Here’s another celebrity airplane safety video: soccer players from Manchester United pop up for Turkish Airlines.

Categories: Air Travel, Celebrities, Safety, Sports
No Comments »

From the Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo, Hawaii

If you happened to be on the road – in a hotel, a convention center or, of course, in an airport – when some sort of disaster strikes, would you know what to do? And would you have the right tools and supplies with you so that you could do what you needed to do?

I wasn’t confident I would.

But after talking with experts and savvy travelers about the ideal contents of an emergency ‘go kit’ for this story on msnbc.com – Disasters prompt world travelers to be prepared – I’m feeling more confident about dealing with everything from tsunamis to zombies when I’m on the road.

Here’s the story:

When an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile at around 3:30 a.m. in February 2010, Seattle-based wine importer Ryan Sytsma was asleep in a Sheraton hotel somewhere between the airport and downtown Santiago.

Once he realized it wasn’t a train shaking the room, Sytsma jumped out of bed and stood in the bathroom doorway.

“It kept getting worse,” he said. “Soon the electrical outlets started throwing sparks, anything unsecured was falling over and smoke filled the room. I could only see flashes of light, hear explosions like bombs and smell smoke that was a mix of drywall dust, burning plastic and melting rubber.”

Sytsma survived the three-minute temblor unscathed and raced out of his hotel room with his passport, cash, shoes and his small suitcase, which was already packed and near the door.

Those items, and the extra shirts and dozen Power Bars packed in the suitcase, helped ease the post-earthquake experience a bit for Sytsma and the people he ended up with. And now Sytsma makes sure to pack for every trip with disaster preparedness in mind.

Good idea, say the experts. A well-stocked emergency “go kit” can arm a traveler with tools that may help keep a bad travel situation from turning into a full-blown disaster.

“Given the recent events in Japan, Egypt and other places that appeared as low to insignificant on the risk map last year, a lot of people are rethinking their preparedness,” said Alex Puig, regional security director for International SOS, a global medical and security assistance company. “We’re not asking people to go above and beyond what common sense dictates. But anything can happen, and preparation is the most important thing you can do.”

Be prepared
Snow, rain or even a computer glitch, as Alaska/Horizon passengers learned this past weekend, may delay your plane for hours or days. You may get stung by a jellyfish, mugged by thug or knocked unconscious by a falling coconut. Then there are earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, pandemics or political upheaval to deal with.

Of course, many travelers will never experience an emergency while on the road. And danger can also find you close to home.

But for those who want to be prepared, what should go in an emergency kit?

“A good police whistle, two glow sticks, a small roll of wide adhesive tape to prevent hotel doors from closing, and $100 in local currency in small denominations,” said Noel Koch, senior director of travel intelligence for the travel risk management company NC4.

Koch considers a smartphone, with a reliable service provider, essential as well. “In the case of Japan, a smartphone would have given the traveler the ability to get information on how to book a flight out of Tokyo,” he said. “In the case of Egypt, travelers could have gotten information via Twitter to find out what was happening with the protests.”

Medications, both prescribed and over-the-counter, belong in your kit as well. “Take enough for your trip and an extra supply in case you get delayed or stuck someplace for a certain length of time,” said Myles Druckman, vice-president of medical services for International SOS. “You can’t assume you’ll be able to find the same medications you have at home. And some over-the-counter medicines may be prepared or branded differently than you’re used to at home.”

Puig adds that you go should always have items that allow you to travel and communicate. That includes a copy of your passport (with another copy saved in e-mail or another electronically accessible way), a cell phone you know will work in any country you’re visiting and a calling card to use if your cell phone dies or is stolen. “None of that really requires a lot of extra effort,” he said.

Make room for these items
Beyond the basics, you may want to add some of these items to your “go kit.”

Beth Whitman, founder of Wanderlust and Lipstick, used to carry a water purifier only on her international trips. “Now I won’t leave home without it even to a destination with drinkable tap water because I realize it would be perfect if water supplies were compromised,” said Whitman.

