UPDATE: The TSA said in a statement its agents did not require the woman to remove her diaper: [More]
TSA
You Can Carry-On More Than 3oz Of Contact Solution
By 6.22.11
If you don’t have time to buy a travel-sized version instead of your mondo bottle of saline solution before the next time you fly, don’t sweat it. It’s totally cool to fly with more than 3oz of contact solution, as it is covered under the TSA “liquid medication” provision. [More]
TSA Modifies Screening Of Young Children
By 6.22.11
After incidents like this pat-down of an infant at a Kansas City airport landed the Transportation Security Administration in a public relations mess, the head of the agency said this morning that TSA has changed its policies regarding the screening of small children. [More]
Chef Gets By TSA Screeners At O'Hare With Four Huge Knives In His Bag
By 6.16.11
Another day, another example of the ineptitude of the TSA screeners at American airports. The latest news comes from an award-winning Chicago chef who says that while the screeners were busy worrying about the contents of his pockets, they completely missed an arsenal of knives in his carry-on. [More]
Newlyweds: TSA Ruined Our Honeymoon Over Bottle Of Contact Lens Solution
By 6.14.11
If the last decade has taught us two things it’s that Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio is a prime entry point for terrorists and that a bottle of saline merits a lengthy talking-to from the Transportation Security Administration. Oh, wait… scratch both of those. [More]
Toy Security Wand Lets Kids Play At Being TSA Agents
By 6.14.11
There’s nothing cooler than being a TSA agent for Homeland Security and now the Spy Gear Security Scanner lets kids live out their dreams. It’s a handheld security wand whose LED lights flash and an alarm goes off when it detects metal, just like the real thing! [More]
TSA Agents Who Allegedly Failed To Screen Luggage Face Dismissal
By 6.14.11
Those Transportation Security Administration agents in Hawaii who allegedly let un-screened baggage through on flights will have to start looking for a new line of work. [More]
Current, Former Washington Redskins Make Goal Line Stand For TSA Worker Unionization
By 5.27.11
Transportation Security Administration workers have some unlikely allies in their struggle to organize: A pair of pro football players. Noting the need for labor solidarity across industries, one current and one retired Washington Redskin are speaking out in favor of the much-maligned airport security workers. [More]
TSA Could Ban Flights From Texas If State Passes Anti-Patdown Law
By 5.25.11
A showdown is in the works over an anti-patdown law, which the Texas House of Representatives recently approved by a unanimous vote. The government warns that passage of the law could cause the TSA to “cancel any flight” where it couldn’t ensure passenger safety. Texas legislators say the rule is needed because existing laws “let government employees fondle innocent women, children and men.”
TSA Forgets To Tell Police It's Running A Bomb Test, Hilarity Ensues
By 5.19.11
One of the keys to running a successful test of a TSA agent’s ability to detect a bomb in a traveler’s suitcase is to give the heads-up to the authorities that a drill is being run. That way, when — or rather if — the screener finds the device in question, their call to the police won’t have the cops drawing their guns in the middle of an airport. [More]
Texas House Passes Bill To Outlaw TSA Pat-Downs That Make Contact With Your Most Personal Parts
By 5.13.11
As we reported in March, a handful of Texas politicians were fed up with being felt-up and were considering a way to ban the TSA’s invasive pat-down procedures. Last night, that ban got closer to reality — or at least closer to becoming a courtroom battle — when the Lone Star State’s House of Representatives voted to approve legislation that would keep hands off travelers’ most personal areas. [More]
TSA Tries To Explain Need For Patting Down An Infant
By 5.10.11
Over the weekend, TSA agents at the Kansas City International Airport felt the full furor of the internet when a camera phone image of a baby being patted-down hit the web. The world wanted to know if we’d moved from worrying about dirty bombs to hunting for poopy bombs. In an attempt to diffuse the explosive situation, the folks behind the curtains of Security Theater took to their blog to offer an explanation. [More]
TSA Considers Making Airport Screenings Less Annoying For "Trusted Travelers"
By 5.6.11
You might have heard that some airline passengers haven’t exactly been overjoyed with the TSA’s recent rollouts of revealing full-body scanners and like-groping-teenagers-in-heat pat-down procedures. But now the agency is reportedly considering the idea of giving “trusted travelers” an express pass through airport security screenings. [More]
Former Miss USA Says She Was "Molested" By TSA Employee
By 4.29.11
An devastated former Miss USA crown holder fights back tears as she describes an overly touchy-feely pat-down by a TSA agent at the Dallas airport. She says she feels “molested” because the female agent touched her vagina four times. [More]
Complaining About Airport Security Could Tag You As A Possible Threat
By 4.15.11
Almost anyone who has been stuck in the airport security screening line has at least mumbled to themselves about the process, but a new report from CNN says that such behavior could lead to travelers being singled out for further screening. [More]
Study: Radiation From TSA's Full-Body Scanners Poses "No Significant Threat"
By 3.29.11
In a new study that will surely be argued and dissected by both sides of the full-body scanner debate, researchers claim that the risk from the ionizing radiation to which travelers are exposed in these scanners “would be extremely small, even among frequent flyers” and that there “is no significant threat of radiation from the scans.” [More]
Woman At LaGuardia Learns TSA Can Still Pat You Down Even After You Pass Security Checkpoint
By 3.28.11
It’s pretty safe to say that most, if not all, of us aren’t exactly thrilled about having to do the TSA shuffle — remove shoes, take out the laptop, put your keys in the bowl, step on through — at airport security checkpoints. But as one traveler at LaGuardia Airport in NYC learned last week, just because you’ve made it through the checkpoint doesn’t mean you can’t get one hell of a pat-down on your way to the gate. [More]
Consumerist On Bloomberg: Revenge Of The TSA
By 3.9.11
Catch Ben Popken on “Taking Stock with Pimm Fox” tonight on Bloomberg TV. He’ll be talking about the TSA asking for a cut of bag check fees, as well as the recent decision to uphold a $311,000 verdict against a debt collector. Tune in to Bloomberg TV, or watch online at Bloomberg.com/tv, at 5:45 p.m. ET and again at 9:45 p.m. See you there! [More]
