The Federal Air Marshal Service is a sensational program that steals revenue from airlines, first class upgrades from frequent flyers, makes our ticket prices higher, and actually endangers our security. Under the guise of safety, a small number of flights carry...
More Stringent Airport Security for USA-Bound Flights
There’s a man that U.S. intelligence agencies are watching named Ibrahim Al-Asiri who has been called a master bombmaker for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). He allegedly is skilled in constructing bombs out of ordinary material that can escape the...
What the Teen Jet Stowaway Tells Us About Airport Security
Boy wants to fly to Hawaii. Boy sees Hawaiian Airlines jet parked at San Jose Airport. Boy jumps fence and hides in the wheel well. Boy miraculously survives, making once again a mockery of our so-called airport security. I’ve...
TSA Prohibits Mute Stroke Victim from Flying Because She Can’t Speak Name
The TSA always finds a way to top itself when it comes to controversy, negative publicity, and most importantly, a degradation of human dignity. This time, it was by telling an elderly, disabled woman who lost her speech after...
The TSA Presents: The 12 Banned Items of Christmas (Humor)
I love intelligent humor that not only draws a laugh, but makes a deeper point–perhaps a reflection on an pertinent political issue or on society at large that invites contemplation and discussion. A new video out poking fun at...
Higher Airline Fees in Congressional Budget Compromise
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), Chairman of the House Budget Committee, and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), Chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee, have unveiled a compromise plan to fund the U.S. federal government for the next two years, eliminating the spectre of...
Airport Security Exposed: How to Build a Homemade Shotgun After You Clear Security
No snow globes or yogurt are allowed past airport security checkpoints, but the video below shows that it does not take MacGyver to build a powerful shotgun with material that you can purchase once you get past the full body...
TSA-Approved "Detention Pods" at Syracuse Airport
As part of its $60mn renovation, Syracuse International Airport has installed new exit portals that it says will replace the need for security guards or TSA agents to be stationed at exits to the secure part of the airport....
An Armed TSA is a Threat to All
In the wake of a lone wolf gunman storming a Terminal 3 security checkpoint at LAX last Friday and murdering a TSA screener, some are now calling for a cadre of TSA screeners to be armed at every airport....
The Bigotry of Fear Exposed at JFK
The story of Aditya Mukerjee, a Hindu-American who spent three hours detained at JFK for triggering an explosives alert at a TSA checkpoint is a troubling story and cause for deep introspection. I must admit, even my first reaction was...
TSA Embraces "Abuse The Elderly Day"
I will be traveling with my 86-year old Uncle next week and a thread on Flyertalk about the TSA treatment of another elderly passenger caught my attention today. This weekend my wife and I accompanied my 87 year old...
Five Steps to Fix the TSA
You haven’t heard me talk much about the TSA lately and the nationwide fervor over the agency has seemingly died down. One reason is Pre✓, a “trusted traveler” program that allows passengers who submit to background checks to bypass...
TSA Allows Bomb to Slip Past Security Checkpoint in Newark…Twice
If any of you are surprised by news that a fake IED-type bomb was cleared past two security checks at Newark’s Liberty International Airport last month, you shouldn’t be. I’ve maintained for years that anyone determined to get something...
TSA Will Remove Some Nude Scanners
Chalk this up as a small victory in the war on common sense. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confirmed today that it will remove some airport body scanners that produce a naked image of travelers by June. These are the large...
A Thoughtful Conversation with the TSA in Honolulu
I have passed from the “rage” stage to the “education” stage when it comes to dealing with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents at U.S. airports. I used to get so worked up over their rudeness, their lack of common...
TSA: Groping is Okay, Unless it is One of Our Agents
Carol, a former Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screener, arrives at the airport security checkpoint in Ft. Myers, where she’s on her way to a funeral Cleveland. She is chosen for additional screening. A screener collects her belongings and leads...
Sacramento Opts Out of TSA Screening
After months of exploration, Sacramento International Airport has decided to replace federally-employed Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport screeners with private contractors. This is an opt-out I support. As a compromise to House Republicans over a decade ago, language in...
TSA Agent Arrested for Throwing Hot Coffee on Pilot
This is an old story, but one I have been meaning to highlight for the last two weeks. Should a pilot have spoken up when he heard a Transportation Security Officer (TSO) using filthy language while in costume or...
Philadelphia TSA: "I don’t know why we have the rule, I just enforce it."
I had a 5:25a United flight to the Houston on Saturday morning and since the first train from 30th St Station in Philadelphia does not leave until 4:34a (22 minute journey to airport) and more importantly, because I can...
TSA Concedes Failure of Full Body Scanners
TSA’s Iraqi Information Minister, Blogger Bob, addressed the new video “making its way around the interwebs” about why full body scanners actually make us less safe. His words were telling. Let’s go through them, one sentence at a time....
