You might find your novelty weapon-shaped cigarette lighter hilarious and totally innocent, but do you know who doesn’t agree with you? The Transportation Safety Administration. This didn’t occur to a passenger changing planes in Miami on his way to Haiti from Boston, and an entire concourse at Miami International Airport got shut down briefly this morning when the TSA noticed a grenade-shaped object in his carry-on. [More]
TSA
Yet Another Baggage Handler Behaving Badly: Man Accused Of Lifting $84K In Stolen Items
By 4.8.13
Around these parts, it’s almost sad that we’re not surprised to hear when Transportation Security Administration agents get into hot water for having sticky fingers. A baggage handler at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport has some explaining to do to authorities, after prosecutors say he was caught on video boosting $84,000 worth in valuables from passengers’ bags. [More]
Off-Duty Cop Tackles Woman Who Allegedly Attacked TSA Agent At Honolulu Airport
By 4.5.13
Plenty of us know that if we see something that just ain’t right, we should say something. But one off-duty cop on vacation in Hawaii took that “say something” and changed it into a “do something” after he saw a woman assaulting a Transportation Security Administration agent at Honolulu International Airport. [More]
United Says It’s Reviewed Its In-Flight Entertainment After Kicking Family Off Flight For Complaining
By 4.4.13
We told you yesterday about the parents who claim their complaints about the appropriateness of the movie shown on a United flight resulted in their plane being re-routed and them being questioned by authorities. Today, the airline gives a very brief statement of its side of the story. [More]
TSA Chief Admits He Could’ve Rolled Out The Knives On Planes Policy In A Better Way
By 3.15.13
When the head of the Transportation Security Administration announced recently that passengers could start bringing certain small knives and golf clubs on airplanes, quite a few in the airline industry were a bit perturbed, including many flight attendants. Pistole admitted yesterday that he could’ve rolled that policy out in a smoother manner. [More]
Undercover TSA Inspector Gets Through Airport Security Just Fine With Fake Bomb In His Pants
By 3.11.13
Critics feeling a bit squirrelly about the Transportation Security Administration’s recent decision to allow certain small knives on planes are likely a bit steamed up at the news that an undercover investigator reportedly managed to get past Newark airport security with a fake bomb. [More]
Air Marshals & Flight Attendants Not So Happy With This “Knives Are Okay On Planes Now” Thing
By 3.6.13
Yesterday the Transportation Security Administration announced that it was tweaking the rules regarding small pocketknives, carry-on golf clubs and other sporting equipment. While travelers sick of losing their Swiss Army knives and other little blades rejoiced over the decision, groups representing Federal Air Marashals and flight attendants are all like, “Wait, hold up — knives on planes? Really?” [More]
TSA To Relax Restrictions On Pocketknives, Sporting Goods
By 3.5.13
More than a decade after enacting strict prohibitions on carrying knives on U.S. flights, Transportation Security Administration head John Pistole says the agency will begin allowing smaller pocketknives and limited carry-on of golf clubs and other sporting equipment. (via Bloomberg) [More]
Standing In A Long Line At The Airport Right Now? You Can Maybe Blame Sequestration
By 3.4.13
The Department of Transportation issued a foreboding warning about the effects of across-the-board government spending cuts if sequestration went into effect on March 1, which it did. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano is already warning travelers of delays, but if you’re currently standing in a long line at airport security, this isn’t news to you. [More]
DOT Head Ray LaHood Paints Nightmarish Travel Picture If Sequestration Hits March 1
By 2.22.13 — Updated: 2.25.13
Maybe you haven’t been paying much attention to all the hullabaloo surrounding automatic government spending cuts that could go into effect next week, known as sequestration. It’s a lot to take in, as those cuts will be across-the-board and could be a problem for a wide variety of government agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration. As such, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is painting a potentially annoying picture for air travel in the future. [More]
TSA Policies Are So Confusing It’s No Wonder A 3-Year-Old In A Wheelchair Gets Upset During Screening
By 2.22.13
The Transportation Security Administration is doing some quick apologizing after an incident that left a 3-year-old girl upset and crying when her parents were told she’d need to submit to a pat-down. The toddler has spina bifida and had reportedly already gone through security at Lambert- St. Louis International Airport, when her mom captured what appears to be TSA agents attempting to touch the tearful girl. [More]
You Can’t Bring A Loaded Gun In Your Carry-On Even If You’re An NFL Player
By 2.19.13
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]
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]
TSA Screener Fired For Allegedly Swiping $36 From Traveler’s Checked Luggage
By 1.7.13
We’ve seen so many stories of Transportation Security Administration agents pilfering, stealing, looting and otherwise stealing from travelers that this entire post could be a series of links. And hey, here’s another one for the pile, because apparently the TSA just can’t resist: An agent in North Carolina is facing accusations that he stole not electronics, not bags stuffed with cash, but just $36 from checked luggage. [More]
Feds Say They’ll Study Safety Of Airport Full Body Scanners Yet Again
By 12.21.12
If you’re one to eye those full-body scanners warily at the airport, wondering what kind of stuff is zipping and zapping around your organs, you’re not the only one. The Department of Homeland Security is responding to critics who question the safety of the instruments by launching another study to check out the devices used by the Transportation Security Administration. [More]
Remember That The Gift You Packed Might Not Make It Through Airport Security With The Wrapping Intact
By 12.18.12
With Christmas a week away, we figured it was time to remind everyone who plans on traveling with gifts in their bags that the TSA might have to undo your handiwork at the airport. [More]
TSA Apologizes To 11-Year-Old For Detaining Her After Detecting Bomb Residue
By 12.17.12
While it is entirely possible, if not unlikely, that an 11-year-old with brittle bone disease and using a wheelchair could be carrying hazardous materials, the Transportation Security Administration has apologized for detaining a young girl for nearly an hour last week. The girl went through what sounds like quite an ordeal after TSA agents said they detected explosive residue on her hands. [More]