When she travels to West Africa, nature writer Susan McGrath takes a folding mosquito tent and beeswax earplugs in case she finds herself in a village with a community loudspeaker that plays bad pop music 24/7. She also always takes along a headlamp. “I did get stranded in Nigeria during a countrywide shut down and lived briefly in the Lagos Hilton on my emergency kit,” said McGrath. “And when the power went off in the very crowded airport at 11 p.m., I was pretty well equipped not to panic.”

When WanderingEducators.com publisher Jessica Voights travels with her wheelchair, her “go kit” includes the phone number and address of a mobility organization or store that can help in case of an emergency and/or equipment failure, extra batteries, adapters and converters for medical devices, extra copies of prescriptions “and letters from doctors explaining my medical conditions and equipment needs.”

And Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, editor of WeJustGotBack.com, keeps a few quart- and gallon-size Ziploc bags in her “go kit” as well as “phone numbers and policy numbers for my car and health insurance, customer service numbers for credit cards and contact numbers for my family’s doctors and pediatrician.”

Pre-packed kits and emergency quarters
At minimus.biz, which sells a wide variety of travel and trial-size items, miniature rolls of duct tape, individual packets of water purifier and glow sticks are listed under the “Survival” tab. Pre-packaged “personal care” kits filled with three days’ worth of water, food and other basics supplies are there, too. Company co-founder Paul Shrater said that since the Japanese disaster, he’s gotten a lot of inquiries from companies and agencies seeking to stock up on those emergency kits but few calls from vacationers seeking to create their own travel-versions of the kits.

“If you really stock it correctly and think of all the things you really need, you start getting up there in terms of weight and size,” said Shrater.

That’s why Puig of International SOS urges worried travelers to sit down and make a plan. “Do an analysis of who you are, how you travel and what the risks are in the country you’ll be traveling to,” Puig said. “Ask yourself how well prepared you’d be if you were in Cairo when the demonstrations broke out or in Japan after the earthquake. What are the things you’d need to have to be prepared?”

Mitch Ahern of technology consulting firm Cantina is prepared. He carries a roll of quarters in his travel emergency kit for late nights at airports or trade show set-ups when dinner may come from a vending machine. Ahern said the quarters have a dual purpose. “I have it on excellent authority that a roll of quarters in a sock makes an excellent zombie-stopper when applied with force to the head!”

Categories: Assistance, Safety, Travel tips
No Comments »

Lots of news from the TSA recently.

On Friday, TSA administrator John Pistole gave the OK to limited collective bargaining for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) at the nation’s airports.

Right now, about 13,000 TSOs are being represented by one of two unions: the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

But those unions can only offer personal, not collective, representation and are not allowed to bargain on behalf of the officers.

That’s about to change.

This spring, TSOs are scheduled to vote on whether they want exclusive union representation from one of those two unions – or no union representation at all.  If they do choose a union – and they probably will – Pistole’s new determination will allow that union to conduct bargaining on “limited, non-security issues relating to employment including shift bids, transfers and awards” but not on any issues related to security.

According to a TSA fact sheet, that means…

“…bargaining would not be allowed on security policies, procedures or the deployment of security personnel or equipment, pay, pensions and any form of compensation, proficiency testing, job qualifications or discipline standards. Officers would also be strictly prohibited from striking or engaging in work slowdowns of any kind.”

We’ll surely be hearing more about this in the next few weeks, but it’s interesting,  – and, some say, very meaningful – that this announcement comes so soon after John Pistole’s announcement that he’s effectively capping the program that for almost ten year years no has allowed airports to ask the TSA to hire private contractors to replace federal workers at the security checkpoints.

Here’s the story I wrote for msnbc.com about that: Ditch TSA? Airports no longer allowed to opt-out.

The Transportation Security Administration has said it won’t allow any more airports to “opt out” and bring in private security contractors in place of the agency’s federal workers. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., who in the fall wrote a letter to 100 airports urging them to ditch TSA agents, said it is “unimaginable” that TSA would end “the most successfully performing passenger screening program we’ve had over the last decade.”

