Airport security

TSA tally: 40 guns among items found at airport checkpoints

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Geeky, I know, but I really look forward to reading the TSA.gov weekly blog post offering a round-up of items TSA officers find at airport checkpoints. The list is always scary, alarming, puzzling and just plain sad. How can so many people just “forget” they’ve got a loaded gun and a large quantity of bullets in a purse or travel bag?

According to the TSA blog, last week 40 firearms – 29 loaded – were found in carry-on bags at airport checkpoints around the country. Some of the people carrying the guns received citations; others got arrested.

Other items on the list this week include 11 stun guns, including one that looks just like a cell phone, and a live blasting cap, a bomb component which TSA’s Blogger Bob Burns helpfully explains, is “a small explosive charge that sets off a larger explosive charge.”

Photos courtesy TSA.

TSA catches man with knife in walker

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I suspect the TSA only shares information about some of the ways people try to sneak items through airport security checkpoints. But the stories the TSA does share are getting kind of wild.

Like this one: TSA officers at JFK International Airport found a knife “artfully concealed” on the walker of a man passing through a security checkpoint.

“Walkers don’t pass through checkpoint metal detectors, and instead they are inspected by TSA officers,” the TSA said in a statement. “It was during the inspection process that an alert officer spotted the knife, which was tucked alongside the frame of the walker.”

TSA finds a debrainer and guns, guns, guns

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Once again, the TSA’s Friday round-up of prohibited, illegal and just plain wacky items found at airport checkpoints and in checked baggage is both entertaining and frightening.

On the list: something called a debrainer, inert shells from land mines, model rocket engines, automobile airbags marked “Explosive,” guns, stun guns, ammunition and knives.

And here’s a handy chart of ‘just’ the guns discovered in carry-on baggage at airports last week. The TSA says a lot of people “just forget” they have loaded guns in a purse or briefcase they take with them to the airport. Maybe I travel in far too innocent circles, but I find this hard to believe.

TSA sends travelers age 75 and older to the front of the line

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TSA sending elderly travelers to the front of the line

Turns out age has its advantages.

Recent stories of a 95-year-old flier in Florida who claimed a TSA agent asked her to remove her adult diaper and an elderly flier who claimed she was strip- searched at JFK airport brought attention to the difficulties many elderly travelers encounter at security checkpoints.

Now the TSA  will begin testing new procedures that “enhance security and may improve the travel experience for passengers in this age group.”

Beginning Monday, March 19, modified airport screening procedures for passengers 75 and older will begin at four U.S. airports: Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Denver International Airport (DEN), Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Portland International Airport (PDX). According to TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein, the percentage of passengers in the 75 and older group is slighter higher at these airports.

The modified procedures being tested will be similar to those recently implemented for children age 12 and under who no longer need to remove their shoes and light outerwear at airport checkpoints and are allowed a ‘do-over’ through the advanced imaging technology to clear any anomalies. However, as with the procedures for young children, the TSA reserves the right to ask those over 75 to remove their shoes and undergo a pat-down if any anomalies detected during security screening cannot be resolved through other procedures.

Farbstein said there is no defined end to the pilot program, but noted that in August 2011, TSA began a pilot program of expedited screening procedures for travelers 12 and under and went national with that program a month later. “But I don’t want to be raising expectations too soon for this program,” said Farbstein. “Each airport testing the 75 and older program is doing so at only one checkpoint.”

Here’s where to get the expedited service:

  • Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD): Security Checkpoint 3, Terminal 1
  • Denver International Airport (DEN): South Checkpoint/USA Flag Checkpoint
  • Orlando International Airport (MCO): West Checkpoint
  • Portland International Airport (PDX): ABC Checkpoint, lane 7 and 8.

At the participating airport checkpoints, travelers will see a sign alerting them to the program. “We think people 75 and older will announce themselves,” said Farbstein. She added that officers will also do visual assessments and direct those who qualify to a special lane for expedited screening.

“We think this will improve security,” said Farbstein. “We know it’s not one-size-fits-all and this will allow us to focus more of our time on passengers we know less about.”

The TSA has implemented several other risk-based initiatives in the past year that have also reduced and/or changed the screening requirements for many passengers. Those programs include the Known Crew Member program, the use of expanded behavior detection techniques and the TSA Pre-Check  expedited screening initiative.

