Stormy Skies in the Middle East - and Beyond

     The Arab Spring is turning into the Arab Summer with storm clouds and sand storms across the region from the Maghreb to the Levant.  What has become a civil war in Syria has been joined by strife in Libya and Anti-Western unrest in Egypt.  Americans need to get one thing straight:  The attack on the consulate in Benghazi and the murder of the Ambassador and other three Americans does not represent any swell of Libyan government or indeed popular hatred of the US.  The attack was a classic insurgent tactic to seek to discredit the moderate elected government and to drive a knife into the evolving relationship between Libyans and the US.  There were a lot of nasty people left in Libya after Qaddafi.  Similarly, the extremist demonstrations against the US Embassy in Egypt are in essence Egyptian civil strife with extremists having the same aims as those in Libya.  Despite the goal of extremists of restoring the Caliphate, the unrest in the region does not represent any unified Islamic attack on the West or the United States.  That being said, now is not the time to plan a vacation to see the Pyramids in Egypt or Roman ruins or beaches in Tunisia. 
     The events of the past week are another game changer at least for the region - and also beyond. Travel safety and awareness for airlines and their customers now requires a new set of threat assessment paradigms for airline security professionals.  The immediate, indeed long range, threat to civil aviation is changing.  US flag carriers especially will need to be more vigilant, not only in flights to the region when service normalizes but also in flights originating elsewhere such as Europe, Southeast Asia, and Subsaharan Africa.  The excellent Mideast carriers noted for their outstanding customer service such as Etihad, Emirates and Qatar will need to demonstrate to potentially timid US travellers that they are serious and vigilant about security.  (Note to travellers:They are.)  Security professionals are aware of that, but the average traveller might not be.   Airlines need to review their Safety Management Systems (SMS) and associated Security Management Systems (SeMS) to incorporate current threat assessments and awareness.  This is especially true as airlines automate more and more customer service (on some US airlines that will remain unnamed here almost an oxymoron) functions and avoid personal contact with passengers.  Sure, using online check-in and that kiosk might be convenient, but does it make you any safer or secure?
     Those contemplating or needing to travel to the Arab World should pay close attention to the State Department's web site www.state.gov  for travel advisories for the region.  Operators of business, air charter, and other corporate aircraft into and around the region need to pay close attention to their security support staff , and if they don't have security threat assessment support that is familiar with the region they need to obtain it quickly. There are some travellers - academics, journalists, and business travellers, for example, who will have to travel to the region - again they should check the State web site but also call the State Department directly...and confer with the embassy of the country they plan to visit.  Airlines need to be forthright and honest on their web sites about security issues.
     As stated above, the current situation represents "game change" in the region as long as there is civil strife - that is what this is, not a burst of Anti-Americanism.