when the water bottle became a deadly threat

Then, for fear of forgetting the passport or arriving late at the airport, it was necessary to add the endless list of requirements that airlines have started to demand. List to which another new set of security measures has been added when boarding: take off the belt, take off shoes, pack liquids in plastic bottles that do not exceed the size of a well, put these bottles in a transparent bag, put the computer in one basket, the jacket in another, the purse in another, empty the pockets.

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And if it is possible to cross the road without sounding the alarm or arousing the resentment of the airport police, repeat the operation in reverse: put on the belt, the shoes, the bottles, the bag with the bottles. , the computer, the keys, the coins, the cellphones, the jacket, and hurry the line accumulates behind and the plane does not wait.

The attack the twin towers, in the heart of Manhattan, not only led to one of the biggest crises ever faced by the commercial aviation industry, only overtaken by the one who is currently causing the coronavirus pandemic, but has radically changed security measures on planes and airports.

“In 24 hours they changed all the measures, it was the third world war”recalled the commander and aviation advisor Carlos Rinzzelli.

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The world was still not amazed when all airlines had to protect the pilot’s cabin door and place a peephole to know who was knocking on the other side. Only the captain and the cabin manager know the access code.

Besides, U.S. companies ordered an undercover police officer to enter the passage, a custom which, though random, remains in effect.

Until the September 11 attacks, only a few suitcases were x-rayed. Corn Since then, all baggage, hand baggage and baggage sent to the warehouse have been scanned. And although they were subsequently fired for violating privacy, several airports installed body scanners that practically left the traveler naked.

The provision, later adopted around the world, was part of the strict measures implemented by the government of President George W. Bush which, two months after the attack, promoted the creation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a federal airport force of inspectors who replaced the security who at the time was in charge of private airline companies.

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Rinzzelli explained how the way travelers are viewed has also changed: “A disruptive passenger today is considered unlawful interference that puts flight safety at risk.”

In other words, what was considered an annoying passenger today is seen as a threat. The same goes for a lost suitcase.

Airports were filled with signs warning that if you find a bag without an owner, you should immediately call the police and not touch it for the world.

To take off your shoes there may be a bomb

At December 2001, another attempted attack targeted the shoess. Richard Reid, a Briton who claimed to be a member of Al Qaeda, was discovered with explosives in his boots while flying from Paris to Miami. Since then, it is mandatory to take off your shoes at many airports.

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Santiago García Rúa was working in institutional relations for Aerolineas Argentinas when the attacks took place. He recalled that other measures that had been taken at the beginning were the ban on the use of cutlery and metal glasses.

“Even in first class they were not allowed, everyone used plastic,” he said, adding that at that time it was also mandatory to carry the computer sufficiently loaded to be able to use it. light up before airport security and show what was there. was really a notebook and not a camouflaged bomb.

“People didn’t take it the wrong way, they got used to it, what happened was so shocking that somehow we all knew these measures had to protect us all,” García Rúa said.

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Little by little, airports and travelers have changed their appearance. Practicality has killed elegance, sweatpants have replaced the uncomfortable belted suit, and rubber clogs and slip-ons have taken over.. In the airport shops, along with the padlocks, purse or neck pillow, the kit of small bottles with transparent cases began to be sold.

The security also left no room for jokes.

On February 12, 2019, Nathalie Dorothy Tremblay, a 53-year-old Canadian, was detained for 24 hours and fined five dollars. Had the bad idea to tell the hostess she had a bomb in her carry-on and there was no point in swearing it was just a joke.