The agency also introduced TSA CARES,  a toll-free number (1-855-787-2227) to assist travelers with disabilities and medical conditions and answer questions about screening policies, procedures and what to expect at the airport security checkpoint.

The helpline hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. EST (excluding federal holidays) and accommodations are available for travelers who are deaf or hard of hearing. The TSA recommends that passengers call approximately 72 hours ahead of travel so that, if necessary, checkpoint support for a customer can be arranged with a TSA Customer Service Manager at an airport.

 

Video of TSA’s John Pistole at the National Press Club

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Geeky, I know, but I actually went back to watch TSA chief John Pistole’s speech to the National Press Club.

Much of what he said has already been in the news – i.e. the number of guns the TSA finds at airport checkpoints (3 or 4 guns a day; 1306 in 2011) – but I especially enjoyed the question and answer portion of the event – which starts around 22:00.

Among the questions:

What happened to the puffer machines?

How will you continue to monitor people in the pre-check program?

Is everyone who feels nervous while traveling now a suspected terrorist?

Why can a passenger take ten 3 ounce bottles of hair gel on a plane but not one 12 ounce bottle?

And, my favorite: Do you get pat downs at airports?

“Oh, yes,” he said. “I go through regular screening several times.” After one memorable pat down at a “well-known western European hub,” Pistole said he received a thorough pat-down. “I complimented the security officer on the thoroughness of his pat-down. It made me stand up straight,” he said.

Here’s the full video of the event.

 

TSA adds 28 more airports to PreCheck secreening program

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The Transportation Security Administration is expanding PreCheck — its pre-screening airport security program — by adding 28 more airports.

The program, currently in place in seven airports, allows approved fliers to pass through security without having to remove their shoes, belt and jacket. Laptops can also stay in their bags, as can TSA-approved liquids placed in carry-ons.

The TSA has already screened 336,000 fliers through the program. Eligible participants include U.S. citizens who are frequent fliers on selected airlines. Fliers interested in participating can apply via the government’s Global Entry website.

Once a flier is approved, information is then embedded in the barcode of his or her boarding pass, which is scanned at the security checkpoint, where the flier may be directed to an expedited screening lane.

Michael Schneider, the Los Angeles-based owner of Mobile Roadie, a company that helps non-techies make apps, is an American Airlines Executive Platinum flier who was invited by the airline to join the TSA’s PreCheck program a few months ago.

Schneider was already a participant in Global Entry, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows pre-approved low-risk international travelers to pass through customs quickly. Schneider says participating in PreCheck only required filling out an online form.

Handing over additional personal information was worth the convenience at the airport. “I have nothing to hide,” Schneider said. “And when you travel as much as I do — 150,000 miles a year — the little things [like] belt off, shoes off, laptop out add up to a drag.”

Salt Lake City, New York’s JFK, Washington’s Reagan National and Chicago’s O’Hare airports will be added to the program by the end of March. These remaining 24 airports will be added by the end of the year:

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
Denver International Airport (DEN)
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
Honolulu International Airport (HNL)
Indianapolis International Airport (IND)
LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL)
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU)
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Orlando International Airport (MCO)
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
Portland International Airport (PDX)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
Tampa International Airport (TPA)
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC)
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)

(This story originally appeared on msnbc.com)

Survey confirms: air travel sucks

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A new survey confirms what most travelers already know: modern air travel can be stressful, frustrating and exhausting.

“Air travel has lost its spark,” said Tom Rossbach, director of aviation architecture for HNTB, the architecture, engineering and construction company that commissioned the survey. “Going to the airport just isn’t as glamorous as it used to be. Now it’s just a chore.”

Of the survey’s 1,000 U.S. respondents, 44 percent called air travel stressful, 41 percent said it was frustrating and 32 percent declared it downright exhausting. Very few people (16 percent) found air travel easy, luxurious (5 percent) or relaxing (7 percent).

Math whizzes will note that these totals add up to more than 100 percent but survey respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer to the question: “Air travel is…”

Not surprisingly, the survey found that air travelers are displeased with the modern-day airport security-screening process. “The biggest frustration is with waiting in those long lines,” said Rossbach.

 

Only 22 percent said airport security-screening procedures were effective and only 11 percent said it was efficient. A mere 4 percent found it pleasant while 42 percent found the security checkpoint “a hassle.”

But some travelers are optimistic that new technology and better airport amenities can help patch things up.

