Security

TSA PreCheck Enrollment Centers open in DC Area

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More in-person centers opened today for those who would like to enroll in the TSA PreCheck program, which offers travelers an expedited trip through airport security checkpoints.

TSA PreCheck Enrollment Center at IND Airport - courtesy TSA

In the DC-metro area, TSA opened pre-enrollment centers at three off-airport locations:

*Alexandria, Va.: Universal Enrollment Center/IdentoGO Center — Alexandria Commons Shopping Center — 3139 Duke St., Alexandria, Va., 22314

*La Plata, Md.: Universal Enrollment Center/IdentoGO Center — White Plains Corporate Business Park — 10665 Stanhaen Place, Suite 300A, White Plains, Md., 20695

* Dundalk, Md: Universal Enrollment Center/IdentoGO Center— Point Breeze Business Center — 2200 Broening Highway, Suite 110, Baltimore, Md., 21224

Earlier this month TSA opened the first PreCheck Enrollment center at Indianapolis International Airport (IND). The agency plans to open additional centers in the LA and NY-metro areas by the end of this year and more than 300 centers around the country during 2014.

Greetings from Vienna International Airport

Observation Decks, Planespotting, Security, ,

Greetings from Vienna International Airport viennahall

On Friday afternoon Vienna Airport spokesman Peter Kleemann was kind enough to offer a tour of portions of Vienna International Airport to a group of journalists in town for the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board Meeting.

Among the highlights of the tour was a stop at the Visitor’s Center, where an outdoor terrace offered wall panels with explanations of what goes on at an airport and, on this day, foggy views of the airfield.

Vienna Visitor Center

We also stopped at the Terminal Operation Center, where banks of video screens offer an at-a-glance view of the traffic at dozens of spots inside the airport.

Vienna Terminal Info center

The operators in this room are charged with keeping an eye on the flow of passengers throughout the airport. If lines get long or there’s a back-up of any kind, they send word to open another access line or make sure back-up is on the way.

Wonder what kind of help arrives if someone pushes this button…

vienna batman button

The best airport amenities of 2013

Food, ground transporation, Lounges, Security, Transportation, , , , ,

In the sky, hassles abound as airlines squeeze in more seats on their planes and tack on more fees for checking baggage, changing flight plans and using other services.

On the ground, it’s a rosier story.

Airports are steadily upgrading their facilities and adding amenities that offer passengers more enjoyable experiences that can make the time spent waiting for a flight the best part of the trip.

As we close out 2013, here are some of the best of airport amenities rolled out this past year.

Automated passport kiosks

Automate passport kiosk at ORD

You can’t really enjoy your time at an airport unless you can get into the airport, and this year we’ve seen wait times at customs significantly reduced at a handful of North American airports that have installed automated passport kiosks.

U.S. citizens can use these machines – for free – to scan their passports, answer customs declarations questions and cut short the time they need to spend in conversation with a customs officer.

The first machines were installed in May at Vancouver International Airport. In August, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport became the first U.S. airport to roll out the kiosks. Since then, the wait-reducing machines have been introduced at New York JFK International Airport (Terminal 4), Miami International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Montreal-Trudeau International Airport and, on Dec. 4, at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

TSA Pre-check expands

TSA PreCheck Enrollment Center at IND Airport - courtesy TSA

At the end of 2012, the Transportation Security Administration’s Pre-check program offering expedited airport security screening was available at 35 airports for eligible passengers on five airlines (Alaska, American, Delta, United and U.S. Airways) and members of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trusted Traveler program.

Today, the Pre-check program is available at 102 airports and the number of participating airlines has expanded to nine: Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, United, US Airways and Virgin America.

Beginning Dec. 20, active members of the U.S. Armed Forces (including the Coast Guard, Reserves and National Guard) who use their Department of Defense ID number when making a reservation may use the Pre-check lanes as well.

And last week, TSA launched a program offering eligible travelers five years of Pre-check membership for $85. Applications may be started online, but must be completed in person at the enrollment center now open at Indianapolis International Airport, at one of the centers TSA will open in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles by the end of 2013, or at one of the more than 300 centers planned for the future.

