Originally Posted by spinnaker
I think you have missed it completely. The intelligence received indicated an attack on outbound flights from the UK to the USA. If similar intelligence was received on an inbound flight, I would expect the flight to either be cancelled or subject to the same conditions.
Hmm. I think you'll find that many people don't have the same faith in the intelligence agencies that you seem to have.
As other have said, the current carry-on rules are unsustainable, ineffective and pointless. Are we really saying that terrorists could not hop on a ferry to mainland Europe and carry out their nefarious plans from a hub there?
I suspect the real reason for the emergency security rules is to attempt to convince the mass public that in the authorities view this was a serious plot and that the arrest of around 20 men is for a good reason. Personally I'm keeping an open mind on that and am quite prepared to believe that there was a plot (though it sounds somewhat hare-brained), but the emergency measures are self-justification.