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Security rules still in flux: air safety remains in question five years, as well as one month, later.

Article Excerpt
The fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks dawns today with corporate travel professionals all too aware that the threat and disruption to aviation posed by terrorism has not diminished in half a decade. That danger was underlined once again on Aug. 10, when British police disrupted an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners using liquid explosives.

One month later and travel managers still are assessing the consequences. In the short term, these include confusion for travelers over what may be carried as hand baggage, with different countries (and sometimes even different airports within the same country) applying different restrictions. Longer term, buyers are pondering whether trip volumes might decline as the difficulty of carrying an overnight kit onboard wears down travelers' determination to fly.

Another result of Aug. 10 is that the European Commission has started to consider allowing member states routine access to all passenger name records. Paradoxically, this same development proved highly controversial in Europe when introduced by the United States two years ago.

The most immediate concern for travel managers, however, is advising travelers of permissable carry-ons when traveling overseas. Several countries have followed the U.K. government's lead and banned liquids from being taken through security checks and restricting hand luggage to one item with maximum dimensions of 45 cm x 35 cm x 16 cm. Others have made no changes. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration responded by imposing stricter security measures for air travelers, including bolstered checkpoint screening and a policy that forbids certain liquids and gels, including beverages, from being carried on board. TSA said the measures "will be...

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