Brahmama

Of course the Terrorists are spreading Terror which is their goal. The more people that are filled with fear and fright - the more they have reached their goal.

I have no answers to this problem, but I do hope that you are able to make a decision quickly and not anguish over it. I also hope that your decision is to go and that you have a wonderful time on your "once a year" trip without the kids.
Best wishes to you.

FauxSteMarie

Each person has their own level of comfort here. If it were me, I would not cancel, but you cannot have a good trip if your comfort zone is not there.

Please note that anyone traveling in the near term is going to face huge delays at airports, canceled flights, etc. Call beforehand to make certain your flight has not been canceled and get to the airport several hours early.

I hope no one is going to complain about being unable to bring back wine on flights. That is likely to be the case from here on out--and I am surprised that it was not a rule that was propounded beforehand. It does seem fairly obvious to me that it is a good rule.

bookchick

I am going to Italy next month.

I agree with JandaO--if you stay home, they win. They are called "terrorists" because the goal is to evoke terror. Sorry, I have 2 older brothers, went through 12 years of Catholic school, survived (so far) leukemia, and have lost both parents in less than 3 years, and you're going to try to SCARE me? I don't THINK so!

BC

NatureGirl19317

Dear etk401,

Hello! I would like to share a private and personal story with you that I hope will be somewhat poignant and help you make your decision whether to travel. Do you know the song “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong? Thats always been one of my favorites and was on my “must play” list for my wedding in October 2001. To me, that song embodied all the love and goodness offered in the world. After 9/11, however, something changed…I no longer felt that the world was good-I was heartbroken for those who lost family and friends and I was angry and I was scared. I took the song off my list and was very, very distraught over whether to take my honeymoon. Here, I had a trip of a lifetime planned but I was literally absolutely terrified to take it…Id say that I experienced more stress in making the decision whether to travel than I did for the entire year planning the wedding. I ultimately took the trip, accompanied with some strong medication, and Im so, so, so glad I did. I think about how Id feel today if I had allowed myself to be scared out of taking my honeymoon trip. The posters on here are right: we must go on. By the way, my mother had “What A Wonderful World” played at my wedding anyway. Her holding me during that song while listening to the words renewed my faith in the love and goodness in the world, even if only a little…

Now, if I can stop crying:

Take your trip, enjoy your trip, and then come home and tell us all about it!

Very Sincerely,

Carrie

domino22314

Just be sure you check with your air carrier about what is allowed to be carried on. I just read that in the UK it is so restrictive that all you can take is a wallet, passport, medicine, sanitary supplies and they all have to be in a plastic bag! No books allowed, no purse. Hard to travel without a book! I heard that international travel from the US doesn't allow a carry on but I have not yet heard the restrictions.

etk401

Thank You all for your feedback!Plan a nice chat with DH tonight to have his thoughts on this matter.I am surprised that I am even considering a change of plans at this time, I just do not want to ruin a wonderful trip with anxiety. Thank you all again, what a shame we are at this point in life so precious as it is.

dsquared

I think lifes2short put it perfectly: "It's your trip, your family, your gut instincts. I would love to know that you'll be inspired by all our encouraging words, but ultimately, the 2 of you must follow your own hearts."

I flew right after 9/11. Was I apprehensive when I boarded the plane? Absolutely. Did I have a great time anyway? Absolutely. It was the right decision for me. Make whatever decision you feel is going to be right for you.

tom42

I certainly wouldn't base a decision on whether or not the terrorists would "win," whatever that means. Like a couple of others said, it is your trip, your time, your money and your mental health. If you would be so anxious that you wouldn't be able to enjoy your trip, then maybe you shouldn't go. There is no weakness in deciding to stay closer to home this time around.

That being said - have you really sat down and thought about why you are so anxious - what do you fear, what do you think might happen? Compare those fears to reality - millions of people fly everyday without incident - how many people over the years died or were injured on a plane due to a terrorist attack? It is a miniscule number (and I do not mean to minimize the tragedies that have happened) relative to the number of people who fly. If you really think about the improbability of something like that happening to you, it may help to make you less anxious.

francophile03

Please do not cancel your trip! We did not fly right after 9/11 but close enough (Dec. '01) and it was allright.

FauxSteMarie

You must make a decision that feels right for you. If you feel too anxious right now, flying might not be the best for you and you should reschedule. On the other hand, if you decide you feel comfortable flying with all the security in place, then go ahead with your vacation plans.

We have had these discussions before every time there is a terrorist incident (or, in this case, when a plot is foiled). Talking about terrorists "winning" if people don't take vacations is nonsense. The terrorists do not win or lose if people do not go on vacation.

I know after 911 I was so shell shocked I thought I would never fly again. Then time passed and, of course, I did.

Again, this is not a decision you can make by polling people who happen to post on a thread such as this one.

karens

I think those of us here are travelers who LOVE to travel and you getting our perspective.

I flew alone to Rome last year and I had so many people (who don't travel like we do), say things like, "I could never leave my family and go overseas", etc.

I imagine if you polled the people you work with or your neighbors (who perhaps dont' have the same interests as we all do here), you'd get people telling you stuff like, "Well, *I* could never go", or "What, do you mean your STILL going"?

My point is that you have to do what's comfortable for you. I worry about EVERYTHING (if you see some of my current threads, you will see what I mean, someone actually told me to Chill Out, lol), sometimes intensely before I leave on certain vacations.

