The world is bracing after the wave of new airport and airline terrorist threats and scares, prompting authorities to tighten security in countries across the globe. After the Christmas bombing scare over Detroit in the U.S. and the more recent, though seemingly benign security breach at Newark airport, UK officials have arrested two passengers for making verbal threats before boarding a plane bound for United Arab Emirates.

The plane, bound for Dubai from Heathrow, was halted after authorities said that there were verbal threats made by the two passengers about the flight before it took off. Heathrow remained open as the threat was isolated, and the passengers were removed from the plane.

"It looks like there was some sort of verbal threat made," said a police spokesman.

"They took them away quickly and brought on some dogs to have a sniff around. I think we are all going to have to get off and then reboard. People are just bored and want to get on with our flight,” Reuters quoted a passenger as saying.

The three lines that the passenger said offer interesting insight into the public reaction to the bombing scare and related subsequent threats.

“They took them away quickly and brought on some dogs to have a sniff around.” Very British. Also, the kind of reaction that the authorities must want passengers to have when they/we see something going on on a plane. There is nothing new about people being unruly or making threats on an airplane, but with the worldwide heightened security, the idea that people are making them draws far more interest and alarm than annoyance or will to ignore. Authorities getting a reputation for reacting quickly is critical to deterring anyone from copy-catting or keeping idle threats from happening. The recent Newark reaction of the TSA agent, walking away from his post, is certainly not the impression airport authorities want airport-goers to have of the security state.

“I think we are all going to have to get off and then reboard.” There is no set of guidelines for threats on planes. Each situation needs to be treated individually, and while the color codes offer some kind of reassurance with routine and established system, there will doubtlessly be a developed protocol that the public will get acquainted with in the coming months and years to deal with threats or possible threats in airport environments. It’s important for everyone to know what is going on, what is expected of them to do, and what is going to happen after a threat happens.

“People are just bored and want to get on with our flight.” The bottom line for most airline travelers is that it’s annoying and a waste of time for someone to make a terrorist threat on an airplane.

Interesting- we are all sick of all the time it takes to make an airplane flight anyway, and anything that makes that journey longer or worse is unwelcome at best. Couple boredom with fear and you have a recipe for anxiety.

In the end, airport security is bound to change based on recent incidents, but three elements need to be part of the new establishment: fast authoritative response, understood protocol, and speed.

Photo Credit: caribb (via Flickr under CCL)