This holiday season the TSA is helping all travelers feel all warm and fuzzy by warning them to leave their presents unwrapped. If you wrap your gifts before you travel TSA's little helpers (airport screeners) will tear them open, surely putting the kibosh on any holiday cheer you may have had prior to trying to board a flight. Of course this advice seems like a no-brainer for some (whom have one), however others thought it wise to attempt passing a gift wrapped package at Los Angeles International Airport and screeners found 35 pounds of marijuana. Can you say hand cuffs???
Just in time for the holidays Detroit and three other airports are testing a new program the TSA calls "pre-check." The "pre-check" will allow about 280,000 passengers to cruise through checkpoints at Miami, Dallas, Detroit and Atlanta airports. However this program is not for everyone, you have to meet certain TSA guidelines to be invited. The passengers who are invited are verified through a TSA screening process. Approved People who are currently using the system were asked what they thought about it commented that they felt guilty about the dirty looks they got from other people standing in the standard security line.
The TSA is testing another program in Detroit, based on watching behavior. Passengers at one gate are asked some questions as the TSA checks boarding passes and IDs. Some are calling the interviews "chat downs." The "Chat Down" is close but not as intense a behavioral system being used by Israeli airport security and has led to arrest at Detroit Metro. TSA agents are specially trained to recognize certain behavioral ticks that an individual gives that raise the attention of security.
Some more actual good news about the TSA, complaints are down 59 percent from May 2004! In September they dipped to 1,418, the lowest since record-keeping began seven years ago. This article states that "Complaints are probably down because the agency finally gets that a targeted, intelligence-based approach is best". Hopefully for holiday travelers, this will be a trend through the new year, and the statistics will remain flat. We can only hope.
Another subject worth discussing is the potential health effects of full body scanners. TSA chief John Pistole has changed his mind about having an outside study conducted on scanners used to screen passengers. His new perspective comes from a draft from the Inspector General of Homeland Security that confirms the scanners are safe for all passengers. The scanners also known as back-scatters have been banned in the European Union because they may be linked to cancer. Tough to know what to believe anymore. My thoughts are to proceed at you own risk. I wonder who is doing more damage to the airline industry, the possibility of another terror attack or the TSA???
Another subject worth discussing is the potential health effects of full body scanners. TSA chief John Pistole has changed his mind about having an outside study conducted on scanners used to screen passengers. His new perspective comes from a draft from the Inspector General of Homeland Security that confirms the scanners are safe for all passengers. The scanners also known as back-scatters have been banned in the European Union because they may be linked to cancer. Tough to know what to believe anymore. My thoughts are to proceed at you own risk. I wonder who is doing more damage to the airline industry, the possibility of another terror attack or the TSA???
The pre-check must have made many travelers happy over the holiday, especially having their times cut down on wait time, and also it is good to see other methods used at the airport to keep it safer.
ReplyDeleteIt might seem like common sense that a wrapped present might need to be inspected, but people sometimes forget that the TSA might be inspecting them that day. What might be an inconvenience to one could be the difference between illegal or dangerous items getting through security. Although many view the TSA as a bloated government agency, catching 35 pounds of drugs might remind some that there are those trying to avoid the law.
ReplyDeleteNice write up with lots of detailed information.
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