If you’re one of the many air travelers who uses a tablet to play games, watch videos, read, or do work while flying, be warned that your device will soon be subject to the same sort of security screening that has been given to laptop computers for years. And even if you’re not carrying a tablet in your bag, you should probably expect longer waits at airport checkpoints. [More]
airport security
Expect Airport Security Delays As TSA Starts Scanning Tablets Separately From Carry-On Bags
By 7.26.17
Flying From Mexico To The U.S.? Here’s What You Need To Know About New Laptop Rules
By 7.19.17
Although the U.S. has lifted the laptop ban on all foreign airlines it put in place in March, travelers flying here from Mexico with such large electronic devices will get their chance to grumble over new, longer security checks. [More]
Owner & Seller Of 20 Lb. Lobster Not Thrilled That TSA Made A Celebrity Of Oversized Crustacean
By 6.29.17
Deserved or not, the Transportation Security Administration doesn’t usually get much affection on social media, so it must have been a nice change of pace for the TSA recently when it had a minor Instagram hit with a photo of a massive, 20 lb. lobster found in a cooler at a Boston airport. Alas, the TSA has not escaped criticism, as the man who owned this oversized crustacean — and the market where he purchased it — both say the airport security folks mishandled his future meal for the sake of a photo op. [More]
DHS Hasn’t Decided Whether To Expand Laptop Ban To U.S-Bound Flights From Europe
By 5.25.17
After rumors started circulating that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would maybe, possibly expand its limited in-flight electronics ban to include U.S.-bound planes from Europe, or even put domestic flights under that umbrella, some in the airline industry started to get worried. They’ll have to fret a bit longer, however, as the agency hasn’t made up its mind on that front yet. [More]
Appeals Court: Your Naked Protest At Airport Security Is Not Protected By First Amendment
By 5.18.17
Five years ago, when we told you about an Oregon man protesting new airport security measures by stripping down to nothing at a TSA checkpoint, we had no idea it would eventually blossom into a years-long legal battle over whether or not one has a First Amendment right to get naked at the airport, but this week a federal appeals court disagreed with a local judge, saying that the man’s protest was not a form of constitutionally protected free speech. [More]
United Airlines Opening Fully Automated Airport Screening Lanes
By 3.22.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
In an effort to ease congestion at security checkpoints — like last year’s unholy traffic jams during the busiest season for travel — United Airlines has outfitted an entire airport terminal in New Jersey with automated screening lanes. [More]
DHS Bans Laptops, Other Electronic Devices From Airplane Cabins For Flights From 10 Airports
By 3.21.17
If you’re doing any travel to or from the Middle East, northern Africa, or Turkey in the coming months, you may not be able to work or watch videos on your laptop or tablet. A new Department of Homeland Security rule bans all electronic devices “larger than a smartphone” from the cabins of all flights coming to the U.S. from ten international airports. [More]
Stephen Colbert Puts Romantic Spin On New TSA Pat-Downs; Talks Spying With Former CIA Chief
By 3.8.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Earlier this week, the Transportation Security Administration advised that we may see more “comprehensive” pat-downs at airports. Last night, Stephen Colbert’s Late Show team placed these new security checks in a romantic context. [More]
TSA Introducing New, More Invasive Pat-Down Method
By 3.6.17
The next time you go through a pat-down at airport security, things might be a bit different: The Transportation Security Administration has a new, more invasive pat-down procedure that some travelers might find unusual. To that end, the agency is warning local police departments that they may see an uptick in reports related to these up close and personal examinations. [More]
11 Passengers Walk Through TSA Checkpoint Without Screening At JFK Airport
By 2.21.17
One does not simply walk into Mordor, mostly because of the ever-watchful burning eye of Sauron. The Transportation Security Administration might need some of that juice after eleven people strolled right through a security checkpoint at John F. Kennedy airport in New York. [More]
China Now Taking Fingerprints Of All Foreign Visitors
By 2.9.17
Heading to China soon? Be prepared to have your fingerprints taken when you arrive, as part of the country’s efforts to boost security at its borders. [More]
Ridiculously Long TSA Lines Could Return This Fall
By 9.19.16
Gird yourselves, travelers: although the Transportation Security Administration recently patted itself on the back for keeping security screening lines moving at airports this summer, the soul-crushingly long lines some folks experienced in the spring could be the reality again this fall. [More]
TSA: Most Travelers Waited 30 Minutes Or Less In Airport Security Lines This Summer
By 9.7.16
Remember four months ago, when everyone was cranky at the Transportation Security Administration because of epically long security screening lines at the nation’s airports? Now that the summer is over, the agency wants everyone to know that it drastically cut wait times in the last few months. [More]
You Can Take Jeremy Bentham’s Mummified Head Through Airport Security, But Please Don’t
By 7.25.16
The TSA runs a customer service line on Twitter, at @AskTSA. Most of the questions and complaints it handles are of exactly the sort you’d expect: can I bring an empty water bottle through security? What’s going on with PreCheck? This line at this airport too long!, and so forth. But its staff is dedicated, and will honestly and to the best of its ability answer any question you politely ask of it. Including, for example, the handling of certain… artifacts. [More]
TSA Replaced Security Head While You Were In Line At The Airport
By 5.24.16
The Transportation Security Administration has been busy while Americans have been stuck waiting in super long lines at our nation’s airports, starting out the work week by axing the head of security and giving someone else the job. [More]
Chinese Airports Are Designating A Separate Security Line For Women
By 5.23.16
While we here in America argue over seemingly unending security lines at our nation’s airports, there’s another discussion going on in China over airport security, now that women have a separate lane designated for their use only. [More]
450 American Airlines Passengers Stranded At O’Hare Airport Overnight Because Of Long TSA Lines
By 5.16.16
The Transportation Safety Administration has been taking quite a beating lately over exceedingly long wait times at screening checkpoints in the nation’s airports. American Airlines now says its employees will be pitching in to help speed things up, after security delays stranded 450 of the carrier’s passengers overnight at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. [More]
Airline Group Asks Travelers To Snap Photos Of Unending TSA Lines At Nation’s Airports
By 5.9.16
In an effort to add more voices to an already insistent chorus, an airline industry group has launched a campaign to enlist travelers in the fight against super long security lines at the nation’s airport. [More]
