You are now free to move about the cabin. Or not. 
 
 After a two-day security clampdown prompted by a thwarted attempt to bomb a jetliner, some airline officials told The Associated Press that the in-flight restrictions had been eased. And it was now up to captains on each flight to decide whether passengers can have blankets and other items on their laps or can move around during the final phase of flight. 
 
 Confused? So were scores of passengers who flew Monday on one of the busiest travel days of the year. On some flights, passengers were told to keep their hands visible and not to listen to iPods. Even babies were frisked. But on other planes, security appeared no tighter than usual. 
 
 The Transportation Security Administration did little to explain the rules. And that inconsistency might well have been deliberate: What's confusing to passengers is also confusing to potential terrorists. 
 
 "It keeps them guessing," transportation expert Joseph Schwieterman said. 
 
 By not making public a point-by-point list of new security rules, federal officials also retain more flexibility, the DePaul University professor added, enabling them to target responses to certain airports or flights seen as more vulnerable. 
 
 "There was criticism after 9-11 that rules could be way too cookbook — not allowing authorities to adapt them to different settings, to different airports," Schwieterman said. 
 
 If the objective was to befuddle, then on Monday it was mission accomplished. 
 
 On one Air Canada flight from Toronto to New York's LaGuardia Airport, crew members told passengers before departure that they were not allowed to use any electronic devices — even iPods — and would not be able to access their personal belongings during the one-hour flight. 
 
 The questions came as President Barack Obama ordered a review of air-safety regulations. TSA spokeswoman Sterling Payne declined to offer details other than to say the agency would "continually review and update these measures to ensure the highest level of security." 
 
 Keep your hands where we can see them 
 
 An hour before a US Air flight from Manchester, England, to Philadelphia landed, flight attendants removed passengers' blankets and told them to keep their "hands visible," said passenger Walt Swanson of Cumbria, England. Video: Controversial screeners may have detected underwear bomb 
 
 Even bathroom visits were affected on some flights. 
 
 On Continental Flight 1788 from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, three airport security agents frisked everyone at the gate, including babies, prompting one to scream loudly in protest. On the plane, crew announced that the toilets would be shut down the last hour of the flight and passengers would not be able eat, drink, or use electronic devices. 
 
 The warning that the bathrooms would be shut down led to lines 10 people deep at each lavatory. A demand by one attendant that no one could read anything either elicited gasps of disbelief and howls of laughter. 
 
 In-cabin screens normally showing the plane's location and flight path were switched off on an Air France flight Saturday from San Francisco to Paris. Flight attendants said they were turned off as a security measure. 
 
 One of the Transportation Security Administration restrictions that most annoyed the airlines was an order to shut off in-flight entertainment systems on international flights. Airlines objected, and on Sunday night, the TSA apparently relented and left it to the discretion of airline crews to decide whether to turn off the systems. 
 
 "It was a hardship on our customers," said Mateo Lleras, a spokesman for JetBlue Airways, which touts its seatback entertainment systems and operates international flights to the Caribbean, Mexico and Costa Rica. "We're not in a position to challenge the TSA security directives, and we do the best we can to comply." 
 
 The TSA also relaxed rules that had prohibited passengers from leaving their seats, opening carry-on bags and keeping blankets or babies on their laps during the last hour of international flights entering the U.S., according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the TSA had not publicly disclosed the change. 
 
 Crews were given the authority to impose restrictions for shorter periods or not at all, said the official. 
 
 ‘Pay attention to everybody’ 
 
 Holiday traveler Sharen Rayburn, of Trion, Ga., said it took two hours to get through security in Denver because guards were checking every bag multiple times. 
 
 "You're a little more apprehensive to fly. You kind of pay attention to everybody," she said after landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. 
 
 At Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Monday morning, every U.S.-bound passenger was subjected to a pat-down and luggage was inspected by hand. It took about three hours to get through the checks, with some information boards citing the security measures for several delays and cancellations. 
 
 Elsewhere, especially on domestic flights, passengers said they had not detected security upgrades. 
 
