Navigation

Travel in the United States since the terrorist attacks of 9/11: How have things changed?

News

Long gone are the days when an airline passenger is able to gostraight to the gate and catch their flight. As you all know,the way we think about travel has been profoundly changed by theevents of Sept. 11 and their aftermath. These shifts have had apractical and psychological impact on all of us. Most of thesechanges have taken place in the airline industry although otherparts of the travel industry and the nation as a whole have beenforced to adjust also. Immediately after Sept. 11, as you know,travel was drastically reduced virtually across the planet. Inthe past year, it has been steadily picking up. However, in mostcases, it has not reached pre-September 11 levels. Domestictravel In the United States has recovered much more quickly thaninternational travel. In fact, domestic travel has been verystrong this summer, with some destinations such as the nationalparks are reporting record breaking numbers of visitors.International travel has been picking up too, but more slowly.Recently, more people are beginning to plan international tripsagain. How has Sept. 11 affected the traveler? Well, many of you are nodoubt familiar with the practical changes that have come aboutafter 9-11. These have especially impacted air travelers.Airport security is much tighter. Access is much more rigorouslyrestricted. Long lines are visible inside terminals andsometimes along the sidewalks outside the airport buildings. Inshort, you have to wait longer and in more lines than you usedto. As a result, whether you are flying domestically orinternationally, it is necessary to arrive at airports earlierthan before, and make sure that all your documents are in order.One of the more drastic changes is that all security screenersat United States airports have been professionally trained.Passenger's carry on items are passed through an X-ray machinewhere they are checked for what in today's terms are considereddangerous items such as knives, corkscrews, etc. Until justrecently, scissors were considered a threatening item. They arenow allowed in carry-on bags as long as they are no more than 4"at blade length. Screeners are now more frequently performingrandom searches of baggage and performing passenger pat downs.100% of all checked baggage is checked for explosives and otherdangerous items. Now all passengers are required to go to theticket counter before check in. Passengers must have some formof government issued ID such as a state drivers' license orpassport. If you do not have ID, you are not getting on anairplane. Most airports allow only ticketed passengers to go tothe departing gate, and you now have to walk quite a stretchbefore your loved ones can greet you upon arrival. Even the airplanes themselves are more secure. After 9/11, whenthe Department of Homeland Security was put into place, theywere given the task of performing vulnerability assessments onover 75 of the United States' major airports and actual airlinesecurity systems. As a result, every US larger passengeraircraft has now been equipped with hardened cockpit doors.Thousands of federal air marshals were


travel,,Flights,,vacation package

assigned to flights inorder to help ensure the safety of passengers, and to guardagainst terrorist acts. We have just recently witnessed anunfortunate event where a person on an aircraft claiming to havea bomb was shot by an air marshal. Make no mistake about it;these security measures are very serious. Psychologically, the changes have been profound. Americans areskittish travelers, and they tend to somewhat indiscriminatelylump together vast portions of the world. After Sept. 11, theyhave tended to avoid travel to any country in the Middle Eastand much of Asia, as well as India and Pakistan. For thetraveler, one of the results of travel in a post-9/11 world isthat you need to be better informed about your destination. Itis a good idea to read up on the places you are planning tovisit, to understand their history, laws, cultures, customs andcurrent conditions. The more you know about your destination,the better prepared you will be to anticipate problems thatcould have been avoided. Changes within the travel insurance industry as well have takenplace as a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks.Currently some travel insurance companies provide coverage forterrorist attacks committed in the United States of America suchas CSA Travel Protection (http://www.csatravelprotection.com).Prior to 9/11, travel insurance only covered terrorist attackscommitted overseas. Along with the travel insurance industry themethods Americans use to plan their trips have changed becauseof 9/11. More than 60% of US vacationers are now using theInternet to plan their vacations either alone or with assistanceof a professional travel agent. Americans had already knownabout travel information and travel business on the Internetprior to September 11th, but many more began to utilize it afterthe attacks. A lot of online travel deals became available fromairline companies and hotels desperate to regain businessdirectly after 9/11. It soon became widely known that greattravel deals were available online. Many comprehensive orall-inclusive packages have become popular due to value-addedoffers that have enticed many Americans to re-evaluate andre-adjust their take on travel. With the proper planning andcontextual awareness, traveling can be enjoyable again Although the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 are in noway seen as something positive, these same horrific events havelead to many improvements to the safety and security of travelwithin the United States. Some of these new security practicesmay seem like an inconvenience but they have been set up toensure the safety and continuity of American and friendlyforeign travelers traumatized by the events of September 11th. About the author: This article was written by Rita R. Powers with support from CSATravel Protection, providers of Travel Insurance and travelassistance services. Unlike other insurance companies, CSAoffers travel protection for you and your domestic partner. Findout more by visiting http://www.csatravelprotection.com. Anyreproductions of this article must provide a link back to CSATravel Protection.

Written by: Rita R. Powers

XML error: mismatched tag at line 20