why you should stop travelling by air

this has been coffee machine conversation in the past week when carrying a bottle of water suddenly became a security risk. now, i usually support any measure that the airport authorities take to ensure safety. some of them might be knee-jerk, but i think they have a tough task and we the travellers should support them in carrying it out. remember, they have to get it right every time!

now, for geographies well connected by road, rail or internet, these additional security measures have other repercussions. for example, if a businessman not allowed to carry his laptop with him loses precious time just lazing in airport lounges. does he have an incentive to travel by road or simply not travel at all (teleconference?). what then is the impact on all the white elephant airports around the world? what abt airlines? this is the one bad news that airlines did not wish to hear, i am sure.

this Bloomberg article captures it well. i am suspicious abt the environmental impact argument, but this is otherwise a good read.