Think that this will stop terrorists? Was the attempt a "success"?
Every passenger on flights to the United States will be subject to a secondary search at the gate area prior to boarding the aircraft -- which will include a physical pat-down search and a hand search of carry-on luggage
... "This includes 100 per cent physical search of person and 100 per cent physical search of carry-on baggage and personal items." WestJet Airlines Ltd., one of Canada's two major airlines, estimated the searches will take between five and seven minutes per person. The new rules will also limit the amount of carry-on baggage to one item per person travelling on flights from Canada to the United States. ... While Transport Canada said in a statement the heightened security measures would last for several days, WestJet was more specific, saying the rules were expected to last until Dec. 30.
... Air Canada said in a news release that new rules will further limit activities by passengers and crew while in U.S. airspace. "The final hour of flight customers must remain seated, will not be allowed to access carry-on baggage, or have personal belongings or other items on their laps," the country's largest air carrier said, citing new U.S. Transportation Security Administration policies.
- Excerpted from The National Post
The hand searching might make some sense, although it seems to be an obvious example of security theatre the way it's being implemented. (Why else would they only do this "enhanced search" for several days, ending before the end of the end-of-the-year travel peak?)
The in-flight restrictions on the other hand seem a little ridiculous. (Perhaps you should buy stock in/of Depends?)
The New York Times mentioned that this guy was an engineering student. The first thought that that brought to mind is that this guy must have been pretty incompetent in order to not succeed. As I previously noted, TSA itself noted that it's highly unlikely to get a bomb like that prepared in mid-air. Even if he did manage to explode something, would it be enough to actually cause the plane to crash? (A 737 was able to land safely after a large portion of the cabin roof ripped off mid-flight for example).
On the other hand, perhaps he did succeed? To quote one individual (reply #2): "I hate that one stupid moron is able to cause problems for everyone else travelling." Add up the cost of the new security measures both in direct monetary terms and in the indirect cost of traveller time - I'm guessing millions. Add in the fear that this seems to have created - and the attention drawn to this incident - and this seems to have been a "successful" act of terrorism. ... and it's the government that you have to thank for making it a "success".