Yesterday I experienced my first-ever TSA lockdown.
I was in Terminal 2 at Los Angeles International Airport and had just climbed the stairs from the lobby level to the security checkpoint.
As I was winding my way through the empty PreCheck line, all of a sudden I heard a shout followed by a chorus of other shouts.
“Lockdown! Lockdown! Lockdown!”
All the TSA agents were yelling. Barricades (those large plastic “Do Not Enter” signs) quickly went up at each metal detector and full body scanner and everyone paused.
The first thought that went through my mind was that a carry-on baggage screener had found something very suspicious.
Everyone froze. Passengers stood silently, waiting for instructions. A group of agents huddled around a series of monitors at the supervisor’s desk. There was eerie silence in the terminal.
Then, about three minutes later, a lone agent yelled out.
“All clear!”
The terminal began bustling again as security checkpoints were re-opened.
I asked the agent who scanned my boarding pass what happened. He said “someone thought someone slipped through the exit.” Apparently the video review revealed that did not take place.
CONCLUSION
Here’s the somewhat creepy thing. As this occurred, I was standing next to a memorial for Gerardo Hernandez, TSA agent was murdered by a gunman three years ago at LAX. There’s a permanent memorial to the officer at the checkpoint. Admittedly, it was sobering to witness the lockdown, see everyone freeze, and look at this memorial to an agent killed in the line of duty.
But it was just a false alarm. I’m thankful for that.
Have you ever experienced a TSA lockdown?
image: TSA
Let me guess – there was no actual emergency, no terrorist. Just maybe a stray water bottle that slipped through or a 90 year old grandma that kept her shoes on?
Why so sarcastic? They don’t catch terrorists you say? Try 4000+ loaded guns confiscated last year at checkpoints across the nation. Tell us RJB which of those had ill intent. You cant….nobody can
In its arduous and incompetent 16 years and $120 Billion spent, the TSA has caught exactly: ZERO terrorists. $120B would have bought a lot of social services or other programs which would have benefitted society.
Weapons are not a sign of ill-intent. Many women carry pepper spray on their keychains, many people own guns, everyone has sharp knives in their kitchen, many people wear belts, and most people have a full set of hands/legs. Hell, in high school most boys I knew carried a Leatherman multi-tool or folding knife and NO ONE ever got hurt with them. I can’t even recall anyone brandishing them as a weapon. All of these items can be used to injure, even kill others, yet somehow exist safely in our world everyday, without causing harm.
I often carry enough electronic gear in my carry-on which could be used to interfere with a commercial airliner’s communications, radar, positioning, and autopilot systems. I also have knowledge of avionics and how this could be done. BUT, I have NO intention of doing any of this, so these items don’t pose a threat. Obviously, a stick of dynamite or jerry-can full of gasoline isn’t going to be allowed on-board, but that’s due to the inherent risk of the item itself, not how someone would use it.
Mentally-ill people are a threat to aviation, not objects.
I’d also like to remind you that pre-9/11 security guards also screened for guns, without yelling orders at passengers, treating everyone as if they were a criminal, groping grannies, stealing from passengers, taking nude photos of passengers at the checkpoint, and getting arrested for paedophilia. The pre-9/11 system worked tremendously well and was highly effective at stopping the hijackings of the 1970s and early 1980s. If this was so great, what happened on 9/11? The screeners failed to follow the rules in place, which would have stopped such an attack. The same thing could happen today. If anything, due to the excessive and arbitrary rules of the TSA, we are less safe. By the TSA’s own tests and admission, they have a 6% success rate. Anywhere I’ve ever gone to school, below 70% wasn’t a passing grade.
Experienced one in IAD a couple of months ago. Lasted for about 15 minutes to. I was past security waiting for my wife to finish up when they locked everything down. The weird thing, even passengers past security where told not to move. Very tense situation. Thankfully, all clear was given.
Yes, I have experienced one in Atlanta; but I never wrote about it.
I guess it was because it only lasted a few minutes.
Wow! When I was in Terminal 2 at LAX yesterday at 6:30pm all appeared normal. Good thing I missed it.
I had something like this happen to me at Bradley last year. I had just cleared TSA and was waiting on my S.O. to get through when all hell broke loose. People started yelling and running around telling passengers to not move. Agents ran to block the corridors that lead from the TSA checkpoints to the main Bradley terminal. It got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. And we just sat there for a few minutes and I started wondering if I had made a bad decision to go to Bradley to get into the *A lounge before trudging back to T7 in the underground catacombs of LAX.
But then the all clear was given and we got let through.
DETROIT..THE METAL GATES CAME DOWN AND BOXED PEOPLE IN Scary to be JAILED in an airport,,,