Lounge-like checkpoints

 

DFW CALMING CHECKPOINT - courtesy Security Point Media

Thanks to a three-month pilot program that began in October, Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport each have a security checkpoint that could (almost) double for a relaxing hotel lobby.

A joint project between Security Point Media and Marriott’s SpringHill Suites, the checkpoints have stylish décor, soothing wall art, colored lights and relaxing music as well as “re-composure” areas with comfortable leather couches and – a brilliant touch – mirrors.

Response to what’s been dubbed “The Next Level Experience” has been so positive that talks are underway to continue these installations at these two airports and possibly expand the concept to other airports in 2014.

Improved airport transportation

BWI MARC TRAIN - courtesy BWI

Getting to and from the airport can be part of the hassle of any trip, but during 2013 a few airports smoothed out some transit options.

Boston Logan International Airport says there is now “no scheduled end date” for a pilot program introduced in 2012 offering free Silver Line bus rides between the airport and the city center.

San Francisco International Airport, which took legal action last summer against car and ride-sharing programs it claimed were operating illegally at the airport, now has an agreement with the car-sharing company Relay Rides. This should pave the way for other non-traditional transportation companies to negotiate deals at SFO and other airports grappling with this issue.

And, just in time for holiday travel, the Maryland Transit Administration added weekend MARC commuter rail service between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, with stops at Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Airport service plazas

Denver Airprt_Dunkin Donuts

Facilities offering a wide variety of truly helpful services for passengers – and for those picking folks up – popped up this year outside two airports.

In September, Denver International Airport opened its a super-sized, 253-space cellphone lot called “Final Approach” adjacent to a fueling station. The lot’s building has a children’s play area with iPads built into tabletops, lounge seating, indoor restrooms, free Wi-Fi (which reaches the parking lot), flight display boards and four restaurants, including a Dunkin’ Donuts with a 24-hour drive-through which, airport officials report, is selling about 7,200 donuts each day.

In October, the Service Plaza opened near Indianapolis International Airport. In additional to a fueling station, automated green car wash, automobile detailing and quick lube services, there are two restaurants, a Circle K convenience store, flight display monitors and restrooms.

Great food and drink

IHOP

Interesting places to eat and drink continue to show up at airports and this year fresh additions ranged from the Shake Shack at JFK’s T4 and the first airport IHOP – which opened at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – to Root Down at Denver International Airport, which operates with a decidedly “field to fork” flair.

The food-trucks-at-airports concept also expanded this year, with San Francisco, Sacramento, Tucson, Austin and Long Beach airports following the lead of Tampa International, which first invited food trucks to visit that airport around this time last year.

Great ideas

And then there are some interesting one-off ideas that we may see adopted by other airports during the next year.

Since February, Denver International Airport has had collection containers at four security checkpoints seeking donations of loose change for Denver’s Road Home, an organization that helps the homeless. Parking meter-style collection stations are inside the airport and so far this year, more than $69,000 has been raised.

In August, Vermont’s Burlington International installed a free-standing, pod-shaped Mamava Lactation Station to offer nursing and breastfeeding mothers a clean, comfortable and private space, post-security, to take care of business.

Burlington_MAMAVA ON SITE

And this year, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport not only made room for an automated kiosk that taught air travelers a simplified, life-saving CPR method called Hands-Only, this holiday season DFW is offering what could be a face-saving service for last-minute shoppers: free shipping for last-minute gifts purchased in the terminals.

(My round-up of the Best Airport Amenities in 2013 first appeared as my December 2013 At the Airport column on USA Today Travel.)

 

Have you encountered any great airport amenities this year? Please share your favorites below.

TSA opens first enrollment center for PreCheck program

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Spokane Airport TSA

Looking to get through airport security faster?

TSA is now letting passengers apply to get into the PreCheck program offering expedited screening, but for now you’ll have to go through Indianapolis International Airport to complete it.

Those using PreCheck lanes do not need to remove shoes, light jackets or belts, and may leave their laptops and bag of 3-1-1 compliant liquids and gels in their carry-on bags.

