Did the September 11th attacks prevent you from or affect your confidence in traveling by plane?

Question

This question is forming part of my unit 1 portfolio, for my economics and business AS level, looking at the impact of the September 11th attacks on American tourism. I would be very grateful if you could add your opinion to this question, explaining how the attacks affected your confidence to travel by plane. Thankyou very much in advance.

Answer 1

My confidence in the aviation industry grew dramatically because I was able to see the enhancements to security. I must admit though that at LAX I found the security there less than adequate in the baggage interchange area which did worry me a little. That and at San Francisco the baggage scanner picked up my jar of Vegemite as TNT because of the high yeast content.

However as a tourist to the united states in both dec2002 and dec2003, i found that many of the attractions that I wanted to see either had greatly restricted their rules on photography, entrance (ie. Statue of Liberty) or I was treated as a criminal because I was not in possession of a United States government approved form of ID (One place denied me entry because my Australian passport and drivers license was not considered ID on their acceptable list)

I do agree with Geoff M about how (to an outsider) America in general now feels very racist toward non-US citizens, especially now all non us residents have SS printed on their tickets, entitling them to extremely detailed security searches. I was very embarrassed in St Louis when one guard actually stuck his hands down the front of my pants because I had a metal zip. This was done in public, and i must say I was not happy. Lucky for him I wore underwear that day. My sister also had a large woman cup her breasts because of her bra under wire. Not one American citizen that we saw was treated so disrespectfully whilst boarding the plane, and this is one of my biggest reasons for not booking another flight to the USA.

Hope this helps you out.

Answer 2

No, the 9/11 attacks did not change my mind about traveling by plane. My theory is we already have a chosen time to go and it if happens to be when I'm traveling then at least I have died doing something I enjoy. It has created many more hassels for me but has not slowed me down. One thing it has done is make me self-concious when I working on my website http://www.bombasticlife.com where I do 5 Star and Luxury travel reviews. I work on it at the airport on on the plane and always think someone will see the bomb portion of bombastic and freak out and cause me problems. Luckily, that hasn't happened!

Answer 3

In answer to your original question, no, it did not affect my confidence. But you also implied a question about affecting American tourism (I assume tourism to the US rather than American tourists). In that respect, yes, it has affected me. The Yanks are so xenophobic nowadays to the point of racism. Anybody holding a non-US passport on a DOMESTIC flight within the US is now subject to a full search, compared to a standard search for US passport holders.

I used to like the US. Not so much any more. There are plenty of other places in the world to discover.

Answer 4

I do not feel any less confident flying now than before September 11th. It is slightly more of a hassle but considering that it is statistically more dangerous to get in your car and drive on the interstate than it is to fly across an ocean...I would fly anywhere and be a much happier person.

Answer 5

I had a flight booked for Sept 13 to Mexico and made 2 stops getting there through the US. Although security was a little tighter, I still got through with no problems at all. So, I can say that no, 9/11 didn't affect me and my travel at all.

Answer 6

My confidence has diminished, not because I am fearful of a terrorist attack, but because I'm afriad that resources have been diverted away from human resources and technology/mechanics and towards security.

As such, I fear that pilots are being forced to work longer hours (increasing the chance of making a mistake), and that less attention is being paid to mechanical problems.

I have so far been on three flights in my life that have had to make emergency landings due to mechanical problems. We don't hear about all of these in the news because there are rarely fatalities in these sorts of incidents, but they are extremely common.

Answer 7

Oh my god,yes,what a horrible day I will never forget me sitting in front of the T.V.trying to understand what`s going on,at first I was even to shocked to cry but later I couldn`t stop specially when you heard about all those individual destinies and I remember I was very scared what will happened after that I thought this could cause a war or something like that I spend weeks in feeling very insecure..I pray our future may become more peaceful..

Answer 8

It really didn't. I still fly. I figure if that's how i'm supposed to die, then so be it. Can't drive to Hawaii, ya know! The only way it's affected me, and everyone else, is waiting in those lines holding my shoes like a dork.
I did get pulled out of line once for equal opportunity profiling; it was humiliating. These military types take you in a room, go through your stuff and ask lots of questions.

Answer 9

Nope.. I love flying & 9/11 never had an effect on me flying yet. Although I have only flown locally in my country where terrorist attacks are unheard of. I have flown to & from London but never in the states. I guess if I did fly to the states I might be a little concerned.

Answer 10

It will not prevent it but I will feel less confident. Nobody knows..Good precautions have been taken. Of course I don't have the actual data but tourism has been affected as well as business
relations. Sooner or later things could be better. We can't be overconfident.