The London Times On Line reported further on the issue of all your valuables being shoved into the hold of the airliner in “Insurers refuse to cover iPods and phones in airline luggage”.
At first insurance companies promised great cooperation. That stopped quickly enough in Britain. Can the US be far behind? Is your insurance carrier your favorite partner?
According to The Times
Companies have decided to take a hard line, fearing that some travellers will try to exploit policies
MILLIONS of British air passengers were told last night that they will be travelling without insurance cover for valuable items such as jewellery, laptops, mobile phones and MP3 players that must now be packed in the aircraft hold.
There is also a fine article in The Times by Michael Clarke, Professor of Defence Studies at King’s College London on “…Why Jihadis Just Love To Fly”.
“Aircraft”, he writes, “…are a symbol of modernity and look vulnerable — the ideal target in a holy war.”
He goes on to say,
Commercial aircraft represent globalism and high technology — they shrink the world and threaten cultural conservatism. The Boeing 747 was the last of the “great machines” that characterised the 20th century: it opened up air travel to the mass market. And it was so very American; big, brash and useful. But aircraft also appear vulnerable. In truth, civil aircraft are a lot more robust than people think, but the aviation industry is selling safety almost as much as it is selling transport and passengers need constant reassurance that aircraft are operating well within their technical limits.
And prognosticates
Airlines, however, will continue to be attractive targets for terrorists and the vulnerability and glamour of any machine travelling at 600mph at 30,000ft, will not diminish, whatever measures are taken at airports. The most effective way to deal with terrorism is still intelligence-led policing, and if yesterday’s operation is as significant as the security services indicate, they will have struck a good old-fashioned blow against a bad new fashionable terror technique.
Well worth the read. The subject is far more complex and will affect more people than I originally thought.
