Edited to add: I'm not disputing what your are saying Sns3guppy, just that we Brits really dont need much education with regards dealing with terrorism!
In a land where the Bobby has had the authority and power for years to shout "Halt, or I shall yell 'Halt!' again!", perhaps you do need a little education on dealing with terrorism. Simply because you've been a frequent victim of terrorism doesn't mean you should laugh it off. Nor for one moment imagine that simply because a light airplane can't do a lot of collateral damage, it's not a threat to be taken very seriously. It is a threat, primarily to you, the private pilot, who will be most effected by the fall out of what might occur.
Again, it matters not a whit if ten people or a thousand might be killed by a bomb in a light airplane. A handfull of people, while certainly a tragedy, isn't the goal of the terrorist act in the first place. That no sigificant amount of physical damage might be caused by a cherokee, is of no consequence. It's irrelevant. What is very relevant is the results that will happen politically, financially, and with respect to freedom.
I flew an ambulance flight post 09/11 in which we were unable to leave the airport. It was locked up tight. I was standing inside the fence with a heart team and a pile of equipment and coolers, and no way to get through the airport fence. Security concerns had high barbed wire and concertin wire on fences around the field, the gates chained and padlocked, and no way to get the surgeons to their body. I had to call the fire department to arrange to have someone come unlock the gate. That's more than a mere inconvenience, but for you, the private pilot, the ability to fly at all might be entirely lost should a timed attack take place with several light airplanes.
The damage done is irrelevant. The results afterward are very relevant.
No, the IRA hasn't done that. But they could, as could anyone. If you think a little excitement by Lord Twattle hurts your feelings because it's an anti-aviation sentiment, then wait for the real fall out when it happens.
As for the US supporting the IRA, we're still locking horns with some of their folks, and their trainees, in Colombia, among other places. Neither the IRA nor Sinn Fein has never been a friend to the US. Never the less, you've got your domestic troubles, the US has hers; bigger threats face you than a few peat farmers lighting a fuse after tossing back a pint.
I was in XXX in the UK recently and taking a walk one evening. I had to laugh out loud when a man came charging down a street to catch up with a Bobby who was waiting next to me to cross the road. The man was excited and jibbering about this terrible crime that had befallen him. When he calmed down, he explained that he didn't like the meal he'd been served, and the resteraunt owner wouldn't provide a refund. Oh, the horror. With crime like that and a police force armed with a pen and and a night stick, doubtless you're prepared for a massive enemy invasion. Sleep tight.
When an Islamo nutter used a training aircraft in a suicide attack in Florida, (which demonstrated how poor light GA is at this kind of attack) there doesn't seem to have been any significant change in policy.
That wasn't a terrorist attack. That was a boy, a child who elected to commit suicide with no real forethought or preparation. Change that to six or seven dedicated extremists who coordinate their attacks (real attacks, not just a crashed airplane) at the same time and you'll see aviation come to a standstill not only in Florida but throughout the US.
Attack? Not even close.
It's also pretty damn difficult to get your hands on a light jet, and then load it up with a huge bomb without it being noticed.
No, actually. It's increadibly easy. Much, much more so than you might imagine. And that is a big part of the problem.
One can make the same argument for chartered transport jets. You can lease a 747 if you want to. That is a much bigger security issue. But the 9/11 lot didn't do that; they went to the much greater trouble of hijacking them.
Not exactly. What's involved in shipping via an ACMI B747 is a little more involved than simply chartering the airplane and putting on board a bomb. You can't simply lease a 747. You can arrange for the Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance (ACMI) and arrange transportation of your goods, pending approval, but it's an involved process in which security plays a part on many levels.
It's what I do, presently.