Underwire bra dispute causes woman to miss her flight

by Anna Brones on

First it was loose change in your pockets, then it was jewelry, and then it was shoes. For Jet Blue passenger Nancy Kates, it seems like bras might be the next thing to go in the airport security line. A big-busted woman, Kates was wearing a large underwire bra as she went through the security check at Oakland International Airport but when it set off the metal detector she was pulled aside by a TSA agent.

Kates accuses the agent of getting a little too personal. “The woman touched my breast. I said, ‘You can’t do that,’ ” Kates said. “She said, ‘We have to pat you down.’ I said, ‘You can’t treat me as a criminal for wearing a bra.’ “

Refusing to be fondled, Kates asked to see a supervisor and then the supervisor’s surpervisor. Kates reminded the TSA agents that the Constitution bars unreasonable searches and that “scrutinizing a woman’s brassiere is surely unreasonable.” She was offered a private room to have her pat-down, but Kates refused. Instead she asked if she could simply remove her bra, to which the TSA agent agreed. This isn’t the first breast related TSA incident, but the whole escapade took 40 minutes and caused Kates to miss her flight. Jet Blue was nice enough to put her on another one.

Being a woman, I myself have had the bra pat-down several times, and I’m sure there are other fellow females on the Gadling team that have gone through the same experience. Normally such pat-downs are off limits to fingers; TSA agents only use the side of their hands. But all the same it’s still a little unnerving. As Kates said, “If I was carrying nail clippers and forgot about them, I wouldn’t have gotten so upset. But here I was just wearing my underwear.”

What are your thoughts? Is it humiliating to get a pat-down to make sure the underwire in your bra is what’s setting off the metal detector?

10 tips for smarter flying


Travelon announces a lineup of TSA friendly laptop bags

by Scott Carmichael on

Now that the TSA has come to its senses, and has relaxed the rules for getting your laptop through security, we are seeing more and more bag manufacturers introduce a line of luggage to help ease the process.

Previously, I had reported on new TSA friendly bags from Mobile Edge, and the newest contender is Travelon Bags.

The Travelon checkpoint friendly bag lineup includes 6 bags; a laptop protector, a laptop sleeve (in three sizes), a briefcase, a wheeled case, a backpack and a ladies brief.

The laptop protector is a one-size-fits-all sling with a carrying handle, for placing your laptop in an existing bag. The sleeve is a neoprene case available from small (for laptops up to 10.5″) all the way up to a large (for laptops up to 17″). The computer briefcase looks like most average laptop bags, but has a pull-out laptop sling which brings your laptop out of the bag ready for inspection, a similar feature is found on the laptop backpack.

The bags start at just $24.99 for the laptop protector, up to $189.99 for the wheeled laptop bag. The first of these bags should be available in early September.

Guns Still Not Allowed in Atlanta Airport

by Josh Lew on

A gun-rights organization called GeorgiaCarry has lost their suit against Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. A recently passed state law allows licensed gun owners to carry their weapons on public transportation. The group went into court claiming that airports are “public transportation” areas as defined in the law.

GeorgiaCarry did not want the right to carry guns on airplanes. They simply wanted to be able to carry in non-secure parts of the airport like parking lots, baggage claim areas, and any other space that can be accessed without passing through airport security checkpoints.

Georgia Republican Governor Sonny Perdue claimed that his wife might want to pack heat as she walked from the parking lot to the terminal. (It was not clear why she would need to walk from the parking lot instead of being dropped off curbside in the governor’s limo).

Fortunately, there is no need to don your Kevlar vest if you are flying into or out of Hartsfield-Jackson. A district judge shot down GeorgiaCarry’s case, saying that allowing firearms inside airport grounds would be a significant risk to public safety.

Some state politicians and gun-rights groups vow to continue to press forward.

$69 portable hard drive enclosure adds keypad password protection

by Scott Carmichael on

Keeping strangers away from your data has suddenly become a hot topic, but whether the US Government is after your information, or just your everyday thief, it always makes sense to protect your files.

Hong Kong based Brando, has introduced a portable hard drive enclosure with a password keypad. Without knowing the access code, strangers won’t even be able to access the hardware. If you want to take paranoid to a new level, you can use double protection by encrypting the data stored on the drive.

This enclosure does not include a hard disk, so you’ll have to invest some more in a 2.5″ hard drive, which will cost you upwards of $65, plus you’ll have to install it yourself.

In the coming months, I’m sure we will see more of these products pop up. The combination of the US government admitting that they can (and will) seize suspicious equipment and the general fear of the Chinese government during the Olympics is driving paranoia to a new level. Of course, some of that paranoia is justified.

When it comes to securing your data, the only 100% safe method is to leave important files at home, don’t carry anything you wouldn’t want to share with a stranger, and never ever login to any kind of site unless you are 100% sure the connection you are using is secure. Of course, the first sign for any customs official that you might be hiding something, is a hard drive enclosure with a password keypad, so you really can’t ever win.

Is Clear Security secure?

by Grant Martin on

If you’ve passed through airport security at more than a few airports in the past year, you’ve probably noticed Clear security lanes. The Cliff Notes version of their service is that they take a retina scan, store some info and let you get through screening faster — for a fee, of course.

I have to admit, I don’t know anyone that uses it. Most business travelers I know fly either in First Class (so don’t have to go through the long security line) or plan well enough in advance to anticipate long security lines (so don’t worry about it). And I think that some people are concerned about giving biometric and personal data to a third party to store in a database — you know, that whole privacy thing.

But surely a security company would keep tight control over and even encrypt that private data, right? Not necessarily. According to cbs5tv, a Clear laptop at San Francisco International airport was boosted the other day, along with the personal data of over 30,000 members in the system. New applications are on hold while the company that operates the checkpoint, Verified Identity Pass Inc., tracks down the notebook.

I’m glad I didn’t apply for a Clear Pass last year.