Good old days at American airports
Aviation experts always say, flying is safe; it is the take-off and landing that scare most people.
During my line of work, sometimes I would fly wearing the navy winter uniform from Pensacola, Florida via Atlanta, Georgia. The uniform looked exactly like the pilot uniforms with the golden stripes on the sleeves. So, every time I sit down next to a passenger, he or she will think I am a pilot and will ask me how do I start jumbo jet engines in a plane like the Boeing-747? And to be honest, this is very legitimate question. Honestly, how do you start airplane engines? Does the pilot have an ignition key or someone on the ground will crank up the big engines?
In the past, American airports had the least security checks in the world; had no random passenger inspections, no full body scanning machines or taking off shoes and belts. No airline agent would ask you for an ID. And you can say hi to everyone at the airport. But, make sure his name is not Jack, because you will end up saying a very scary word (Hi Jack).
In the past, when I was attending school in New York, I used to fly on Eastern Airline Shuttle between New York and Washington. Passengers didn’t show any IDs, almost no inspection, would board the plane with no tickets and you didn’t need a reservation. It is first come, first serve.
And if the number of passengers exceeded the number of seats, then they would get another plane. It was every hour, on the hour and more in between. There were no seat assignments and you paid the ticket fare after the take-off. Now, some readers might ask what if you found out that you had forgotten your wallet or didn’t have enough money. Well, there was nothing to worry. They would not open the door dropping you off on New Jersey’s Turnpike.
In the past, you could board a plane in the US without being screened at all. It happened to me on Feb. 25, 1980, after the winter Olympics in Lake Placid in New York State. After the games I drove to Newport, Rhode Island and needed to fly to Norfolk, Virginia. I took-off from Newport in a small propeller plane that only had six passenger seats with one pilot, but no co-pilot. It was more economical to have a passenger sit in the co-pilot seat and they could have seven passengers instead of six. The airport was very small and passengers went to the plane without having the carry-on luggage X-rayed and the passengers didn’t go through metal detectors. I sat next to the pilot and all he told me was not to touch anything. Minutes later we landed in a bigger airport in the city of Providence for the connecting flight to Norfolk. At that time I was inside the terminal area of a bigger airport and boarded the plane to Norfolk with a short stop in Philadelphia and finally reached Norfolk International Airport. In other words, I was inside the terminal of four airports (Newport, Providence, Philadelphia and Norfolk) without going through metal detectors and no one asked me for any ID. I call this kind of flying, fun.
Speaking of Norfolk International Airport in Virginia, I started taking flying lessons in October 1980 with a friend of mine from the Saudi Royal family. His name is Prince Khalid bin Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Saud. The plane we used to fly was a single engine with a call sign 935 Mike. We used to go to the private aviation gate and simply drive through the gate to the tarmac with no questions asked or IDs checked. After a brief chat with my flight instructor, I signed in for the aircraft and simply take my turn for take-off behind one of Piedmont Airline’s planes. Minutes later, I flew over the largest naval bases in the world and flew within short distance from the mighty US Navy F-14 planes taking off from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach and the US Air Force F-15 planes taking off from Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia. The control tower in Norfolk International Airport never asked me to indicate my intention even if I flew at 2500 feet above Pembroke Mall or when I approached the vicinity of the nuclear submarines and nuclear aircraft carriers stationed at Norfolk Naval Base. This is what I call, the good old days.
It was normal for many pilots then to fly the commercial flights with the cockpit doors open especially when passing over the Grand Canyon. Many passengers would take their kids to the cockpit and take pictures with the pilot.
In October 1993, I wanted to write an article in the Saudi scholarship magazine, Almubta’ath, which is published by the Saudi Cultural Mission in Washington DC. The article was about the direction of the Qibla toward Makkah from Washington. But, I needed to refresh my memory about the great circle sailing charts. Now, guess how did I refresh my great circle sailing navigation?
One month later, in November 1993, I was aboard Delta airline flight from the US to Paris. I talked to the chief flight attendant about my article and asked for the intended trans-Atlantic route and points of the course heading changes. I was briefed on the intended course changes during the flight and later on I was given the route map to keep. I still have that map.
By today’s security procedures, can you imagine a Saudi passenger asking a pilot of an American airline on a trans-Atlantic flight to the US about the plane’s intended route and the time of course changes? My article appeared in the Saudi magazine one year later in 1994.
I still have the magazine issue. And in later weeks I might re-write an edited version of my article about why Muslims in North America use the Great Circle Sailing Charts instead of the Mercator Navigation Charts in deciding the direction of Qibla from North America.
[email protected]