 "I honestly didn't notice a difference, and we didn't receive any special instructions from the crew," said James Merling, a 68-year-old doctor who flew from Marquette, Mich., to Boston's Logan International Airport on Monday. 
 
 Lexi Wirthlin, 22, who arrived at Philadelphia International Airport on Monday from St. Louis, Mo., said she was warned by friends to expect long lines at airport screening points or other hassles onboard. ||||| Perhaps we should prevent passengers from sitting in window seats, because the man who attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 sat in a window seat. Or at least keep people from sitting in window seats one hour before landing. 
 
 That silly notion seems to make as much sense as some of the “security” steps taken in response to the Christmas Day terrorism attempt. We all want air travel to be safe, no doubt. To ensure that, we need rules that are smart and effective. The Transportation Security Administration may be trying to reassure the public that it is on the job and thwarting terrorists, but turning off the route-tracking maps on airplanes and keeping people buckled up without blankets just seems ridiculous to most frequent fliers. 
 
 A review of some of the new rules, which, travelers should hope, are temporary: 
 
 Everyone must stay seated one hour before landing on international flights. (This assumes, of course, that nothing happens at all while the plane is cruising.) 
 
 No blankets or pillows or items in laps in the last hour of a flight. (Will baggy clothing, sweaters or hoodies be next?) 
 
 AFP/Getty Images Blankets no longer allowed for British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh? 
 
 No announcements from the cockpit about cities, landmarks or perhaps even when planes start to descend. (Some travelers may shout “hooray!” but most appreciate progress reports. Are we really thwarting terror by not knowing whether the city seen out the window is Kansas City or St. Louis. Hint: If it has a big river and arch, it’s St. Louis.) 
 
 No route-tracking displays on international flights. (Anyone with a watch can, with simple calculations, roughly estimate where a flight is at any given time.) 
 
 No laptop computer use in-flight. Some passengers reported this. Let’s hope it’s simply over-aggressive low-level TSA officials, air marshals or flight crews. 
 
 Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano has said that the new “measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same thing everywhere.” That’s a common security practice — being unpredictable makes it harder for the bad guys to know what to expect. But there’s a difference between unpredictable and silly. Rules have to actually deter terrorism, not simply leave passengers cold and running for bathrooms when deplaning. 
 
 Some new security measures do make sense. Extra checks and pat-downs for passengers boarding international flights bound for the U.S. are understandable, for example. More steps do need to be taken right away, and the public should be informed: 
 
 The selectee list needs to be fixed, immediately. It’s clearly not working if a man wasn’t put on it after his own father reported ties to terrorist groups to a U.S. Embassy, and the man wasn’t flagged for secondary screening when he bought a ticket with cash. A pat-down might have found explosives under his clothes. 
 
 Congress needs to confirm Erroll Southers as TSA chief. The agency has no leader because Congress has dragged its feet on his nomination. Mr. Southers, who has worked for the FBI and handled airport security for Los Angeles World Airports, gets high marks from colleagues and seems well-qualified. Someone needs to be in charge at TSA. 
 
 Body scanning technology needs to be stepped up and widely deployed. Terrorists carry bombs on their bodies, not their bags. We need to get past privacy concerns and spend the money to get machines in wide use. 
 
 TSA has a long history with the flying public of little communication, scant explanation and seemingly mind-boggling rules. The same mistakes are repeating. The flying public deserves clear, logical rules about air travel and enough information to understand why steps are being taken.
– Two days after implementing stiff restrictions on carry-on items and in-flight entertainment, the TSA relaxed the new rules today, airline sources tell MSNBC. Passengers will be allowed to have blankets on their laps and leave their seats during the final hour of a flight, use electronic devices, and watch TV on flights that offer it. The clamp-down had drawn widespread criticism even as passengers submitted to the amped-up rules and tough new screening procedures that delayed many flights. "TSA has a long history with the flying public of little communication, scant explanation and seemingly mind-boggling rules," cautioned Scott McCartney, who blogs about business travel for the Wall Street Journal. "The same mistakes are repeating."