The TSA is testing a new crowd management system at two airports in Denver and Salt Lake City that they hope will make the security process less troublesome. No, the new system isn’t less invasive or more security-sensible, but it does give families with kids/strollers/bags their own lane, both for their sanity and for ours. Early reports indicate families are happy with it but too many casual travelers think they’re experts and head to the black diamond lane, which is only for people who walk briskly and frown a lot.
From the TSA blog, where every TSA employee suspiciously writes in the same perfectly-punctuated, on-message style (this quote is from the man who heads TSA security operations in Salt Lake City, and clearly not from a PR flack):
The Green lanes are used primarily by families, who often feel stressed in the traditional lane trying to get through with their kids, strollers and other stuff. Often these folks haven’t gotten the proper level of attention they deserve. People who don’t travel much and groups also select this lane. We’ve dedicated more resources to get people through this lane quickly without making them feel pushed. The Blue lanes are for casual travelers who understand TSA procedures to a degree but may not travel all that frequently so they take a little more time. The black diamond lanes are for expert travelers who understand the system by the nature of traveling a lot and are totally prepared for the checkpoint.
One smart-assed commenter on a related Rocky Mountain News article asks, “Where’s the terrorist line?” We agree—that would solve a lot of problems, provided the cluelessly overconfident Blue travelers didn’t self-select for it and clog it up.
Halfway down a Denver Post story about the experiment is one of the saddest things we’ve read all week. Here’s a glimpse of the future of America—children indoctrinated from their earliest memories to accept The Way Things Are.
In the stroller were her sons, Christian, 4, and Wyatt, 2.Wyatt was crying up a storm.
Asked if she thought the new system might benefit her and her kids, Clatterbuck said, “I hope so,” as the two well-trained little boys took off their shoes even though they were seated in the stroller.
Update: A helpful reader sent in a more useful version, which—if followed—would solve all of our security problems.
“Update on Black Diamond Pilot in Salt Lake City – and Now It’s in Denver Too” [evolution of Security] <-- That's the name of the TSA blog, seriously. And check out this subheading: "Terrorists Evolve. Threats Evolve. Security Must Stay Ahead. You Play A Part." !!!
RELATED
“Color-coded screening takes off at DIA” [Denver Post]
“DIA security lines: Pick ‘em” [Rocky Mountain News]
(Image: Jeff R.) (Thanks, Jeff!)
More From Consumerist
-
Target Portrait Studio Deal Not As Great As It Seemed
-
TSA Will Let You Fly With Your Precious Snow Globes This Holiday Season
-
TSA: Police Arrested 3 People Trying To Take Guns Through Atlanta Airport In 2 Hours
-
Man Claims TSA Agent Spilled His Grandfather’s Ashes During Security Screening
-
Posing Problems For PreCheck: Smartphones Can Scan Boarding Pass Barcodes
@jeremybwilson: That’s the sort of attitude that makes it such a well-loved organization in the first place. We’re ALL glad you’re “back in the private sector”.
This 3-path system will make plenty of people mad and the rest helpessly laughing.
Calling POTKETTLEBLACK:
As an older people, I resent your remarkonly for its stupidity and arrogance. Wait til you’re older, dummy, and then re-read your comment (assuming you read it at all).
Older people who have traveled some are as adept as you, just wiser enough not to act superior. (Older people can’t take a punch in the nose well. You, on the other hand, sound like you need one.)
Your problem is that you’re too important to fly in an airplane. Try flying without one.
Next time you’re in the line, please wear your POTKETTLEBLACK T-shirt. I want to see you standing behind me….
Singles, gays and childless couples rejoice!
i have little faith in this though – the Whole Foods lines are easy to figure out and Still half the people there get stumped by them.
All I was saying is that I think much of the anger and distrust leveled against the ground floor TSO is better directed at the people who are writing these policies and hoisting them not just the passengers but the employees they are asking to carry them out, even when it might be obvious to everyone how very little sense they might make.
As for my attitude, I recognize I came off as innappropriately and for that I am apologetic, however I think I gave several fair examples of who to and how the travelling publics frustrations should be directed.
To your last sentence, touche. Fair is fair.
FWIW, I never ever spoke disrespectfully to a passenger and always tried to be empathetic to the needs of individual and families obviously in over their heads at the security checkpoint.
For those of you who travel through Seatac (Seattle) that is where I was at and so I need to be fair in pointing out that we were considered one of the model examples, as opposed to some places like Reagan, Dulles, and Baltimore.
@PotKettleBlack: Your opinions regarding Breeders and tax breaks, are irrelevant to this discussion. GDIAF
Thanks, Jeremy, for sharing your insight from the other side. I think everyone here knows, however, that the low-level TSA employees get shafted every bit as bad as “civilian” travelers.
