Christmas Day Botched Terror Attack

As if holiday travel isn't a hassle enough; air travel turned into a real nightmare for hundreds of passengers aboard a Northwest Airliner on Christmas day. It is being alleged that, Umar Faruk Abdulutallab, a 23 year old Nigerian man, attempted to blow up a Northwest passenger airliner traveling from Amsterdam to Detroit. The accused bomber sewed 80 grams of explosive material into his underwear and attempted to detonate the bomb during the flights’ descent into Detroit. His attempt to detonate the bomb failed and he succeeded in setting himself on fire instead. He was ultimately subdued but this incident sheds a big spotlight on the current state of airport security measures and international communications. Since this incident, the U.S. government instituted tighter security measures for all airlines traveling inbound to the USA. New measures include extra pat downs before boarding, not getting up during the last hour of the flight and hand searches of carry-on luggage. Some Airlines have even told their crew to stop identifying landmarks during the flight route. Security measures will look different at every airport so travelers are being asked to arrive early and to cooperate with security officials. We wish everyone a safe holiday season and a prosperous new year.