This morning actor Alec Baldwin sent out a curious tweet to his more than one-million Twitter followers that read, “Flying from Nassau, Bahamas 2 NY. TSA “random selects” my 5 month old daughter 4 a pat down. I am not kidding. #travelinginUSAisadisgrace“ Ignoring the actor’s history of issues with the airline industry, there are…
Ten years ago the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) adopted a new concept for aviation security in the United States when it started the Screening of Passengers by Observation Technique (SPOT) Program, through the training and deployment of Behaviour Detection Officers (BDO). The theory behind the TSA implementing BDOs is that these officers are not watching…
Every day more than 30,000 potential threats take flight, carrying more than two million potential victims, in the United States. The security presence in and around airports is apparent to all, with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) overseeing the screening of all passengers and the vast majority of airport staff, aided by local and federal…
Twelve hours ago the United States Government was shut down due to political gridlock on The Hill. As the nation’s elected representatives continue to play a game of chess using the citizens of the United States as pawns the business of airline travel must go on. This morning I awoke to a flurry of…
Well today seems like as good a time as any for a reader mail, one of more than 2,200 I woke up to this morning, after posting Did The TSA & JetBlue Deny Travel For Looking Muslim During Ramadan? Nope yesterday evening. I only read a little more than 100 of these emails, as the…
This past Thursday afternoon I began receiving emails alerting me to a disturbing blog post by Aditya Mukerjee regarding his being detained by the Transportation Security Administration then denied boarding of a flight by JetBlue. Mr. Mukerjee’s story of being a Hindu mistaken for a Muslim, then singled out, separated and questioned for three hours…
This afternoon the United States’ State Department issued a Worldwide Travel Alert for United States citizens globally (which links back to a February 19 2013 worldwide travel warning). Travel warnings from the State Department have become a little bit like Chicken Little yelling, “the sky is falling.” Travel cautions are constantly released, and worldwide…
Yesterday the United States Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-to-5 in favour of an amendment, as part of immigration reform, to require the finger printing of all foreign travelers departing the United States. The bill, proposed by Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT), implements biometric tracking of foreign travelers under the Department of Transportation in three phases. …
Today marks the tenth time I have used my United States Passport Card as identification while flying a domestic flight rather than my drivers’ license since I received it this past February. Today also marks the fourth time a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Transportation Security Officer (TSO) checking identification and board documents has looked up…
On the 25th of April the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will once again allow certain types of knives, and other prohibited items, to fly once again as carry-on items, which I detailed on the 6th of March in Sharpen Your Knives, Polish Your Golf Clubs & Fly! Since the TSA’s announcement there has been…
