I have an international flight in two weeks. Ugh. I haven't received a definitive statement on everything I have to do and have to leave behind. My family member sent me a copy of a statement to one of the Amer. embassies saying they have to be at the airport 3 hours beforehand; and that if they are not at the gate one hour beforehand, they will not be allowed to board.
Someone said you can't bring cell phones--do you know if that is true?
What other changes should we be prepared for?
When I finally did get a flight out (yesterday), Charles DeGaulle airport didn't look too different in terms of the number of people there than when I changed planes there 3 weeks earlier, but the police/military presence couldn't be missed -- soldiers in camouflage carrying automatic weapons were omnipresent. We were asked to arrive 4 hours prior to our scheduled departure, and spent the majority of that time in one line or another. It was obvious upon my arrival in Charlotte that my checked luggage had been thoroughly searched, as was, of course, my carry-on bag. I was "patted down" and given a once-over with a hand-held metal detector in addition to going through the usual metal detector gateway.
The Paris to Charlotte flight itself was pretty ordinary; full, of course, which doesn't make for lots of fun on a 9 hour flight in steerage class. Hard to say whether there were guards on board; if so, they were unobtrusive. About the only difference I noted on the flight was that the two meals served were accompanied by the usual stainless steel spoon and fork, but by a plastic knife. A most uneventful, and very somber, flight. No banter from the Captain pointing out landmarks, no laughter from the flight attendants or the passengers. I had speculated to my seatmate that we'd steer a wide path around New York so as not to traumatize the passengers with a view of the altered skyline, but such was not the case. Passengers on the left had a clear view of Manhatten, and I heard them comment on the missing buildings. I, on the right side, was happy with my view of the upper Hudson Valley, and had no desire to look the other way.
Customs and baggage retrival in Charlotte was ordinary; sniffer dogs looking for drugs and/or food in luggage, and a spray disinfectant for shoes of those who had confessed to having been on farms (a thoroughly ineffective measure against hoof and mouth disease, depending as it does on the honesty of the passengers). The Charlotte airport, usually quite busy (it's a major USAirways hub) was like a ghost town. Less than 50% of domestic flights were operating, and it seemed far less than that. Heavy police presence there as well, mostly aimed at unattended cars and unattended baggage.
I was inconvenienced, I was frustrated, and I wanted to get home. All that, of course, was utterly trivial compared to the events which precipitated these measures. I'll gladly bear far more inconvenience, as well as financial damage, if that's the price to be paid for just retribution and a return to normality.
I have tickets to fly to the left coast in November,for the holiday..if I didnt already have the tickets I would not go...
I hate myself for feeling like that ..but I do!