I am going on my first trip to europe, but with the recent grounded flights and terrorism events, i am kind of freaked out to fly. Am i overreacting? Should i postpone my trip? I am suppose to fly out of philly on jan 8.

If I were you I would not postpone my trip. Especially if it's to Europe. You have to be positive. I will be traveling day after Xmas and also next Feb. and although the news headlines have crossed my mind, I try to think about the trips themselves. If I were to postpone all my trips due to terrorist threats then I'd never let myself go anywhere. I'd be missing the opportunity to visit Paris and other parts of Europe. It's the same as if you think that everytime you go out driving you'll get into an accident; it can happen but it's a slim chance.

If it were me I would not cancel/alter my plans. But then I flew to the UK on the very first Virgin Atlantic flight out of SFO after 9/11.

Only you know how comfortable you are w/ the security alerts, etc. I'd guess most folks on Fodors would take the trip - but that might not be the best choice for you. Only you can decide if the situation would make you so uncomfortable you would not be able to relax and enjoy your trip -

Not trying to scare you - as I said I'd probably not change a thing - but you have to decide for yourself . . . . .

Hi illusion321,

Please go! Life is much too short, and as I often say, a bus could run me over in a crosswalk tomorrow, so why not see and do the things that I love. Sure, I think about all the things in the news, but the lure of duck confit, champagne, and those twinkly lights on the Eiffel Tower are just to strong to resist.

Go. Enjoy! And don't forget to post a trip reprt when you get back!

Obviously, the terror threats/alerts are being timed with the holidays. By Jan 8th, this will all be over, and you won't even remember there was an alert out. Just go, enjoy, and don't cave into these idiots who are trying to bring us down. Think of the extra airport security as an added plus to going in early January... (plus...Philly is probably really low on the list of places to be concerned about! )

Dear Illusion,

You are more likely to be hurt in a traffic accident on your way to the airport than on a plane.

Go, and have a good time.

A year from now you will look back and wonder why you were so concerned. Go! Have a great time! Just get into and out of Philly safely...

GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.You would be surprise
how safe you'll feel in Europe. They
are so much used to dealing with terro-
rist and precaution are always in full
force and you don't even noticed. Also
we have to get used to these kind of
holidays threats, because panic is what
they feed on.
I would defenectly go and have a great time, don't forget you can die by falling down in your bathtub, life is
only one and we all have our destiny
writing, so live it. bye, let us know
how it go!!!

Other than in European airports I rather doubt you are going to notice a lot of "precautions in place" and I also doubt that the Europeans are any better at dealing with terrorism than anyone else. They've certainly suffered more attacks than we have so what does that tell you about their level of prevention "preparation"???

But all of that is totally beside the point...you shouldn't be concerned once you arrive and to not go is exactly what terrorists WANT you to do.

We hear a lot these days about the latest "threat" which unidentified "officials" quoted in newspapers are unwilling to elaborate upon but continue to say that "lives are at stake." Flights are cancelled from Paris to LAX. The list goes on and on. Rise above it, get on the plane and travel. You'll be happy you did so.

Go, have a wonderful time. Don't cheat yourself out of this one. Like Ira says, more chance of getting into a car accident at home. If you postpone you may never go.

We simply cannot let people who trade in fear and violence get the better of us...then they will have succeeded.

Let me add my voice to the, "Go" chorus.
We went to Italy right after 9/11 and had a wonderful time.
There has never been a guarantee of safety anywhere, ever in history. Terrorism is very unpredictable. Even if you stay hidden in your house for years you would still not be completely safe. Fear breeds only fear.

So? How many terrorists have been found?
So far none. Not one of the 7 passengers detained and interrogated was known to the French to be part of a terrorist group.

Are US officials paranoid? Or just what is going on? All we hear is "creditable intelligence" caused the grounding, and then no one is caught or arrested. If the information/intelligence was all that creditable, why was nothing found?

Like some of the passengers, how about telling us something that makes sense?

Like what is being done about mad cow disease as well?

The US clamped down hard on Canadian beef last summer. Now the shoe is pinching the other foot.

Intelligent travelers will give bob brown's comments the weight they deserve, which is to say, none.