According to the survey, almost half of Americans think that over that last 10 years there’s been improvement in terminal amenities such as shops, food options and entertainment. And more than half count the now ubiquitous self-check-in kiosks among the improvements.

Going forward, more than a quarter of the survey respondents would like to see paper baggage tags replaced by electronic GPS tags. And 53 percent said they’d feel safer in an airplane that had “NextGen” GPS technology installed, instead of the current radar-based system.

More than 10 percent of respondents would also like to see improvements at airport drop-off and pick-up curbs and at the departure gate lounges as well as a few more designated areas for quiet or conversation.

“We’re going to take this information and use to it design better airports with facilities that are easier to manage and much more enjoyable to be in,” said Rossbach.

100 percent of travelers would most likely say yes to that.

(I first wrote this story for msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin)

TSA nets big dollars from small change

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Hate hidden travel fees? Then pay attention when collecting your belongings at the airport security checkpoint.

In fiscal year 2010, travelers left $376,480.39 in loose change in the bottoms of plastic bins at the checkpoints, according to the Transportation Security Administration. In 2009, the abandoned coins totaled more than $399,000.

“Passengers say their six pennies don’t matter,” said TSA spokesperson Nico Melendez. “But it adds up.”

Melenendez said all the unclaimed pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters are turned over to the TSA finance office. After being documented and counted, the money ends up in the coffers of the TSA, which is authorized by law to spend that money as it sees fit.

But Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) wants to change what happens to that big chunk of change.

Miller has introduced legislation that would direct the TSA to transfer unclaimed money recovered at airport security checkpoints to the United Service Organizations (USO), a private nonprofit that operates centers for the military at 41 U.S. airports.

Miller first introduced the bill in 2009, but it didn’t get much traction. Now that he’s the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, he’s trying to move the bill forward again.

“The money left behind at the airport checkpoints belongs to taxpayers,” said Miller spokesperson Dan McFaul. “The congressman feels giving it to the USO to help with onsite airport service for active members of the military would be a good use for it.”

McFaul said the bill is currently being considered by two committees – Homeland Security and Transportation – and that “the immediate focus is to get a hearing and get support.”

The USO, which did not initiate the campaign to redirect unclaimed checkpoint change, is nonetheless honored by Miller’s idea.

“Absolutely,” said Frank Thorp, USO’s senior vice president for marketing and communications. “Any dollar amount we get from the American people goes toward the troops and families who need us most. Our centers provide a warm and comforting place where troops can connect with family via Internet or telephone, play a video game, catch a movie, have a snack or just put their feet up and relax.”

As a federal agency, the TSA has no official position on the pending legislation, but Melendez says: “If people don’t want the TSA to get that money, they can do what I do. If I have spare change in my pocket, I put it in my briefcase so I don’t leave it behind.”

 

This story originally appeared on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin.

 

The TSA’s Top Ten List for 2011

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Everywhere you look right now there are Top 10 lists. So it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that the TSA’s “Blogger Bob” put together one too.

Here are his picks for 10 ‘catches’ that were dangerous, looked dangerous, caused major delays or were “just plain weird.”

 

Snakes, turtles, and birds were found at Miami (MIA) and Los Angeles (LAX).

A science project shut down a checkpoint at Omaha (OMA).

A concealed non-metallic martial arts weapon known as a “Tactical Spike” was found in the sock of a passenger at Pensacola (PNS) after being screened by a body scanner.

Inert landmines were found at Salt Lake City (SLC).

A stun gun disguised as a smart phone was found at Los Angeles (LAX).

A flare gun with seven flares was found in a passenger’s carry-on bag at Norfolk (ORF).

Two throwing knives concealed in hollowed out book were found at Washington National (DCA).

Over 1,200 firearms were discovered at TSA checkpoints across the nation, many loaded with rounds in the chamber that most passengers said they “forgot” they had a gun in their bag.

A loaded .380 pistol was found strapped to passenger’s ankle with the body scanner at Detroit (DTW).

Small chunks of C4 explosives were found in passenger’s checked luggage in Yuma (YUM).

Blogger Bob also listed some honorable mentions, including Invisible Space Aliens detected at checkpoints, five inert grenades found in passenger’s bag at Newark (EWR) and 240 live fish found swimming in 4 checked bags at Los Angeles (LAX).

That’s quite a list…. Let’s hope the things the TSA picks up this year are not truly dangerous but just “plain weird.”