I spent two long and truly educational days last week attending a TSA training course. My report on the class will show up in my in Well-Mannered Traveler column on MSNBC.com this Thursday, but this post in the TSA’s Evolution of Security blog reminded me of one of the break-out sessions in the class. (Guess […]
It’s Mardi Gras season and the folks at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) have some intriguing travel advice posted on the Web site: What to do when traveling with a King Cake: King cakes, filled and plain, can be brought through the security checkpoint. But, please be advised that king cakes are subject […]
It’s easy to get distracted at the airport. But here’s a reminder from the Vancouver Sun about why it’s especially important to make sure your wallet is safely tucked away: Visitors to [Toronto’s] Pearson International Airport are being targeted by an organization of South American pickpockets, who stole as much as $500,000 last year, authorities […]
Last week, custom agents, or rather a Customs and Border protection dog, at Washington Dulles International Airport smelled something fishy in the suitcase belonging to a man arriving from Africa. As reported in the Washington Business Journal and loads of other places, it wasn’t fish inside that suitcase. The man had three dead monkeys, 10 […]
Every dog has its day. For Pino, that day is Friday. Pino, the oldest of the 500 working dogs in the TSA’s National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program, will be retiring on Friday after 10 years and 11 months of service to the airport K-9 team at Lambert-St.Louis International Airport (STL). During her career, the […]
I spent a lot of time chatting with TSA folks last week while working on an article about guns and other prohibited items travelers keep trying to take through airport security checkpoints. To be honest, it gave me nightmares. Especially after a TSA spokesperson sent me a photo of a shipment of snakes discovered at […]
I spent two long and truly educational days last week attending a TSA training course. My report on the class will show up in my in Well-Mannered Traveler column on MSNBC.com this Thursday, but this post in the TSA’s Evolution of Security blog reminded me of one of the break-out sessions in the class. (Guess […]
It’s Mardi Gras season and the folks at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) have some intriguing travel advice posted on the Web site: What to do when traveling with a King Cake: King cakes, filled and plain, can be brought through the security checkpoint. But, please be advised that king cakes are subject […]
It’s easy to get distracted at the airport. But here’s a reminder from the Vancouver Sun about why it’s especially important to make sure your wallet is safely tucked away: Visitors to [Toronto’s] Pearson International Airport are being targeted by an organization of South American pickpockets, who stole as much as $500,000 last year, authorities […]
Last week, custom agents, or rather a Customs and Border protection dog, at Washington Dulles International Airport smelled something fishy in the suitcase belonging to a man arriving from Africa. As reported in the Washington Business Journal and loads of other places, it wasn’t fish inside that suitcase. The man had three dead monkeys, 10 […]
Every dog has its day. For Pino, that day is Friday. Pino, the oldest of the 500 working dogs in the TSA’s National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program, will be retiring on Friday after 10 years and 11 months of service to the airport K-9 team at Lambert-St.Louis International Airport (STL). During her career, the […]
I spent a lot of time chatting with TSA folks last week while working on an article about guns and other prohibited items travelers keep trying to take through airport security checkpoints. To be honest, it gave me nightmares. Especially after a TSA spokesperson sent me a photo of a shipment of snakes discovered at […]
Heard that one before? On July 4th, San Diego International Airport (SAN) introduced a new set of videos at the security checkpoints. Starring roles are played by the San Diego Zoo’s Bamboo Bear, Legoland’s Johnny Thunder, the San Diego Padres’ Friar, and Shamu from SeaWorld. Want to see a whale going through the metal detector? […]
For starters, air travel is frustrating enough these days. So it just makes things worse if you insist on fully reclining your seat back when the person behind is already squished. Or if you walk down the airplane aisle letting your carry-on bag smack into the faces of folks already seated. And then there’s this: […]
A few years back I wrote an article about animals helping airports keep wildlife off the airfields and out of airplane engines. That’s when I first learned about Radar, the official bird dog on duty at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers. Back in 1999, the airport was the first commercial airport in […]