Please proceed to the non-departure lounge.

So what's been going on while I've been away? Well I suppose the major news item has been the terror alert and the effects it has had on air travel. You can't but feel sorry for those who have had their travel plans disrupted as a result and possibly had their one holiday of the year ruined. From the point of view of the "terrorists" - if indeed they are proved to be such - they would have seen it as a win-win situation. Either they would have succeeded in their plan, or if not, they would create massive disruption, which is what in fact has happened. Much opprobrium has been directed at the airports, but I think this is a classic case of not being able to have the penny and the bun. Consumer demand for cheaper and cheaper travel has resulted in airports not being able to afford any redundancy in their systems, which means if any but the smallest thing goes wrong, they just can't cope. Actually I think they did quite well to keep going at all, but this of course is no consolation to those caught up in the chaos.