Last year, my friend Kevin over at Questing for Atlantis and I attended a conference at the Heritage Foundation on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and civil liberties. Michael Chertoff was the keynote speaker.



Chertoff spoke on why it is necessary for the DHS to largely ignore civil liberties in protecting the country. He seemed to get annoyed at the line of questions he received, particularly with regard to airline security. In an attempt to take a shot at the apparently libertarian-leaning audience, Chertoff wondered aloud who would want to travel on an airline without security checks. Kevin and I quickly acknowledged that we would gladly frequent such an airline.



Here are some characteristics of such a libertarian airline:



No ID would be necessary for domestic travel (national laws regarding passports and visas will obviously still apply)



Flights will be less expensive due to less overhead for security

No security lines before reaching your departure gate

You may bring any amount of liquids/gels in your carry-on luggage (When traveling alone, I will often only bring a carry-on to minimize my time in the airport. I strongly dislike having my toothpaste confiscated)

confiscated) Passengers may carry concealed weapons (Who will pull a gun on a plane full of gun-carrying passengers?)

less expensive, less time, and less invasion of privacy

The benefits of a libertarian airline can be summarized asIf you don't feel such an airline is safe, then fly on another airline.