hi @slobberchops, this is quite a 'shoot from the hip' blog and I can see your frustration about lack of concrete information for us long haulers, .. I guess those that have already booked flights/hotels haven't had the same previous experiences as you. Anyway id take a tramadol for the flight and hide just one more (the Egypt case was a bit suspect, the lady took very large quantities under the guise that her boyfriend needed them.. (yeah right - there not stupid). So far the fear of speaking to people - ill be there and if things get really desperate I can resort to my 'shooting a bear in the woods' joke, … you know it sounds sooooo much better after a few shandy's …. don't worry ! :-)