You have to hand it to the TSA screeners at Philadelphia International Airport. Not only will they look through your stuff to make sure you’re not going to go all explosiony on the plane, they’ll also bring in the cops to call your husband to double check you haven’t embezzled money from him. [More]
airports
Courthouse In Florida Has 35,000 Body Scans Of Citizens
By 8.4.10
Like it or not, advanced imaging technology (AIT)–capable of producing highly detailed pics of your naked body–is expanding rapidly throughout U.S. airports. Last month, there were at least 142 AIT units deployed in eleven airports, but by the end of the year that will jump to more than 450 nationwide, spread across at least forty airports (see full list below). The TSA has tried to downplay privacy issues by saying that the units won’t save images, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t. In fact, the U.S. Marshals Service in Florida says they’ve got over 35,000 AIT scans of people saved. They also say that an AIT unit tested in the Washington, D.C. federal courthouse was sent back to the manufacturer with images still stored on it. [More]
Liquor Could Soon Be Flowing 24/7 At Chicago Airports
By 7.28.10
Last month, we wrote about Chicago mayor Richard Daley’s proposal to allow airport restaurants to sell booze from push carts in the terminals. But now, as that edges closer to becoming a reality, the proposal has expanded to also permit 24/7 booze sales at these establishments. [More]
United Removes Passenger From Flight After He Asks Whether A Meal Will Be Served
By 7.20.10
Over at JoeSugarman.com, Joe writes that on his way home from a seminar in Austin, he settled into his first class seat–he’s what United Airlines calls a 1K traveler because he flies over 100,000 miles with them every year–and asked the flight attendant, “Are you serving any meals during our flight?” A few minutes later, he writes, “two armed Austin police officers boarded the plane, looked at me and said, ‘Sugarman, follow us.'” [More]
United Gate Bag Template 1" Shorter Than Check-In's, Makes You Gate Check Bag
By 7.13.10
He thought he was golden but radio host Todd Schnitt had to check his carry-on unexpectedly because the baggage check template at the gate was one inch shorter than the one at check-in. [More]
DC Airports Get Super Cute Pet Bathrooms
By 7.13.10
DC’s Dulles and Reagan airports have just opened new “pet relief areas” for your pooch’s pooping pleasure prior to plane-boarding. [More]
Continental Takes Three Days And Counting To Fly Passenger From Texas to New Hampshire
By 6.20.10
Poor Ashley, all she wanted was to fly from Houston to Manchester to visit her friend for the weekend. She planned to leave on Thursday, but Continental apparently overbooked a whole mess of flights and could only get her to Detroit the next day. From there Continental planned to send her onto Manchester with Delta, but that didn’t work out either. After spending a night stuck in Detroit, Ashley made it to Atlanta, where Delta figured she would manage to catch one of their many flights to New England. Nope! Instead, things got much, much worse. [More]
Is The Dominican Republic An International Destination? Airlines Disagree
By 6.19.10
American Airlines told Bill that he couldn’t acces their international lounge because his flight from the Dominican Republic to Houston, which required a passport and a customs form, didn’t count as an international flight. Bill’s wife had paid $300 to upgrade Bill’s ticket to first class expressly so he could access the lounge, and Bill wasn’t sure what part of “international” American didn’t seem to understand. Yet it turns out American might be right. [More]
Delta Plays Airport Roulette When Flying Into D.C.
By 6.15.10
On Sunday, Andy emailed us from his seat on Delta Flight 2744 from Minneapolis to Washington, D.C., to let us know that he had no idea where his flight was going to land. The ticket he purchased said he was flying to Ronald Reagan National Airport, but Delta said it would all depend on whether they could beat their scheduled 10:19 arrival time and get there before the ten o’clock airport curfew–otherwise they’d have to land at Dulles. Strangely, they didn’t mention this 10 p.m. curfew to Andy before he bought the ticket. [More]
Lady Enters Security With $24,000 Rolex, Leaves Without, Suit Alleges
By 5.25.10
A woman is suing the TSA after she says she was forced to take off her $24,000 Rolex to pass through security, and when she went to retrieve it, it had mysteriously vanished. [More]
Full-Body Scanners Don't Work, Israeli Security Expert Says
By 4.30.10
The biggest reason not to implement full-body scanners in airports isn’t because it’s weird for the government to have a picture of you naked, it’s because they don’t work, says an Israeli airport security expert. [More]
American Airlines, Jet Blue, Delta Seek To Delay Tarmac Imprisonment Rule
By 3.17.10
You know that new rule that says airlines have to let passengers off the plane if it’s stuck on the tarmac for more than 3 hours? It’s supposed to go into effect in April, but at least three airlines are hoping to delay it because they say runway repairs at JFK Airport will interfere with schedules. [More]
New Airport Screening Machines To Launch Monday
By 3.5.10
Starting Monday, some passengers at Boston’s Logan Airport will have the honor and privilege of being the first to be scanned by a new machine that probably costs more than their house. And this is just the beginning of the Dept. of Homeland Security’s plan to install 450 of the sparkly new terrorist detectors in airports across the nation over the next year. [More]
America's Best Airports: Detroit, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul
By 2.24.10
J.D. Power and Associates has released rankings of U.S. airports based on a survey of 12,000 travelers last year, and Detroit’s decision to mesmerize travelers with colored light really paid off. You can check out the list here and sort the airports by overall satisfaction or by factors like the quality of check-in or baggage claim. [More]
Traveler Makes Better Movie Than Avatar While Stranded In Airport
By 2.24.10
You’re stuck in a almost-vacant airport overnight during a blizzard — What are you going to do to entertain yourself? The answer was simple for one young potential victim of boredom… Turn the empty gate into her own personal playground and capture it all on video. [More]
TSA Makes Disabled Child Remove Leg Braces, Walk Through Metal Detector
By 2.18.10
The TSA forced a disabled 4-year old to get out of his stroller and remove his leg braces and walk unassisted through the metal director. After the humiliating and frightening incident, the boy’s father, a cop, told the supervisor, “This is overkill. He’s 4 years old. I don’t think he’s a terrorist.” It turns out that this didn’t even follow TSA policy, which would have allowed for the boy to be privately screened and swabbed for explosive material traces, without having to remove his braces.
Another case of TSA overkill [philly]
Continental Gate Agent Tells Passenger She Thinks Her Mental Illness Is Fake
By 1.29.10
Laura has a pretty good description of what an anxiety attack feels like to her: “First, your chest starts to feel tight, like you are wearing a corset. You can’t breathe properly, your heart rate starts to skyrocket, causing a pounding feeling. It’s very out-of-body. You can’t figure out what’s going on. It’s like being trapped by your brain into a tight corner.” If the skeptical gate agent for Continental had ever experienced this–or had just been given adequate training for dealing with passengers with disabilities–maybe she wouldn’t have told Laura her doctor’s note looked fake, or asked her to stay put when Laura said she needed to get her meds. [More]
Snoozing TSA Worker Put On Desk Duty
By 1.28.10
The zzz-catching TSA guard we posted a picture of on Monday has been put on desk duty pending the results of an internal investigation, after someone forwarded the picture to the TSA. “We recognize that our officers have very demanding jobs that require constant vigilance and hours on their feet,” TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis told the NY Daily News. “But nonetheless, it was completely inappropriate for her to rest in a public area while on her break as opposed to a nearby break room.” [More]