Travelers can begin the application online by providing basic information and make an appointment to visit an enrollment center to finish the process.

The first enrollment center will be located in Indianapolis International Airport’s concession-filled, pre-security Civic Plaza, between a shop called Cultural Crossroads and the exit from concourse B.

Over the next few weeks, TSA plans to open additional enrollment centers in the New York City area, the Washington, D.C. metro area and in Los Angeles. By the spring of 2014, the TSA plans to have more than 300 enrollment centers open around the country.

Until now, eligibility for the PreCheck program has only been available through programs such as the U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s Global Entry program and through airline frequent flier programs.

“TSA PreCheck is enabling us to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to transportation security, as we look for more opportunities to provide the most effective security in the most efficient way,” TSA Administrator John S. Pistole said in a statement.

According to TSA, travelers will be able to visit an application center to pay the non-refundable $85 application fee and provide required biographic information (name, date of birth, address, etc.), fingerprints and identity and citizenship/immigration documentation. Those seeking to enroll may also begin their application online and make an appointment before visiting an enrollment center.

TSA’s PreCheck program allows qualified traveler to receive expedited checkpoint screening at more than 100 airports nationwide when flying on nine participating airlines: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways and Virgin America.

Approval is not immediate: TSA said applicants will be able to check their status online within five days and written responses should take approximately two to three weeks.

If approved, travelers will receive a Known Traveler Number and a five-year membership in the PreCheck program.

(My story on TSA PreCheck first appeared on NBC News Travel)

 

TSA wants airports to monitor exit lanes

Airports, Security, ,

exit-sign

Just one week after the tragic shooting that killed an on-duty Transportation Security Administration employee, the nation’s airport officials and the TSA remain embroiled in a dispute over the agency’s decision to stop staffing exit lanes at airport security checkpoints by the end of the year.

In April, the TSA ordered airports to take over monitoring the exit lanes in early 2014, saying the agency does not consider exit lanes part of its screening function.

Transferring that task to airports would allow the agency “to focus on the priority of screening passengers and baggage” and cut $88.1 million a year from its budget, said TSA spokesman Ross Feinstein.

However, the idea doesn’t sit well with many airport authorities and industry trade groups who charge the agency with shirking duties, ignoring input and rushing in a plan that will add millions of dollars to airport operating budgets.

“Our position is quite simple: We believe first and foremost that exit lane monitoring is the responsibility of the TSA,” said Keith Brune, director deputy of operations and facilities at Philadelphia International Airport. He estimates that taking over staffing of the airport’s exit lanes could cost the airport up to $3 million a year.

Public areas near airport checkpoints “are nearly as vulnerable as any other public place,” said Jeff Price of Leading Edge Strategies, an aviation management training and consulting company.

In the Nov. 1 shooting at Los Angeles International Airport, authorities believe the suspect may have entered the secure area of the airport through a gateway normally used by travelers exiting the terminal.

And in early January, 2010, a man breached the exit lanes at Newark Liberty International Airport so that he could kiss his girlfriend goodbye. The TSA shut down one of the airport’s terminals for three hours, stranding thousands of passengers, and the man was later located and arrested.

Many airports now have petitions filed with the TSA asking for a reconsideration of the exit-lane ruling. Others are working with their congressional delegations in hopes of having the ruling rescinded or delayed. And some are considering filing or joining lawsuits.

“It’s something we didn’t want to do, but TSA’s plan will end up costing us about a million dollars per year,” said Patrick Hogan, spokesman for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The TSA currently staffs exit lanes at about a third of the nation’s airports. Other airports either staff the lanes themselves or, in some cases, share the responsibility with the TSA. A few, including Seattle-Tacoma International, Philadelphia International and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, have begun installing some unmanned, automated exit lanes.

If the TSA’s exit-lane plan is implemented, “it will result in the closure of exit lanes at McCarran International Airport,” said Rosemary Vassiliadis, director of aviation for Clark County, Nevada. Others airports may offer fewer exit lanes per concourse as well, resulting in a longer walk for some passengers to reach the baggage claim or the curb.

