic see-through bags to carry our passports, money, travellers' cheques and other necessary documents. No other hand-luggage was permitted. Books and even a pen were taboo. Difficult though it was, we were willing to comply with these requirements for the sake of security and safety.

An airline passenger reads a newspaper report on the flight delays at London's Heathrow airport

Since we were to have a long layover of 18 hours at Abu Dhabi, we wanted to put through the bags we were to carry as hand-luggage to Abu Dhabi instead of interlining them direct to Colombo. We needed at least a change of clothes and toiletries during these 18 hours. After much hassle, we were successful in getting this done, thanks to the helpful and co-operative officials manning the Etihad check-in counter.
After the long process of checking-in was completed, we found that we could not claim the VAT refunds since the bags had already been checked in.

After the luggage had been checked in, before immigration, our plastic bags, jackets and shoes were put through the x-ray machine. Cigarettes, lip balm and even a card of panadol were taken away at this point.

After clearing all these formalities, I found that the duty-free shops inside the airport were open and carrying on a brisk trade, despite the ban on hand luggage. Questioning an airport official how the shops were selling goods when no hand luggage was allowed, I was astounded to hear that passengers leave their mobile telephones for instance in the checked-in luggage and then buy telephones at the duty free shops. Whether these phones are allowed on board is anybody's guess.

I inquired at a shop, if I bought a doll whether I could take it on board. The salesman did not seem to be sure. However, I did see passengers taking shopping bags from shops such as Hamley's on board. These were not transparent either. People were even buying liquor in the duty-free shop. A police officer, whom I spoke to said the ban applied only for flights to the United States. It seemed utterly illogical that while all our hand luggage items had to be checked in, even though we were not flying anywhere near the US, items could be purchased at the duty free shops and taken on board.

I saw one passenger disembarking at Abu Dhabi, carrying a briefcase. It appears that even the officials are not fully aware of what regulations should be enforced and for which flights.

The see-through plastic bag, containing all one's vital documents, proved quite difficult to protect as it could be easily snatched if one were not alert. I had quite a scare, when I hung it on the toilet door and came out without it. Being transparent, it is not as visible as a handbag and easily overlooked. Luckily I soon realised it was missing and dashed back to the toilet to find it still hanging on the door, much to my relief.

Many are the harrowing tales of passengers stranded in London, after the arrest of the terror suspects. One Danish lady I met at Heathrow said it was her fourth day of waiting for a flight to Denmark. She and her family were returning from the US via London when the news about the alleged bomb threat to airlines broke. On the first day, she said even her baby's diapers had been taken away and she had to stuff some into her own clothing to use on the flight.

Their flight to Denmark was cancelled and she had to hang around in London for four days. Spending four days in a hotel in London is not easy with three small children, she said. She had come to the airport each day in the hope of getting a flight, but had no luck. "We are just one hour away from home. Now we have reached the limit on our credit cards and I do not know what we can do if we do not get a flight today," she lamented.

Security measures relaxed slightly

By Esther Williams The alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners prompted many airlines to take swift measures and impose restrictions on what passengers could carry, especially with regard to cabin baggage. While this seems to have inconvenienced many and led to chaos at times, the majority of passengers, officials said, co-operated with the airlines. Soon after the news about the alleged plot was announced, the United States and Britain banned all hand baggage, apart from essentials which were to be carried in a clear bag/folder. On Tuesday August 15, airport authorities relaxed some of these restrictions. A passenger outside London's Heathrow Terminal 1 carries his passport and boarding pass, all his permitted carry-on baggage, in a plastic bag as he checks in for his flight. AP Julian Lyden, Cathay Pacific's Country Manager in Sri Lanka, said the airline prepared two travel advisories - one for passengers travelling to Britain or transiting there and the other for those bound to the US. The new security measures stipulate that no liquids of any kind including creams, gels, toothpaste are permitted. If medicine is essential, passengers are allowed to carry only the amount sufficient for the duration of the flight. And that too, if they submit an authenticated prescription. Baby milk is allowed but parents may be asked to taste it in the presence of the airline staff. Push chairs and walking sticks are allowed but need to be x-rayed. The regulations also include the standard instruction that passengers are allowed only one hand baggage with a maximum size of 45 x 35 x 16 cms and weighing not more than 7 kg. Singapore Airlines that flies thrice a day to London displayed a notice at the Colombo airport, highlighting the special security measures on flights bound for London or US destinations. Shihana Cader, SIA Relationship Manager, said Insulin and other essential prescription medicines were allowed although no liquids (beverages, shampoo, suntan lotions, creams, toothpastes, hair gel), even if they were purchased at the airport duty-free shop, were permitted in the cabin. SIA made it mandatory for footwear to be x-rayed and screened. However, people with disabilities were exempted. In addition, passengers had to check-in three hours before departure. Cabin baggage had to have only passport, travel documents, spectacles, and sanitary pads without packets. Although SriLankan Airlines had no cancellation of flights, there were delays on August 10 - the day on which Scotland Yard claimed that it had busted the terror plot. Restrictions have now been relaxed except for passengers transiting in London and going on to the US. These passengers are given a leaflet stating the new security measures. On the matter of privacy, Cathay Pacific's Lyden said personal privacy was longer an issue with the lifting of the ban on cabin baggage. Asked whether the new security measures would be continued, he said they need to adjust to new threats as and when they occur. "I think the travelling public understands that those measures are put in place for their own security," he said.