Transportation Security Administration

Encounters With A TSA VIPR Team & Is The Amtrak Logo Really A Security Risk?

The legality of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams Teams have been questioned by many, although authorized under 6 U.S.C. § 1112 , stating that the mission is to “augment the security of any mode of transportation at any location within the United States,” even a Department of Homeland Security (DHS)…

Hey Alec Baldwin, The TSA Never Touched Your Kid This Morning

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…

LAX Airport Shooting – Part 2 – TSA BDOs, Why?

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…

LAX Shooting – Part 1 – Securing The Airport

This past Friday, the 1st of November, Paul Ciancia walked into Los Angeles International Airport’s Terminal 3 with a singular mission, his mission was to shoot and kill Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees.  Upon arriving at the TSA Travel Document Checker (TCD) station at the entrance to the security checkpoint, Mr. Ciancia opened his bag…

Reader Mail : “How Can You Possibly Defend The TSA All The Time?”

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…

Did The TSA & JetBlue Deny Travel For Looking Muslim During Ramadan? Nope

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…

Passenger Security Explosives Detection … It’s For The Dogs

Airport passenger security has evolved at a blistering pace over the past decade, but like many mad-scrambles in any industry there are false starts, long journeys down the wrong road and conflicting opinions. One thing we can all agree on is this … the very serious threat of an explosive being brought on board an…

TSA Stops Chewbacca’s Light Saber, Despite TSA’s Policy on Carry On Light Sabers

Last Monday, the 3rd of June, Star Wars star Peter Mayhew, better known as everyone’s favourite Wookiee, Chewbacca, was briefly stopped by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at Denver International Airport with his chest-high light saber. Standing 7-feet 2-inches tall, the light saber double’s as the 69 year old actor’s cane.   While the TSA…