When do we get our forehead tattoos?
@wobudong: Meh. Old people tend to be slow. Driving, security lines, walking in the mall, whatever. Get over it. Count yourself lucky if you’re the exception.
@Geekybiker: “Get over it,” translates to “You need to accept my opinion.” How about “getting over yourself.”
We need to abolish the TSA. Honestly I think they cause more harm then the terrorists.
@jeremybwilson: So you are saying that when a TSA (O?) low level employee is “making up the rules as he goes” I need to walk a mile in his shoes?
Sorry, no.
I take my job very seriously and do an excellent job EVERY TIME. I expect the same from TSA as well.
Are you telling me that they do it right every time? If so then whats all the complaints about TSA for?
You get a “E” for effort.
Did it ever occur to the TSA that, I don’t know, NOT EVERYBODY SKIS? I understand it, but I skied for 20+ years, but their are plenty of people who can’t relate to the activity, especially since it tends to be expensive. Hell, lots of people who do ski still can’t figure out what level trail they belong on.
@axiomatic:
To the statement “So you are saying that when a TSA…”
Did I state that, no. Nice try though…
Did I say that they do it right every time. No. Nice try. Nobody is perfect and never said they were.
As for taking your own job seriously, well that’s all well and good but don’t expect something from a TSA employee that you yourself are not willing to give to them.
Your first post about “doing their f*king job” really is what started this and it’s pretty clear by virtue of that alone, what you think of TSA employees, and that you don’t distinguish from them the incredibly convoluted and bureaucratically governed system that they are being asked to carry forth.
@jeremybwilson: You have my opinion exactly correct. Now prove me wrong.
This security thing could be done correctly, right now it’s not, it’s a facade.
In skiing parlance, the black diamond is the most difficult and the green circle is easy. I think they got them backwards (The TSA? Never! They’re perfect!). It’s far easier for a frequent traveler with one bag to make it through security than a family or group with special needs.
See, most of my trips are 2-3 night hops where I can fit everything into a single carry-on bag. So I’ll get used to the black line, which is fine except once or twice or year, I’ll go on vacation with the girlfriend and we’ll be hauling more stuff. The problem is, once you go black, you can never go back.
Thank god! The Colorado airport security lines are hell! I go to Colorado at least once a year and I dread them every time.
Yeah cuz Durango just has so much traffic.
@sir_eccles:
Godwin’s law, yes, but also true….
@Christo67:
I hope as a Father you’re also explaining to your kid why the whole idea is offensive and ‘freedom-hating’ too.
As a citizen I hope they scrap the whole thing. The quickest way to help people get on a plane is to not throw a useless security line in front of them at all, much less three lines.
@MercuryPDX: I always thought that black diamond was for an expert skier — therefore, the black diamond sign at the airport is supposed to be for the “expert” traveler.
Why is it that the “casual traveler” looks like a redneck in a flannel shirt and a baseball cap? And I guess all seasoned travelers are women in smart business suits (with a skirt and not pants, of course) with their hands on their hips and a briefcase?
Welcome to the United States of Amerika, comrade. Are your papers in order?
@Jabes: TWO black diamonds is expert.
[www.ezilon.com] –
In the United States, the difficulty rating symbols are as follows:
* Green Circle Easiest
* Blue Square Intermediate
* Black Diamond Difficult
* Two Black Diamonds Expert
* A Black Diamond inside of a Blue Square Variations of Intermediate and Difficult
* A Green Circle inside of a Blue Square Variations of easy and intermediate
* Orange Rectangle Terrain Park
@Jabes: So are they saying it’s easiest for families to get through security and difficult for everyday travellers?
Or option three: They are trying to make an already difficult process into a more confusing and difficult one.
I disagree with more than one line. There should be one line. Period. It’s the most efficient way. If families want their own line, I guess it’s up to them–as an option. But there’s going to be resentment if you divide the wheat from the chaff too much.
@MercuryPDX: It depends on what you mean by “difficult”. For families, I imagine it would be difficult to navigate the security line with the same level of efficiency as an “expert” traveler. A slower, but a more relaxed line would be easier.
Wait, are we actually arguing whether a ski slope metaphor used in a completely different setting perfectly parallels the signs at an actual ski slope? Really?
@spinachdip: Maybe.
I think it’s no coincidence that the program is being tested in two of the larger Recreational Skiing destinations in the US.
I think my point is that the symbols out of their normal context (Difficulty level of a trail) are confusing.
