US attacks and their direct effect on us...

All airline passengers are directly effected by the US attacks with every airline having been forced to change the way it operates, from check-in to touch down. Apart from trans-Atlantic flights bound to the United States, passengers travelling around Europe, from Palma to the UK for example, should be prepared for delays because of tighter security. Airlines can not stress enough the need for passengers to check in for their flights at least two hours prior to take off, a request airlines have always made to passengers but seldom complied with, to minimise delays. easyJet, which is planning to operate a full programme this weekend, is a prime example of how Britain's airlines have responded to the situation and clearly shows how we are all directly effected and have an important role to play in trying to keep airlines and airports running as smoothly as possible. In response to the United Kingdom's Department of Transport's directives to raise security levels at all airports and airlines flying in and out of the UK, passengers may experience variable delays because of the additional security precautions. Passengers and their baggage will be subjected to greater security screening throughout their journey. In order to make the task of security easier for officials at airports and on board flights, passengers are advised to pack their hand luggage in a way that, if requested by airport staff, they are able to transfer articles into baggage to be checked in as hold baggage. Quite simply, we have to try and minimise our hand luggage as much as possible and everything we really will not be needing during the flight, should be packed in our hold luggage. Some airlines are insisting that all luggage go in the hold, including women's handbags. Instead, women will be given a transparent plastic bag in which to carry personal items such as purses, key and passports. In addition to the usual list of dangerous articles, as part of the heightened security measures, the following articles are also prohibited from being carried onboard as cabin baggage: Toys or replica guns (plastic or metal), catapults, household Cutlery, knifes with blades of any length, paper knifes, razor blades, tradesmen's tools, darts, scissors, hypodermic syringes, nnitting needles, sporting bats, billiards, snooker or pool cues. Airlines and airport staff will be making every effort to minimise disruption caused as a direct result of the tightened security measures, but our safety and security is paramount and we are also asked to be as co-operative as possible. Travellers with any queries about their flights are best off contacting their airlines directly. In the long term, some of the busiest airports may be forced to scale down their peak-hour operations, in Palma airport's case the weekends, because of the delays in processing passengers and carrying out the security checks. Obviously, the security situation is costing airlines money and a number of Europe's leading airlines have seen their share value drop over the past few days and revenue fall with a sizeable part of passengers opting not to fly. Some analysts believe that the US attacks could have a “catastrophic effect” on the entire European airline sector