Despite staunch opt-out support from Mica — the new chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — TSA Administrator John Pistole said Friday that he had reviewed the private contractor screening program as part of a more general review of TSA policies and decided not to expand the program beyond the current 16 airports because he did not see “any clear or substantial advantage to do so at this time.”

Since the TSA was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, federal law has allowed airports the option of using private screeners. But few of the nation’s roughly 460 commercial airports have done so.

Currently, San Francisco International, Kansas City International and 14 other airports use private contractors to screen airline passengers. Under the program, the private company conducts an airport’s passenger screening according to TSA’s rules and policies and under TSA supervision.

“TSA will continue to sustain the program at the current level to compare the effectiveness of federal vs. private screeners,” said TSA spokesperson Greg Soule. “The information we have to date shows the performance of TSA officers and private screeners is comparable.”

‘Flabbergasted’
Several airports had been pursuing the use of private screeners. Gary Cyr, director of Missouri’s Springfield-Branson National Airport, said he was “flabbergasted” by the two-sentence TSA memo he received Friday letting him know that the airport’s application to “opt out” of the federal passenger screening program had been denied.

“We got no response as to why, what for or otherwise,” said Cyr. “It’s the shortest important letter I ever got.”

Five other airports — all in Montana — also were looking to use private security screeners and received the same response Friday from the TSA. “Basically it was a form letter saying that our application had been denied because there would be no benefit to TSA,” said Cindi Martin, director of Montana’s Glacier Park International Airport.

Some government officials and unions representing TSA workers applauded Pistole’s decision. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., a ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security, said in a statement that ending the acceptance of new applications for the program “makes sense from a budgetary and counterterrorism perspective.”

“The nation is secure in the sense that the safety of our skies will not be left in the hands of the lowest-bidder contractor, as it was before 9/11,” said John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employee, in a statement. The union represents TSA screeners.

Mixed reaction
Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which is actively organizing TSA officers at some airports, also thinks Pistole did the right thing. “It keeps this important work in the hands of federal employees, where it belongs,” Kelly said in a statement.

But in Washington, D.C., where more than 200 airport staff members were attending a legislative conference, Greg Principato, president of Airports Council International–North America, said his organization opposes the TSA’s stance. “Nobody here is happy about Pistole’s decision. Even airports that had no interest in opting out aren’t happy. They thought those airports that want the option should be able to pursue that.”

Principato said he is keeping an eye on the 16 airports already in the program. “We didn’t think TSA would make the move to not let anyone else in. We hope they won’t expand on the mistake by shrinking the current program.”

Decisions, decisions
In the meantime, several airports that were considering the screening partnership program are contemplating their next moves.

“We still plan to opt out,” said Larry Dale, airport director at Orlando Sanford International in Florida, who planned to file his airport’s application this week. “My guess is they’ll send it back saying they’re not taking applications. But we’re taking advantage of something we’re allowed to do. We’re put too much time and investment into researching this not to go forward.”

“We’re just not sure what to think at this point,” said Chris Jensen, airport director at Missoula International. “So we’re going to wait and watch.”

Martin of Montana’s Glacier Park International Airport said her airport may re-apply. “The program is not dead. The reason our airport authority applied to the screening partnership program was because of TSA staffing cuts at our airport and customer service issue. Those issues still haven’t been resolved.”

Categories: Air Travel, Safety, TSA
No Comments »

The news has been filled with stories about the TSA’s new enhanced body pat-downs, the new airport body scanners and campaigns encouraging people to opt out of the scanning process. Travelers left and right are posting their accounts of the pat-down process.

Need to catch up? Here are some of the stories:

USA TODAY has posted two opinion pieces on the airport scanning issue:

Our view on security vs. privacy: Critics bash airport scans, but what’s their alternative?

and

Opposing view on security vs. privacy: Honor basic dignity by James Babb and George Donnelly, the co-founders of the We Won’t Fly group.

Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, of Miracle on the Hudson fame, shared his opinion about whether or not airline personnel should be subjected to full body pat-downs and advanced imaging scanners.

and

Gizmodo got its hands on – and posted – photographs of 100 of the 35,000 images U.S. Marshals in a Florida Federal Courthouse saved on a scanner. These images don’t come from an airport scanner – Department of Homeland Security and TSA have promised that airport scanners do not have the capability to save images – but Gizmodo and others clearly aren’t confident that’s the real story.