Nothing I worried about ever came to be.

vivi

Personally, I would go. But that is me. I flew overseas 2 days after the planes were back in the air after 9/11 and I was not stressed. (Honest to god, that was the most well behaved group of passengers I have ever witnessed, LOL.) BUT if you think anxiety about being away from your 4 kids will ruin your trip then maybe this isn't the right time to go.

Yesterday I dropped my best friend (who is an anxious traveler) at LAX for her week in the UK to visit her daughter who is in college there, she just e-mailed me and is feeling panicky about her return flight next week. Tomorrow I am dropping friends at LAX for their trip to the UK where they will be leaving their son for a semester abroad. They are slightly anxious but are going ahead with their plans.

For me, the worst part is the chaos at the airport check-in, not the thought of terrorists.

ParrotMom

DONT LET THE TERRORISTS WIN!! Go and enjoy..yo will feel safer out of the country

LoveItaly

Does anyone remember back when hijackers were hijacking planes that were flying to Florida. The planess were hijacked to Cuba or whereever? Everytime we had a flight to Florida I swear a couple of days before our scheduled flight there was a highjacked plane.

And 1978. We had a trip planned for Italy. My husband, my daughter and I. The RedBrigades kidnapped the PM of Italy. They were kidnapping and shooting people in the kneecaps. Especially in Milan. We were going to Milan. "Everyone" thought we were crazy to go to Italy..even my Italian born and raised SIL still says "oh, that was such a scary time in Italy, it was not a good time to visit Italy". We did have some "interesting" situations but we sure had two beautiful months.

Was it in countries in Africa in 1998..two different US embassies were bombed? And threats to Americans all over the world. I flew out the next day.

If we are going to wait until the world is "safe" before we travel..we are never ever again going to travel.

Each of us has to figure our own level of comfort IMO..there is no
one else that can make that decision for us.

I could give more stories, but how boring, lol. etk401, outside of some confusion and long lines at the airport I personally wouldn't worry about flying to Rome this Sunday. But if you and your husband are NOT going to be relaxed and happy..than perhaps not taking this trip would be a good decision. But than the question would be "when would be a good time to take the trip". Best wishes to you regarding your decision.

Madison

ETK401 - I agree with everyone else, go!! The security will be extremely tight. I know this because I was in Paris during 9/11 and the security at Charles deGualle was extremely tight. 5 security checks. Have a wonderful time.

wtggirl

I think a reality check is in order here. You are no less safe today, than you were a week ago before you knew about this terrorist plot, in fact you are probably safer.

The weeks following 9/11, ditto. Noone was in more danger then than the weeks preceding the disaster. My husband was actually enroute to return home from CA the morning of 9/11 and was stuck there for several days. But, he boarded the first flight he could to get home, without a moment's thought about safety.

Your perception of safety is really affected more than you realize by the media, but keep in mind this in not necessarily reality of how safe you are today versus tomorrow.

YOur real deciding factor in traveling should be how much of a pain it becomes with the security measures they put into place. There are many times I will drive now, for example, for a 6 hour drive due to the long checkin requirements, etc. versus pre 9/11. If you are the type of person that can't stand long lines and possible delays and cancellations, then you should consider canceling anytime close to major incident.

If it is safety you are worried about- if you were willing to travel last week, then you should be willing to travel now !

etk401

Thank You All for your responses. We did have to postpone our trip to Italy. We did not have the time on the back end to take a chance with prolonged delays or cancelations. our 2 youngest children are due home from sleepaway camp the morning after our return, with no family members available as the back up. We have decided instead to drive to lake placid for a getaway. italy will have to wait for a while, it gives us something to look forward to. Regards and safe travels

Girlspytravel

etk401-your fears about flying are in no way groundless, particularly with 4 kids-it's funny, I don't know how certain posters here can state with such authority that "nothing is going to happen to you"- that's a little silly, and even if there were no uncovered plot to bomb aircraft, that obviously STILL wouldn't be a true statement!

Going to Italy right now does not pose a security risk -Italian aviation security is very professional, (note, there have been NO al-Qaeda attacks in Italy- knock on wood-there have been a number of potential terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda that the Italians have disrupted, however). -so you shouldn't be overly concerned about the safety aspect of flying there (London is a wholly different matter).

However, you should listen to your instincts: if the idea of flying internationally makes you feel uncomfortable and more importantly, uncertain and anxious- then there's absolutely no reason why you should fly. Italy will still be there if and when you decide to take that trip again, and it is perfectly understandable to postpone or cancel a trip until your comfort level is such that you can go with a minimum of worry about your personal safety.

We are in a very uncertain situation right now-the criminal investigation is ongoing, this plot was aimed at Americans and American institutions, and not all the conspirators and more importantly, the masterminds, have been apprehended. In other words, we don't know what we don't know.

It is understandable then, how many people are unwilling to put themselves further at risk by flying to
Europe in this time period. Peace of mind and personal safety are far more important in a vacation context than making some hollow "statement" about getting on an airplane and flying somewhere, which says absolutely nothing about anything at all, despite what is said to the contrary.

The terrorists, it should be pointed out, have already gained a considerable "victory" simply by disrupting aviation operations, the markets, and people's lives all over the world, quite apart from anyone wanting to make some vacuously defiant statement about "not letting the terrorists win." They already HAVE, in every way that counts, so why give the perpetrators more of a sense of victory by flying during this time period? Isn't that playing right into their objectives?

Better to stay at home and go about your life as usual, with NO anxiety or fear about your personal safety from terrorist attack, as that situation confounds terrorists' objectives of creating havoc far more than getting on an airplane ever would-since it denies them the publicity they need to survive.