Air Travel Takes A Nosedive
November 12, 2009 
6 Comments
Apparently planes used to be romantic. It’s not that I don’t trust people who flew in the ’50s and ’60s, but given the modern day flying experience, that’s difficult to imagine.
Cramming into a seat that doesn’t fit, waiting in impossibly long lines and constantly having to label, empty, repack your bags, throw out your dangerous possessions, pushing back when the person ahead of you takes full advantage of the “freedom” that comes with a chair that moves back, climbing into a cell to use a bathroom—there’s just no way that could be anything but hell.
Having just flown across the country and back, I am, unfortunately, refreshed on just what the airline industry has become—much, much more miserable than ever before. On the trip I had the pleasure of seeing a woman, after being forced to wait in a security line that literally wound around the entire terminal and out to the traffic infested drop off area, told that, no she could not get on the plane unless she disposed of her small container of liquid. Or she could go to the very back of the line, which was no longer in our line of vision, drop the containers in a plastic bag, and go through security again. She almost cried, began to tear up, to tell security that she needed the bottles for her job, that she would miss her plane if she got to the back of the line. She was on the same flight as me, the one that boarded in less than ten minutes—I remembered her from the plane ride in, where she sat in front of me and every time I had to get up, I was obligated to jostle her entire seat, remembered her head hitting into the seat and her body hitting her seatmate, a kind of chain reaction. I also clearly remember her not being a terrorist. But that could have just been me.
When I had finally retied my shoes, and began to run to the gate, partly to escape the overpowering stench of hundreds of strangers feet, partly because I was going to miss my plane (as was every other person who had been subjected to the hour and a half wait to get hassled in security) she was calling her boss, crying, while the attendant explained in a monotone voice that she did not, in any way, shape or form, care what was happening to the woman—she must have seen thousands of the same sob-stories in her relentless search for bombs and weapons. The rest of us boarded the plane, thankful that we had made it, that we were allowed to breath in the familiar smell of vomit and fight for overhead compartment space, rejoicing that we could finally squeeze into our miniscule assigned seats. The woman with the liquids did not show up.
And thank god she didn’t, right? Imagine the danger the entire flight would have been in if she had brought her small containers on the flight—without plastic baggies. Another successful prevention of a terrorist attack by homeland security!
An airplane takes off from the busy LAX airport in Los Angeles, California
Of course I haven’t forgotten 9/11; no one in an airport can, not with the constant warnings of suspicious activity and the taboo of words like “bomb”, even “knife”. And I’m not denying the event’s tragedy. No one in America can. But people seem to overlook the fact that they are in more danger by getting into their car everyday than by stepping onto a plane. Terrorists may be lethal, but so are drunk drivers. Swimming in a rainstorm is far more likely to be fatal than flying on a commercial jet.
Yet the government, the airlines, and the fliers, continue to insist that there’s a possibility that everyday people have bombs in their shoes, explosives in their water bottles, guns and knives hidden under their clothes—and if that person looks Muslim, it’s an even greater threat to our lives! Thus, we are forced to wait in hours of lines and throw out our perfume and nail-clippers, only to be stacked into a pressurized, hot, cubicle in order to fit the maximum amount of passengers in, in order to pay for the ever-increasing price of gas (which is conveniently located in the very place that all the “terrorists” are). They’ve even gotten rid of the free meals on flights more than three hours long.
Maybe flying used to be an adventure, an event worth getting dressed up for, but now it’s a grueling measure of human tolerance for discomfort. The only mode of travel flying now resembles is steerage on the bottom of a ship. It’s no longer about the journey; its about forcing passengers to pay as much money as they can, about rigorously subjecting them to all types of horrendous security tests, about packing in as many people as legally and scientifically possible in a small space and giving them nothing extra.
Its not the Titanic steerage, there’s no dancing and celebrating after hours—it’s the real, gritty Ellis Island kind. And like those immigrants, I can’t wait to just get there.
Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tylerdurden/ / CC BY 2.0
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emrank/ / CC BY 2.0
http://www.flickr.com/photos/caribb/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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smh this article is SO good. I kind of sensationlised air travel in mine, but this is…I’m at a loss for words.
And the Ellis Island parallel…so true nowadays.
There is such a disconnect between airline staff and their prospective passengers.
Perhaps my sensationalisation has to do with the fact that I travelled as a (UM) unaccompanied minor overseas. I was treated really well; but then again I was a kid.
This reminds me of when my brother got stopped because he had a Sherlock Holmes mug in his suitcase. It is GREAT when people are overly concerned about planes but they step into their car every day and drive to work. At least people are rational.
Awesome job Sarah.
Also, it would be nice if the airport employees cared about the travelers, but why should they? Other than personal morals, which vary from person to person, what incentive do they have to move lines quickly or to help customers? This is not a criticism specific to the article. I pose this question to anyone and everyone.
The terrorism issue is really one of excitement. Terrorism is certainly a threat, but as you say, you’re more likely to die for stepping into a car than boarding an airplane.
It’s a media issue. I’ll borrow the example of guns and swimming pools from the book Freakonomics. More kids are killed each year from drowning in swimming pools than from gun-related accidents. Yet if a parent learns that another parent owns a gun, he or she will likely forbid their child from entering the house with the gun. There are plenty of responsible people with guns and irresponsible people with swimming pools, so the issue really comes down to how exciting each thing is. A child drowning won’t make headlines, but a child who shoots himself in the face while playing with a gun will surely be the lead on the six o’clock news. Guns are gruesome and associated with violence, whereas swimming pools are associated with fun.
Terrorism, while like guns a serious threat, carries a disproportionate level of fear. It is more likely that a plane would go down because of a mechanical issue missed by a lazy inspector. But terrorism frightens people, since it is something they perceive to be within their control. So, just like with the guns, Americans are paranoid about terrorists even though it is irrational to be so concerned.
wow this is really good. I thought your point of view was incredibly intriguing and although this topic has been written on time and time again, you were able to make in interesting by adding your own personal spin on it. Once again this article was really really good and probably the best this site has put out