@PotKettleBlack: I think there will be bitching from Breeders, but they already get tax breaks
We have greater expenses, so think of it as an addition to the standard deduction.
and more benefits from the higher taxes I pay (like a public school system)
Assuming you’re not planning on snuffing it soon, those kids whose education you hate to pay for will become contributing members of the society you will be interacting with. If you’ve ever bemoaned the stupidity of politicians or clerks or TSA agents, you should happily support increased education funding and better public education. Public education benefits everyone, not just the kids.
And as a parent with an infant, I would be happy to take the green line: getting through the line becomes much more complicated when you have a carseat and stroller, while you’re holding a baby, and I hate feeling like I’m holding up a line. (I already take off my shoes and put my keys and coins into my coat pocket before I get into line.)
This will work only as long as there isn’t one line that’s much faster than the others. I don’t see any reason why the green and blue lines, for instance, wouldn’t have similar wait times. The black line could end up being a lot faster, so maybe we need some sort of penalty for people who clog it up: if you take more than 5 minutes to get through, you have to go through extra security, or something like that. Then again, maybe it’s like the “10 items or fewer” lane in the grocery store: that rule is typically only enforced by public shame.
Third idea: put the scariest looking TSA agents on the black line.
@cmdr.sass: This won’t work unless it’s enforced. I fly 125K a year, and there are always a plethora of idiots who think they know what they’re doing, but end up holding up the line more than anything. I can’t stand it. The idea is fantastic. I’d LOVE to see a line for those who are prepared. The ID checker should be the gatekeeper… just like the soup nazi. And if you screw up, then security sends you out of the black diamond and over to the blue or green line.
The really sad thing is that TSA has only a couple people at each checkpoint that can think on their own. The rest are too busy doing their comparmentalized little jobs. Shuffling grey bins. Sliding grey bins out of the xray machine. Stacking grey bins. Looking at tickets after you walk through teh metal detector. These people get paid $50K a year to be idiots.
TSA isn’t very responsive. There could be 200 people backed up, and they have only one line going. Then when the line gets down, they finally decide to open up 2 more lines, and then they stand around. The worst is 6am flights. They open security at 5am, and there are hundreds of people waiting for those 6am flights. They open 1 or 2 lines and people are lucky to make their flights. And what do they do better than the non-TSA security force prior to 9-11? Security back then did exactly what the rules said. Nothing more, nothing less. So what benefit does TSA offer?
Here, let me solve everything:
1. Each race gets its own line. This makes profiling easier.
2. Children should be packed IN your luggage. If you have two kids, you can carry them on. Three or more, means you have to check some under the plane.
3. Saavy business travelers have the right to go to the front of any line. FF cards grant them the right to shove and push lesser humans as desired.
4. Instead of metal detectors, they should use microwaves. When your pocket change and body piercings heat up and electrify, you will think twice the next time.
5. Good TSA agents should be given raises and thanked personally by travelers and their superiors. Homemade cookies and hearty handshakes are ideal ways to show gratitude for keeping us safe and as stress free as possible in a bad situation.
6. Bad TSA agents should have to wait on their own lines and pass through the microwave with a pocket full of quarters and highly conductive scrotal piercings. They should then be forced to wear turbans and “Praise Allah” t-shirts and sit in coach between sweaty, drunk, flatulent passengers.
Do they have signs for typing TSA agents when they arrive to work?
Red for the authoritarian hothead.
Yellow for moderately stupid.
Blue for dumber than a box of rocks.
Green for too smart to work at TSA.
Interesting that this is being presented as a pilot at these two airports. For the most part, this looks like the system in use at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta (albeit without the ski slope labeling). At Hartsfield (at least, the last time I flew with my family):
* Business class, first class and elite FF have their own entry into security and (I think) their own security check points.
* Officially, families with strollers and other special needs passengers go through the regular security line. However, on busy days, security monitors the line for such passengers and escorts them to a point right before boarding passes are shown where a gatekeeper opens a barrier strip to let them break into the line. After clearing that first hurdle, they are segregated back out into a set of check points that are kept cordoned off, with another gatekeeper opening and closing the barrier strip to let in appropriate travelers.
Overall, the net effect works to the benefit of all travelers. The special needs families get filtered out of the main flow of traffic to keep the average traveler moving, while the special needs families get a shorter line which allows them to clear security not that much further behind a single traveler in a main line, once the extended unpacking/packing time is taken into account.
@jeremybwilson: You do make a good point, but “I’m just doing my job” doesn’t always appease well.
I think people, even TSA employees, like to think they will never mindlessly follow policies (especially people who frequent this website), and expect the same from their fellow humans, not usually thinking that sometimes you just have to have a job to feed yourself.
