The human brain is a shifty thing — you thought you put your keys in your pocket but really they’re in the freezer! — but there’s no way the Transportation Security Administration is going to accept “I forgot a gun was in my bag and/or that it was loaded” as an excuse without a little bit of digging. Even if you happen to be a defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. [More]
airport security
Lost Your License Or Passport? Airport Security Will Accept A Costco Card
By 2.8.13
A few years back, I misplaced my license while in Washington, D.C. for a wedding. Little did I know that I didn’t have to take a bus back to New York; I apparently could have just shown my Costco card. [More]
Woman Sues TSA, FBI, Frontier Airlines After Being Detained & Strip-Searched
By 1.22.13
Back on Sept. 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, an Ohio woman was one of three people detained by authorities at Detroit Metro Airport, where she claims she was strip-searched and held without cause for four hours. [More]
TSA Finally Removing “Naked” Full-Body Scanners From Airports
By 1.18.13
Last fall, it was reported that the Transportation Security Administration was moving its controversial backscatter full-body scanners out of busier airports and moving them to smaller ones. Now, the agency says it is getting rid of these scanners altogether. [More]
18 Heads Found In Airport Duffel Bag; May Be Completely Legal
By 1.15.13
There are all sorts of restrictions on things you can carry on to a plane; don’t dare try to bring that bottle of Poland Spring through the checkpoint. But 18 heads in a duffel bag? That might actually be okay, say customs officials. [More]
Posing Problems For PreCheck: Smartphones Can Scan Boarding Pass Barcodes
By 10.25.12
You’ve lost that random feeling, ohh that random feeling, now it’s gone… gone… gone. Security experts say a flaw in airline boarding passes that allows their barcodes to be scanned with smartphones makes the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck system not very useful. If PreCheck passengers can scan their barcodes ahead of time and see if they’ll be screened routinely or [More]
TSA Taking Controversial X-Ray Scanners Out Of Big Airports And Shipping Them Off To Smaller Ones
By 10.19.12
According to reports, the TSA is removing backscatter full-body scanners, which use very small amounts of ionizing radiation, from major airports and replacing them with less-controversial millimeter wave scanners. But those X-ray scanners aren’t going to the Museum of Bad Ideas; they’re being shipped off for use at smaller airports. [More]
Alaska Airport Evacuated Because Guy Somehow Didn’t Know Bomb Jokes Aren’t Welcome
By 10.15.12
Ever since there have been bombs and airplanes, it hasn’t been a particularly great idea to make jokes about the two together. But especially in times like these when the U.S. and other countries are always on the lookout for potential terrorists, it’s an awful idea to talk about bombs. One man didn’t get the “no bomb jokes” memo, apparently, and ended up shutting down Alaska’s largest airport. [More]
Dying Woman Says TSA Humiliated Her By Refusing To Perform Search In Private
By 10.10.12
A woman dying from leukemia is mortified, claiming that TSA screeners at Sea-Tac airport in Washington state made her lift up her shirt and checked under her bandages in front of other travelers. [More]
Even If You’re In A Hurry At The Airport It’s Still Not Cool To Fake The Need For A Wheelchair
By 10.5.12
Just the other day I crankily asked a friend why there aren’t strollers for adults (it had been a long day and I just wanted someone to push me around, darn it). Apparently some travelers are all about making that an actual thing, as airport employees say some passengers who don’t need wheelchairs ask for them anyway in order to get through the whole security process faster. Fakers! We call shenanigans. [More]
JFK Security Employees Say Post-Flight Inspections Aren’t Always Thorough To Avoid Delays
By 9.27.12
You know how when you’re standing around your gate waiting to board, and the previous flight’s passengers come streaming out, and everyone is chomping at the bit and restlessly stirring, waiting for their turn to get on the plane? During that time, security employees are supposed to be inspecting the flight for anything left behind like say, weapons or explosives. But according to John F. Kennedy International Airport security workers, those checks aren’t as thorough as they’re supposed to be. [More]
JFK Airport's $100 Million Security System Thwarted By Lone Jet Skier Swimming Ashore
By 8.13.12
Security is taken very seriously at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, to the tune of $100 million to make sure the state-of-the-art system keeps unwanted intruders out. But all it took was one man on a jet ski in Jamaica Bay seeking dry land to throw a major kink into that elaborate set-up. [More]
We Complain A Lot But Survey Says Most Americans Think The TSA Is Doing A Good Job
By 8.10.12
Maybe we just hear all the worst things about the Transportation Security Administration, rendering us dubious, but for most Americans the agency seems to be doing a pretty good job running airport security. That’s according to a new survey that found 54% of the country feel the TSA’s work is either good or excellent, and about 30% grading it as just fair. [More]
The Airport Baggage Carousel Is Not A Good Napping Spot
By 8.9.12
When you’re sleepy and/or drunk enough, any large flat surface can seem like a pretty nice place to take a nap. In an airport, though, there are some places that you should avoid. Like the raised platform with the conveyor belt on it that says “BAGGAGE CLAIM” above it. Comfy as it may seem, this is not an optimal napping spot. Because it might start moving after you’ve fallen asleep. And take you under an X ray machine. That’s what happened to a Norwegian tourist at Rome’s Fiumicino airport, who took a nap and went for an exciting ride. [More]
Court To TSA: It's About Time You Held Those Hearings On Nude Body Scanners, Don't Ya Think?
By 8.2.12
Just last month we reported on a petition from Jim Cato of the Harper Institute, urging the White House to put the heat on the Transportation Security Administration for its delay in holding hearings on nude body scanners, and now it seems the courts have listened. [More]
Kid Pulls Real ‘Home Alone 2’ Stunt By Flying From UK To Rome All By Himself Sans Ticket
By 7.25.12
Ticket? One 11-year-old didn’t need no stinking ticket, or even a passport for that matter, to fly from Manchester, U.K. to Rome recently. He simply pulled a Home Alone 2 by boarding the flight with another family. Five staff members of Jet2.com who work at the airport have reportedly been suspended as a result of the snafu. [More]
Passenger Says TSA Handled Her Feeding Tube During Strip Search
By 7.19.12
A woman with a 4″ feeding tube surgically implanted in her abdomen says she makes frequent trips between her home in Texas and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. And while the tube always draws some extra attention at airport security checkpoints, TSA screeners at Dallas Love Field recently went too far in investigating the issue. [More]
TSA Flags Man With World’s Largest Penis For Additional Crotch Screening
By 7.17.12
Jonah Falcon of New York City is an actor and hosts a public-access show about the Yankees, but he isn’t famous for that. He’s famous for a quirk of nature: he has the largest recorded penis in the world. He’s appeared on lots of talk shows and even in a documentary, but evidently his fame hasn’t reached the TSA workers at San Francisco International Airport. There, the large bulge in his pants caught the notice of a guard, who presumed it was some kind of weapon. He was subjected to a (brisk and professional) extra patdown and tested for explosive residue. [More]