There’s more. LOTS more.  Check back later….

Categories: Air Travel, Airports, Legislation, Safety, Security, Stuck at the Airport, TSA
No Comments »

Peanuts on a plane.

For a lot of people, that’s a more frightening scenario than snakes on a plane.

And a lot more likely.

And as I wrote in my msnbc.com column this week – Passengers peeved about peanuts on airplanes - a lot of travelers think the best way to enhance airline passenger protections is to ban peanuts on planes.

Through September 23^rd, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is taking public comment on a wide range of issues affecting airline passengers. Everything from peanuts on planes to involuntary bumping policies to surprise baggage fees.

Of the nearly 1,300 public comments submitted so far, the majority are focused on peanut allergies.

One problem though.

Technically, DOT doesn’t have the authority to change in-flight peanut policies. That’s because an appropriations law from 2000 prohibits the agency from passing peanut rules until a scientific study proves a rule change will actually benefit airline passengers with allergies. And no such study has been completed or commissioned.

Still, the agency is trying to gauge public opinion on ways to handle in-flight peanuts.

“We haven’t said we won’t do anything,” said DOT spokesperson Bill Mosely. “We haven’t ruled anything in or out. So we still do want to hear public comments about peanuts. We plan to read and review them all.”

The problem with flying peanuts

Peanut allergies among children have tripled between 1997 and 2008, and peanut allergies, tree-nut allergies, or both, are reported by 1 percent of the U.S. population, or about 3 million people, according to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), a group that supports discontinuing serving peanuts on planes.

The fear of having a severe reaction from exposure to peanuts while locked inside an airplane keeps some allergy sufferers grounded. Under DOT’s rules, passengers with severe peanut allergies have a qualifying disability covered by the Air Carrier Access Act, which prohibits discrimination by U.S. and foreign carriers against individuals with disabilities.

As far back as 1988, DOT advised airlines to make reasonable accommodations for passengers disabled by their peanut allergies. Most airlines voluntarily comply, but no formal rules have been put in place.

Now, DOT is asking the public to comment on three alternatives to accommodate peanut-allergy sufferers on airplanes:

• Ban the serving of peanuts and all peanut products on all flights;
• Ban the serving of peanuts and all peanut products on all flights where a passenger with a peanut allergy requests it in advance, or;
• Require airlines to establish a peanut-free buffer zone for passengers with severe peanut allergies.

DOT is also asking the public to comment on how peanuts and peanut products carried on board by passengers should be handled.

Peanut protections for airline passengers

If you’ve got a problem with peanuts, here’s what you need to know:

AirTran, Alaska/Horizon, American, Continental, JetBlue and United are among the major domestic airlines that do not serve peanuts. However, most airlines also post notices saying they can’t promise that some items served on board won’t contain nut products or that other passengers won’t bring their own nut products on board.

Two domestic airlines continue to ladle out legumes.

In 2009, both Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines served about 92 million bags of peanuts. “That does sound like a lot of nuts,” said Patrick Archer, president of the American Peanut Council, “But the airline portion of the overall U.S. peanut business is really very small.”

If alerted, Delta Airlines will accommodate a passenger with a peanut allergy by creating a peanut-free buffer zone for three rows in front of and three rows behind their seat. The airline’s website also notes that when advised that a passenger with peanut allergies is flying, “Gate agents will be notified in case you’d like to pre-board and cleanse the immediate seating area.”

And while Southwest Airlines can’t guarantee a nut-free airplane, it will suspend peanut service on an entire flight if a passenger with an allergy requests it. See Southwest’s peanut dust allergy page for more information.

Want to share your thoughts about peanuts-on-planes? You can leave a comment below.

You can also file comments for the DOT to read (through September 23, 2010) here.

Categories: Advisories, Air Travel, Airplanes, Food, Legislation, Rules, Safety
2 Comments »