Security in the Skies

While every headline in Europe talks about the disastrous winter, American headlines have tended to reference recent episodes of trouble in the skies or trouble at airports.

I watched with astonishment this week as the story of how explosives ended up on a plane to Dublin unravelled. But more about that later. Following the Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Detroit bound plane,Americans are clearly rattled and panic stations are engaged again. Stories of planes turning back due to 'disruptive passengers' keep surfacing and notably, most of these 'disruptive' passengers are just ones who refuse to come out of the bathroom (probably for a good natural reason!).

But the story of the week here centered on a weekend security breach at Newark airport, in New Jersey. It's hard to tell who exactly should be scolded in this story.. the guy who went into an area he knew he shouldn't or the security guard who left his post and facilitated the man in doing so. Here's the video so you can see for yourself what happened-



It wasn't spotted on the Port Authority's airport camera's at the time, but Continental Airlines camera's did pick it up. Clearly someone in a control room saw it on a camera because within minutes Newark airport was shut down as every cop in the tri-state area was dragged in to find this man. Everyone who was sitting on a plane waiting to pull away from the gate and everyone who was air side was sent back outside security and told to go through it all again. News channels here were suggesting 10,000 people were affected by that move, and television pictures of thousands queuing seemed to suggest that was true.

News came Friday night that after days of searching for the person in the video footage, a man named Haison Jiang, 28, has been arrested and now faces a charge of defiant trespass. It's really a pretty harmless incident, and there's no question of any malicious intent on Jiang's part. But one thing is for certain; it's pretty embarrassing to have someone stroll air-side so easily when the US government is arguing 24/7 that full body scanners are essential. It really makes me think that there's no need for all this equipment if people working in airports were really watching people's behaviour.

Given the reaction to this incident in the US the Slovakian government should thank their luck that the misplaced explosives ended up on a flight to Dublin and not New York....

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Happiness in a Cup in NYC

Anyone who knows me will know how much I enjoy an Insomnia hot chocolate. The drink is made with Lily O Brien chocolate so it truly is scrumptious. Wandering around mid-town Manhattan yesterday I was delighted to spot a Lily O'Briens cafe right by Bryant Park on 42nd Street. And what do they serve there? You guessed it! A version of the amazing Lily's hot chocolate served at Insomnia. YUMMY. Made my day to get one of those bad boys, and although not quite as good as the Insomnia one, it's probably the best hot chocolate in NYC. It's steep at $6 per cup but that includes a Lily's chocolate!

Depression Linked to Sleep?

I've just read an interesting article on BBC on the links between depression and amount of sleep.

In a study of 15,500 teens between the ages of 12-18 years, those who got less than five hours sleep per night were 71% more likely to suffer from depression.Of the 15,500 studied, those who went to bed after midnight were 24% more likely to have depression than those who went before 10pm.

Worse still, those who had less than five hours sleep a night were thought to have a 48% higher risk of suicidal thoughts compared with those who had eight hours of sleep.

The study published in the Sleep journal, was conducted by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York and looked at data collected in the 1990s.

Chaos in the North American skies

North American airports once again possess the tension filled atmosphere only felt before in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Long security lines and cancelled flights greeted holidaymakers at airports around North America today. Traditionally a day for post Christmas getaways and flights back to reality, today was not a good day to be an airline passenger.

Security has increased dramatically, fueled by the Christmas Day incident on board a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Detroit in which a man tried to detonate an explosive device. Security officials appeared to be unsure exactly what rules are now in place, suggesting at one point that no wheelie suitcase were permitted, leaving to a mass check-in of cabin sized suitcases. The new rules so far apply mainly to flights bound for the US. Despite the pressures on staff and passengers, everyone appeared to be in good spirits and willing to co-operate.

The scene in Terminal 1 at Pearson Airport in Toronto was reminiscent of this chaos. Flying to the US means that technically you enter the US in Toronto airport, which brings a host of security issues. Every passenger was patted down, hair inspected, laptops checked for explosives traces on the spot, shoes and coats off, feet checked, one carry-on bag only.... etc. While I waited a long time to make my connection, I spoke to other people who, beginning their journey in Toronto, had spent up to 6 hours checking in and doing security. As a result almost every flight on the board was either delayed or cancelled.

Going on standby for a later flight is further complicated by the requirement to exit the air side area, collect baggage and do the security procedure again.

Flying is certainly not going to be an enjoyable experience for the foreseeable future.

Working Hard to Stay Poor?

Last summer I produced a documentary entitled Working Hard to Stay Poor. It charts the success and failures of our social welfare system in terms of incentives to work, poverty traps and helping those who need it.

The documentary aired on Sunday night on Newstalk and will be repeated this Sunday night at 9pm also.

The podcast is available here



(pic from rte.ie)

Ryanair passenger + non allocated seating = lack of common sense

Ryanair seems to provide me with endless blogging opportunities. But it's neither madman CEO Micheal O'Leary nor the airline itself that's the topic here; rather Ryanair's passengers. Flying back from Spain last weekend I was struck, yet again, at the complete lack of rational behaviour of people who fly Ryanair. Or rather people when they fly Ryanair. The behaviour that just wouldn't be acceptable on Aer Lingus seems par for the course on Ryanair! But it happens before you even get on the plane.

So after arriving 45 minutes before boarding time to ensure three seats together, we queued nicely behind 25 or so people at the gate. Over the next thirty minutes, the queue grew, but not behind us as one would hope. No no, the majority of the other passengers felt queuing from the side would be more appropriate. So by the time the plane boarded (late I might add) a nice T shaped queue had developed. Some overly nice people towards the front of the queue decided to 'be nice' and allow these people go ahead. RESULT: the first 10-30 people in the queue were last to board. And Ryanair staff were not even remotely bothered by it.

Having watched the behaviour of passengers on Ryanair over recent years it seems clear to me that people do whatever they like on the pretense of 'getting a seat', forgetting that this is not a bus, and everyone does in fact have a seat!

Ryanair still insist that non allocated seating is the fastest way to board a plane, a stance which I question, given the chaos that reigns at the gate and on board.

Now I may be a cynic, but could it be that Ryanair loves this chaos as it may prompt you to buy priority boarding next time???

Happy rail times

Have taken a few trips with Irish Rail down the country recently I must confess that I'm very impressed with the whole affair. The €10 fares are an absolute steal when compared with the regular (over-priced) fares, but it seems to me that not many people are in fact taking advantage of the cheap fares available.... This observation is based on the fact that online booking gives you a seat allocation which is marked by a name tag on board the train. And I didn't see THAT many of those name tags to suggest people are getting the knockdown fares.

(I've been scolded by my friends for asking a little old lady to move out of my pre-booked seat, but I did in fact want my forward facing window seat. So did she evidently...)

The newer trains are so comfortable, with good snack and bathroom facilities. Certainly when cheap fares are on offer, I don't think many people would choose sitting in the car on a motorway for hours if they could sit, relax and enjoy the passing countryside on the train. The trains I have taken left exactly on time, and dare I say even arrived a few minutes early one time.

It seems Iarnrod Eireann are getting the hang of it. If we could extend these cheaper fares to most daily services (ie also peak travel) it would seem more plausible that we could encourage people on to public transport a bit more. After all, the Luas runs a highly efficient profit making system so why can't we do it for all other systems?