I believe most of the TSA frustration is with agents’ failure/inability/etc. to exercise a little common sense by their own free will – which you list as a frustration the agents share. So, if nobody is happy or feels like the Agency is working well, that’s a clear sign of the need for change.
I’ll be honest that I’m sort of looking forward to a line in which the woman ahead of me, turns and states, “Wait, we have to take off our shoes?” right as we approach the Pick-Up-Tub-And-Separate-All-Your-Stuff area. Me? I’ve had my shoes off, my copious amounts of liquids out, and my laptop all neatly organized for about five minutes. Of course, in this fantasy world, my pasty British fiance wouldn’t pull the SSS codes every time we flew to see his family, and we wouldn’t be given the eyebrow/extra questions when going through both EU and American customs. BTW, it is a hoot when the TSA states: “Oh, how do you know what the SSS code is?” Ha ha ha ha ha.
has anyone seen this youtube video, tsa gangstaz?
it’s a hip hop parody about airport security
pretty funny and rings true too:
+ Watch video
I lurve you, PotKettleBlack. You’re my new hero — and clearly a seasoned traveler. Sorry, breeders, but your clan has proved themselves to be major pains in our arses in airports and on airplanes. It’s too late now to be offended.
About time. Anyone who has travelled through Orlando can truly appreciate this new concept. It is not that hard. I travel a lot. When I get to the point, my belt is already gone, shoes off, laptop out…let’s go.
I am not sure why people fear this…seems rather odd. Something done to increase efficiency is being demonized without much rationale (if any). Gee, why would we want to speed up the process at the security area for those of us who are not travelling with 4 kids, each with a back pack, shoes, coats, etc.
Why would someone with a family be offended? For the aforementioned reasons, it takes much longer for you to go through security than I…why should I wait. You can get 10 ‘expert’ travellers through quicker than a family of 5. It is not like you have to sit in the back of the plane (though the segregation of children under 5 is something to consider).
IF someone can offer a reasonable, nonsmartassed discussion as to why this is wrong, please, enlighten us for whom this is a blessing.
InSoc is DoublePlusGood for your safety!
They would pilot a family only line at the Salt Lake City airport.
…and appear to be talking to themselves.
My Dad saw these in Orlando on his last flight out to LA. No one was in the family line so he took that one, despite traveling solo. Real “black diamond” travelers just choose the shortest line. It’s all about the downhill speed right? Plus, you gotta have time for a Cinnabon (i.e. airport valium) pre-flight, right?
@wobudong:
Hey man, I hate to say this, but as a VERY frequent traveler (4 flights per week), I agree about 90% of the time about older/elderly people in security line.
Now, some elderly people can’t move as fast as the rest of us, and so there is no reason to be mad at that particular group. One day, we all end up there, and I try to help them through the line. But they’re not the group I’m referring too.
No, I’m referring to the 60-somethings that are perfect abled, obviously retired and going somewhere on vacation, and they’ll be damned if they actually attempt to move through the security line in any type of quick fashion. I think it’s the attitude of “I just don’t care that I’m holding this line up” that gets me. I sit there behind them, with my laptop out, my one little valece carry-on, my shoes off, NO change in my pockets (it’s always left at home on travel days), and my 3.5 ounce bottles or less fit into a nice little plastic bag. They move at a snail’s pace, obliviously to the hundred people waiting behind them.
Quite simply, I understand the rules, and so should everyone else who has flown in the last 8 years. I’m not a fan of the extra work, but when you get down to it, the inconvenience is pretty minor if you simply plan ahead slightly. Besides that fact that you should know BEFORE you get to the airport (Hey kids, there’s this cool thing called the Internet! It tells you anything you want to know, like what you can bring in a carry-on!), this information is usually presented in multiple fashion:
a) Via written sign before you enter the checkpoint line, in multiple languages
b) Made via pre-recorded announcement
c) Made via announcement by an actual TSA rep standing at the front of the line
Does actually knowing this information make me “too important” to fly, Wobudong? That attitude of sweet ignorance is no longer acceptable in today’s travel world. Don’t exempt older people as “wiser” – in my experience, they think it’s still 1970, so they can haul 5 or 6 bags onboard and bring full size bottles of anything, and make a big stink about not being able to carry on a 6 inch knife (True story! Happened on my way to Iowa from JFK a few weeks back).
Look, if there were any way to make this system truly work, that would be great. However, like many other posters today, I just don’t see it happening.
Like the rest of my fellow frequent fliers, I will sit there silently waiting for the day when the American public finally realizes that the rules have changed, and we can all smooth over the process by simply being prepared for a trip to the airport.