Two missiles fired last year at an Israeli jetliner taking off from Mombasa airport missed their target but the attempt by suspected al-Qaeda terrorists hit home in the minds of two US politicians. Last week they proposed a bill to install anti-missile systems in all commercial jets, at a cost of up to $10bn (£6.2bn). “Shoulder-fired missiles are a serious threat to our airlines, our economy, and the personal safety of every American airline passenger. This is a relatively small cost to address a very big threat,” said Senator Barbara Boxer, one of the bill’s sponsors. While the effectiveness of the proposal remains questionable (one aerospace analyst observed “it doesn’t even pass the smell test”), the bill is the latest example of the new politics of pre-emption. For the airline industry, the trend in Washington towards such “unfunded security mandates” has been bad news. During the past 18 months, airlines have been forced to spend $300m reinforcing cockpit doors, screening airline nibbles and supplies, and pushing passengers off aircraft to make room for federal marshals. Full Story