Travelling to the US in a time of terror

Travelling to the US any time soon? Here are five tips:

• Expect security checks at the main checkpoint and again at the boarding gate.
• Make eye contact with the captain if he or she walks down the aisle.
• Get ready to have your body scanned by a machine.
• Do not wrap any gifts you are taking to friends in the US.
• Know that all of these rules can change without notice.

Ever since Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian man, tried to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day, transatlantic travellers have been wondering about how this latest act of Islamic terror will affect their holiday and business plans.

The answer is: No one really knows. And those who might know are not saying, except that travellers will soon be required to pass through so-called "whole-body scanners" that can look beneath clothing for hidden explosives or weapons. Both London's Heathrow and Amsterdam's Schiphol airports plan to start using the machines "within weeks". Other European countries are sure to do likewise.