But at most airports the only outward change passengers might notice “is that the person staffing the exit lane may be wearing a different uniform,” said Mark Crosby, chief of public safety and security at Portland International Airport.

“Ultimately, though, it will be passengers who will pay,” for the change, said Price.

“Airports don’t have the cash to absorb the cost of staffing the exit lanes. So passengers might see higher parking fees or higher prices at the concessions. The changes may seem subtle, but they will be there.”

(My story about exit lanes at airports first appeared on NBC News Travel)

TSA: 99 firearms at checkpoints in 3 weeks

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One thing we missed the past few weeks was the TSA Week in Review, which includes a report of the firearms and other prohibited – and sometimes really wacky – things TSA officers find at airport security checkpoints.

On Friday, we got a round-up that covers September 17, 2013 through October 17th, 2013 (dates inclusive of the partial government shutdown) and learned that during the past three weeks 99 firearms were found at airport checkpoints.

Of those 99 guns, 84 were loaded and 29 had rounds chambered.

SEA firearm 10-16 (2)

Courtesy TSA

What other prohibited items did your fellow passengers try to bring on board airplanes the past few weeks?

Fireworks, stun guns, daggers, inert hand grenades, brass knuckles and assorted other items.

Read the full list here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TSA to extend PreCheck to 100 airports

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TSA PINK 2

 

Good news for travelers who hate taking off their shoes at airport security checkpoints: the TSA plans to extend its PreCheck program to an additional 60 airports and add extra PreCheck lanes to some of the 40 airports that already offer the expedited screening program.

This means that by the end of 2013, 100 airports will have some lanes set aside for pre-approved travelers who will not have to remove their shoes, light jackets and belts at the security checkpoints and who will be able to leave their laptops and little baggies of lotions and gels in their carry-on bags during screening.

The program currently applies to eligible passengers traveling on these airlines:

Alaska Airlines

American Airlines

Delta Air Lines

Hawaiian Airlines

United Airlines,

US Airways

Virgin America.

 

Two other airlines – JetBlue and Southwest – are still working out the details to join the program.

In addition to expanding the number of TSA PreCheck lanes, the TSA has been steadily expanding the type of passengers eligible to use the lanes.

Right now, eligible passengers include U.S. citizens in frequent traveler programs who get invited by their airline, U.S. citizens in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trusted Traveler program and Canadian citizens who are members of CBP’s NEXUS program. The TSA is also rolling out an application program that allows U.S. citizens to apply for the TSA PreCheck program – for an $85 fee.

Here’s a link to the airports that currently participate in the TSA PreCheck Program and here’s a link to the 60 airports the TSA is planning to add by the end of the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s with all those guns at airports?

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Guns

Courtesy TSA

 

 

On its blog each week, the TSA posts a round-up of some of the unusual and prohibited items the agency’s officers finds in carry-on bags and checked luggage at airports.

The list usually includes a wide array of guns, stuns guns, ammunition, potentially explosive items and many items that are safe – but which look dangerous, such as perfume bottles shaped like grenades.

The list-within-a-list that always grabs my attention is the number of guns and firearms found in carry-on bags at airports.

The rules are very clear on this: no guns on airplanes.  Yet each week travelers show up at security checkpoints packing guns. And, often they are loaded (The guns, not the people; though sometimes, probably both.)

The TSA says most of the people caught with guns in carry-on bags are not terrorists – ‘merely’ people who forgot they had a gun in their bag.  But, to me,  that’s still alarming.

Here’s this week’s tally: of the 57 firearms found at airports, 47 were loaded and 14 had rounds chambered.

That’s not quite the record number of  firearms – 65 – reported a few weeks back.  But it’s darn close. And summer has just started…

Gun Numbers 6-21

Chart courtesy TSA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why did the TSA give up on knives on planes?

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TSA_KNIVES Guide

Politics and arrogance likely scuttled the plan by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to allow small knives back on planes, but it’s not clear that fliers are any safer for it.

