Changing Climate

I'm flying to Ottawa from D.C. today. Anticipating major delays due to yesterday’s thwarted terrorist attempt, I follow the advice of Air Canada and Dulles Airport. I give myself an extra hour to clear security on top of the recommended 2-hour check-in time for international flights. I take a taxi instead of the Super Shuttle. I repack my bags with liquids in one and solids in another.

When I get to the airport – no one is there. The main traffic seems to be from TV crews. Check-in and passing through security take a total of 10 minutes (in fact it was probably the shortest I’ve ever spent checking – in and passing through security). The flight attendant at the check-in counter said that they’re grateful to the media for doing an excellent job in getting the message out to passengers about the new security measures. She said that the check-ins for the morning flights worked with Swiss clock-like precision.

So now I have 3 hours to kill before boarding. I wanted to share the other story making headlines in the Washington Post today. I thought that it’s interesting that this article should make it on the front page along with all of the international security news. Perhaps this is a subtle way to remind readers and the federal policy-makers that there is another international security threat lurking… Maybe this is a sign of what’s to come in Canada as well…