Of course all of us are nervous as we board planes and travel. The important things to remember are that the chances are slim that the flight you are own will be hijacked, and, in the wake of the atrocities committed by the vile Ilamamists on 9/11, we, the passengers, are now better prepared to deal with thoser situations.

Actually I think I understand Bob's frustration. I don't think it helps in most instances when government agencies post general warnings to the public at large. It's kind of like telling people in, oh, Seattle, Washington that a snowstorm is expected in Philadelphia, Pa simply because the two cities are both in the US.

Illusion, think of it as a weather warning. You wouldn't automatically cancel a trip scheduled for winter because you've heard a blizzard warning is out for, say, the northeast. You'd wait until you had more specific information, ,and then you'd plan specific responses accordingly (give more time to get to the airport, or reschedule your flight, or whatever.)

Whatever comes your way, you'll handle it. Enjoy your trip.

sue, uh, yeah, whatever.

Like I said, I witnissed the real deal. That's not to say others' postings aren't relevant, but in fact many aren't.

espcialy complete lies like bob's.

I'll offer an alternative viewpoint (which I do from time to time) - - it doesn't mean that I disagree with what anyone has already said about urging you not to cancel your plans.

I would start with WHY are you going on your first trip to Europe during the coldest part of the winter? I don't know where to find any statistics, but I am guessing that less than 3-4% of American travelers (who travel to Europe in a given year) undertake a trip in January.

If your reasons were very good ones (family connections, a particular event, whatever), then I would not change your plans.

If you chose January simply because the price (specifically air fare) seemed like a very good deal to you - - well, it is possible that you COULD take advantage of the recent increase to secruity code "orange" and the cancellation of some flights - - to ask the airline what options they will offer you to re-schedule your trip when not only the weather is better, but also when you feel better about the terrorism "threat".

I agree with all the others. If your reasons for ging in January were good ones, then by all means go ahead. But if you feel comfortable re-scheduling to later in the year - - well, you might just luck out, and be able to do that at no penalty costs.

Best wishes,

Rex

You sound like a coward and by this point in life there is no way you will become courageous with the input of these strangers offering advice. Therefore, I would cancel my trip, crawl into a comfortable chair and watch CNN, which will feed all your fears till your heart is content.

Go. If there IS a credible threat, well, I guess we've seen evidence that those flights will be grounded. And if there isn't any particular "chatter" with regard to the airline you're taking, then flying on January 8 is going to be the same as flying on October 20.
I flew to Morocco six weeks after 9/11 and had the time of my life - I'll grant you that standing in line at the Marseilles airport with lots of Arab men gave me momentary pause, but you know, that's just what they were, Arab men. And women and children. None of whom had any intention to do harm - they just wanted to fly home to Morocco.I leave it to the CIA and Homeland Security, for what they're worth, to figure out when passengers of whatever nationality mean me harm.

If this is your first trip to Europe, I guess I can understand your concern, but take it from someone who flies to and from Europe several times a year - there is never a time when it's safer or not. And when we DO have information that leads us to believe air travel is not safe - like in the past few days with the Air France flights - we SEEM to be taking appropriate measures to deal with it.
You're FAR safer on an airplane than in a car on the highway. And I say this as someone who gets completely freaked at the slightest turbulence. Pack those pags and GO!

Yawn boring

What makes you think a snowstorm is so benign? What makes you think the victims of weather-related incidents are any the less dead or injured, simply because many, many more people have died in weather-related accidents than terrorist incidents? So why does my response suggest to you that I was trivializing the situation?

And what, oh what, does your witnessing a specific incident have to do with anything? (And by the way, what in blazes is a Ilamamist?)

My point is warnings need to be effective, which requires that they reveal information about specific places, at specific times. Whereas a general warning about terrorism when a trip could involve any one of thousands of flights per day, not to mention any one of millions of hotels world-wide, isn't very helpful as information. (You need to know where your enemy is before you start taking action. "Somewhere in the United States" isn't gonna help much.)

Similarly, a very broad and general response, such as cancelling an entire trip, isn't effective either.

Wow, Yawn_boring is back. I guess he got tired of mugging the handicapped and stealing christmas presents from orphans.