Last week, the TSA announced that while the agency’s “top priority continues to be expansion of efforts to implement a layered, risk-based security approach to passenger screening while maximizing resources,” it was putting aside a proposed plan to allow passengers to take small knives, toy bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks and other currently prohibited sports equipment on board as carry-on items.

The revised list of allowable carry-on items was supposed to go into effect at the end of April, but the plan received strong opposition from flight attendants, pilots, law enforcement, airlines and bi-partisan group of legislators concerned that knives, especially, could be used in attacks on flight crews and other passengers.

“On its merits, the original decision to remove the items from the list was probably based on sound examination of threats risks and vulnerabilities, but given the public reaction, and that of stakeholders and congress, politically, it became too big of fight and not one TSA felt was worth having,” Christian Beckner, deputy director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University told NBC News.

While TSA administrator John Pistole may have lost this battle, “He has the right instincts,” Richard Bloom, director of Terrorism, Intelligence, and Security Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott Arizona Campus told NBC News.

“Unfortunately because of the political climate at the federal level in Washington and the political aspects of TSA, his hands are tied more than he’d like to them to be.”

That doesn’t mean the discussion is over.

“The TSA can probably revisit the discussion about hockey sticks, golf clubs and other items in the coming months,” said Beckner, “But because of the history of how the attacks of September 11 were carried out, there will be always be a visceral reaction to removing even the small knives from the list.”

Going forward, the discussion will likely take a different form.

“You can’t make an acceptable risk decision unless you talk to those affected by it,” said Henry Willis, director the Rand Corporation’s Homeland Security and Defense Center. “I expect TSA to continue making decisions informed by risk, but to more actively engage those affected by those decisions when making them.”

Even so, there are likely to be roadblocks.

An amendment attached to the homeland security bill coming out of the House of Representatives contains language that restrict the TSA from using funds to implement a program that allows knives back on planes, said Eben Burnham-Snyder, spokesman for congressman Ed Markey (D-Mass), who introduced the bi-partisan amendment with Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.). “It’s basically an insurance policy on the reversal of the decision.”

And then there’s gridlock.

“I wish I was wrong about this, but I expect more of the same,” said Bloom. “Even if folks come up with good ideas in term of counter-terrorism and research on this topic, I think politics will continue to get in the way.”

(My story: Why did the TSA give up on knives on pkanes? first appeared on NBC News)

TSA nixes plan to allow small knives & more in carry-on bags

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TSA_KNIVES Guide

If TSA head John Pistole could have had his way, the chart above would be in use by now.

But after months of criticism from pilots, flights attendants, airlines, legislators,members of the public and a slew of others, Pistole decided that passengers will not be allowed to carry small knives, souvenir novelty bats, hockey sticks and other previously banned sports items back onto planes as carry-on items.

Here’s how the TSA described the decision:

“After extensive engagement with the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, law enforcement officials, passenger advocates, and other important stakeholders, TSA will continue to enforce the current prohibited items list. TSA’s top priority continues to be expansion of efforts to implement a layered, Risk-Based Security approach to passenger screening while maximizing resources. ”

As you may imagine, all manner of groups that were opposing the plan – already delayed from its scheduled late April roll-out – expressed their pleasure with John Pistole’s decision:

“We commend the TSA for revising its policy,” said Veda Shook, president of the Association of Flight Attendants International. “Terrorists armed only with knives killed thousands of Americans on 9/11/2001. As the women and men on the front lines in the air, we vowed to do everything in our power to protect passengers and flight crews from harm and prevent that type of atrocity from happening ever again.”

“This decision is the right one for the safety and security of every Transportation Security Officer, airline passenger and aviation employee,” American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. said in a statement.

“We applaud this as a victory for common sense,” said Gregg Overman, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association.

And here’s some of what Paul Hudson, President of FlyersRights.org, had to say:

“Hopefully, the TSA has learned the lesson that transportation security policies affecting many millions of air travelers need to be fully vetted with all stakeholders, not made just on internal deliberations and secret lobbying by those with special financial interests or insider connections.”