While we are limiting things, how about pens (can be used to stab), watches (batteries to power small enough charges to set off a bomb), eye glasses (think of what you could do with the glass), and straps on antyhing (purses, bags, etc. because they can be used to choke people).

R, what were your departure and arrival airports?

Why don't we just end air travel altogether and call it a day?

Robes -

Dogs can be trained to detect almost anything you want them to. There are dogs that can detect underground oil. If they are not trained to detect elements in an explosive, then why not start training them now? A dog wouldn't have to detect EVERY ingredient, just one essential one.

I do know that dog's are not 100% accurate, but it's a relatively cheap option and can provide a valuable layer to our security. If I ever wanted to smuggle an item, I would take my chances against a fellow human any day - the canines are just too hard to fool.

Dogs are trained to detect multiple drugs. Schnauzers have been trained to detect cancer cells. I'd trust a dog more than a TSA agent

Another good thing is dogs could double-check whether any passenger has a forbidden substance somewhere on his (or her) body, like in the pockets, which would not have gone through x-ray. That way there's no need for any strip (or cavity ) search of every passenger, which would be unpleasant for all involved, including the TSA agents.

I would also trust a dog above an agent.

There are dogs that let epolepsy know when they are going to have a seizure.
Amazing..
Truly man's best friend.

sorry I meant epoleptics (sp)

Now my wife wants me to buy a used laptop and gut it. Then she could smuggle her eye solution and nasal spray on board.

I bet there's going to be a glut of them at the Unclaimed Baggage store in Alabama soon. They have a website if you are interested in getting a baseline price point.

icithecat

buongiorno has a point.

You all want to pay $6 for your flight and then think you should get upgraded to first class.

I am grateful for the British for catching these guys before the event took place. The people making these rules do it to try and protect us.

No system is failure proof but none of you have the money to buy your own plane either.

Dogs have some amazing abilities for sniffing things out and it is possible that they should have a place in the world of airport security. It is, however, important to realize that training them is very labour intensive and that dogs quickly loose interest and need to rest more than they work so every airport would need a lot of dogs if they were to be the primary detection tool.

Batteries are not that big an issue because there other ways of initiating explosives. The important thing is keeping the explosives off the plane.

In my opinion we must accept there is some element of risk involved with flying because it will never be possible to reduce all of the risk factors to zero.

1. Batteries are not a security issue for the TSA-other things are.

2. All bomb-sniffing dogs that are currently active at major category airports across the nation are trained pursuant to TSA regulations and policy (and before that, FAA) at Lackland AFB, in Texas. After completing a very extensive training period, and passing the various tests, the dogs are shipped out to the local police force, assigned a handler, and then, pursuant to TSA policy, begin their tasks at the major airport to which they are assigned. The criteria and policy by which they are trained, and their work schedules, are not publicly available information.

There is an entire division at TSA that does nothing but handle policy, laws, and regulations pursuant to the K-9 Inspection Team.

One more thing about the TSA dog program: It has a current budget of about 28 million a year.

You have no idea what the TSA does. It is much more than just screening.

Article on TSA training of bomb-sniffing dogs:

www.post-gazette.com/pg/05353/624860.stm

Just to muddy the waters further, a lot of batteries can be made to explode. That's why most types of lithium batteries have been prohibited on aircraft for many years (not because of terrorists, but because they might explode if shorted out). Lithium AA batteries are usually exempt because they have integrated short-circuit protection.

The power held in laptop batteries is considerable. If all of it were to be discharged at once ...

In fact, some laptops do explode or bust into flames if there are battery problems. I know this has happened to Mac and Dell laptops, and probably most others.

Isn't the exploding/fire issue the reason Dell recalled some couple of hundred thousand or so computers today?

Meanwhile I saw a report that air cargo small packages are not checked or even scanned these days even on international flights. Does anyone recall the PanAm explosion over Scotland from a small package sent air freight? Do we only worry about the most recent threats and ignore other equally logical ways terrorists may blow planes out of the sky?

If you mean PA103, that bomb was in a checked (and unaccompanied) suitcase. But your point is well-taken. Air cargo is still vulnerable.

Yes, Dell laptops have caught on fire due to faulty batteries. I just saw that on the news this morning.

I believe SFO is going to start checking the cargo for planes departing SFO soon. I have wondered for ages how "safe" we are flying in that the commercial cargo items have not been exrayed or checked in any manner. Assume it would take to long and be to expensive?

From the bomber's point if view, it's extremely difficult to predict when a bomb will be airborne. It might go out on the next flight or not until midnight - so a simple timer wouldn't work. It should be possible to use an air pressure switch to arm the timer, but the more complex a device gets, the greater the risk of its discovery.