A
Anonymous11/15/25, 22:51No.2058931Boomers, I have a question
What was air travel like before 9-11?
21
Replies
A
Anon11/15/25, 23:28No.2058934
Why did you post the same thread on /trv/?
A
Anon11/15/25, 23:35No.2058936
i remember chilling in the cockpit as a kid
A
Anon11/16/25, 05:06No.2058963
How long before? Because the bombings in the seventies and eighties led to metal detectors and x-ray machines in every airport that required the same sort of queuing you see today.
A
Anon11/17/25, 20:14No.2059077
Security theater was a little more lax, but I find the biggest change was the loss of small(er) regional or shuttle carriers that didnt survive the years immediately after 9/11 with the precipitous dip in air travel that resulted from the attacks - or thats how it felt, anyway
A
Anon11/18/25, 21:53No.2059124
>I'm old enough to have been in a US Airport with no metal detectors
It was neat. And you boarded planes via stair cars back then, no jetways. They boarded at the front and back doors as a result.But for about 20 years before 9/11, metal detectors were pretty much the norm at every mid-size to large airport, so the only real differences between then and now was you could take departures to and meet arrivals at the gate and you could take toiletries in your carry-on without worrying about sizes of liquid containers. I remember several times taking visitors to the airport, going through security with them, and eating a meal at a restaurant near the gate until their flight got called for boarding, and bidding them adieu.Also, as others have pointed out, the cockpit door was open all the time on flights.
A
Anon11/21/25, 16:26No.2059328
Yeah, the cockpit door policy was probably the single most important security enhancement made in the wake of 9/11. Pilots are not to relinquish control of the plane to anyone for any reason.Probably the most disruptive change was not being allowed to the gate areas without a boarding pass. This was a challenge for some airports that didn't have natural choke-points* between the gates and the ticketing areas. I'm sure the airport has since been remodeled, but in the early 2000s, Kansas City was an example where they had to install a security checkpoint at every other gate. All the shops and restaurants and ticketing counters and such were all on one side of the hallway while the gates were on the other side. IIRC the layout was some sort of polygon shape. It was fairly nice to use but I'm sure it was extremely expensive.*Incidentally, security choke points are themselves security risks.
A
Anon11/25/25, 23:28No.2059746
Not much different here. Too much terrorism before, especially sponsored by deluded fucks from Boston.
A
Anon11/30/25, 04:45No.2059991
Moslums were a mistake.
A
Anon12/01/25, 02:13No.2060032
Not as shitty as today but still shitty. Before then I used to catch rides in the jumpseat but that all ended in 2001.
A
Anon12/27/25, 12:18No.2061999
I got my picture taken in the cockpit
I used to walk onto the tarmac and up the stairs that was pushed up against the plane
I also flew as an unaccompanied minor
Got a free pack of playing cards
Took home a neat small plastic cup
Airline food was a thing sometimes even on four-hour flights