TSA investigator has butterfingers

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Loose lips sink ships, right?

A TSA that has been reactive since the beginning of December – thanks to leaks of both its operating manual and a sensitive security memo – is now sporting another black eye. It seems that one of the investigators who delivered a subpoena to the home of travel blogger Steven Frischling couldn’t keep track of his notebook. According to a post by blogger Mary Kirby on Flightglobal.com, this federal employee accidentally left his notebook in a public place.

Is it any wonder the TSA is plagued with leaks?

The TSA didn’t respond to Kirby’s request for comment, and she cites an anonymous source as providing her the info, so there’s obviously more waiting to be told.

British tabloid takes syringe past airport security – labels it “terror airport”

by Scott Carmichael on

Leave it to a British tabloid to try and show how dangerous Amsterdam airport is. One of their reporters carried a syringe past airport security, to try and convince us that the airport deserves the name “terror airport”.

Never mind the fact that 1000’s of people carry a syringe through the airport each day (diabetics), or that a syringe on its own isn’t a weapon.

Because the Nigerian would-be bomber used a (filled) syringe and underpants full of powder, the British newspaper draws the conclusion that syringes are now weapons of terror.

They obviously forgot to point out that metal detectors can’t pick up metal objects this small, and that full body scanners won’t be present at the airport for another couple of weeks. I’m willing to bet that none of the UK airports would have detected the syringe either – since all European airports use similar security procedures.

So, in the name of journalism, the Sunday Express creates fake hysteria, brandishing one of the safest airports in Europe a “terror airport”.

Security breach sticks passengers in NJ for extra six hours

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Imagine the joys of spending an extra six hours in Newark, NJ. So, how pissed would you be at the one guy responsible? Now, multiply that by all the people in Newark Liberty International Airport. That’s a lot of anger.

At 5:30 PM on Sunday, a passenger walked the wrong way through the exit at the security checkpoint in Terminal C. He was stopped while the authorities reviewed surveillance tapes in an attempt to discern his identity.

Meanwhile, passengers were kicked from the secure area of the terminal and required to go through security again. Just imagine the length of those lines! After a thorough search of the terminal, the checkpoints opened at around 11:45 PM

One passenger wasn’t upset about the delay but did express irritation over the lack of organization in the terminal, a fair assessment, really. While I’d be angry at the passenger who bypassed security, I’d also be pretty furious at the security guards for letting the situation happen at all.

The security checkpoints reopened approximately 15 minutes before enhanced security measures took effect.

[Photo by The Consumerist via Flickr]

Security at its best: plane returns to destination (for nothing) after “do not fly list” confusion

by Scott Carmichael on

Plane takes off, then ground crew notices plane passenger is on “do not fly list”, plane turns back to airport, passenger not really on “do not fly list”.

That dear readers, is the short version of a breakdown in security.

The moronic incident took place on board a GoJet flight, operating as United Express. The plane departed St. Louis airport, destined for O’Hare. Before take-off, the ground computers used to check for bad guys were not working.

Once the plane was on its way, someone managed to kick some sense into the computers, and noticed that the plane was carrying someone who on the government list of people suspected of something bad. The airline ordered their plane to return back to St. Louis.

Once on the ground, the ground staff came to the conclusion that the bad guy wasn’t really a bad guy, and that he was not the same person as the one on the list. Still with us?

Seriously – you can’t make this stuff up. First we let people fly who are on a watch list, then we let planes take off with someone who may or may not be on the list. The stupidest part? The time the plane took to turn around and land at St. Louis airport is probably only 20 minutes less than it would have taken to fly on to Chicago. Didn’t someone think that if the bad guy really was a terrorist, that turning around minutes into the flight may have been more suspicious than just going on to its destination, and checking him out there?

We don’t need terrorist to screw up air travel – we are doing a mighty fine job on our own.

The next victim in the war on terrorism — the duty free store?

by Scott Carmichael on

Not content with merely harassing passengers at the security checkpoint, German police and pilot unions are calling for a ban on the sale of all flammable products at airport stores.

The ban would include most perfumes and beverages with a high alcohol content. The ban would even extend to disposable razors and metal cutlery at airport restaurants. Of course, a ban like this would most likely be the end of airport duty free stores, who depend on alcohol sales to pay the bills.

A spokesman for the police union had this to say: “The security interests of citizens need to have priority over economic interests”.

Sadly, when we start going down this slope, anything and everything that could potentially be used to start a fire should be banned. Say goodbye to toilet paper, plastic luggage and many sun tan lotions. The concept of naked passengers suddenly seems less insane.

The demand to cease selling these products reminds me of the in-flight entertainment ban that lasted just two days after the Christmas day bomb attempt. Any time there is a (botched) terror attack, people are always quick to point out what they think could be the best way to prevent a repeat.