This afternoon at 14:42hrs EST the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Administrator John S. Pistole sent an email to all agency employees regarding a “Prohibited Items List Update.” The email, one which was expected by many, rereversed an already reversed decision by Administrator Pistole to withdraw the March 5 2013 announcement that passengers would be…
Today’s reader mail comes from Vincent R., from Springfield, Massachusetts. Vincent writes “I have noticed the TSA in my local Amtrak station during the past few months. Amtrak Police refer to these uniformed TSA officers as TSA VIPR Teams. What exactly are they doing?” Well Vincent, over the past few years there has been…
Later this week, on the 25th of April, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was all set to adjust its list of prohibited items allowed to be carried into an aircraft cabin, including small pocket knives, golf clubs and certain types of bats, however these changes have now been delayed. In an e-mail from TSA…
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has long since done away with the redundant process of requiring passengers to present their boarding pass to a Transportation Security Officer (TSO) before passenger screening, after they have already presented their identification and travel documents to the TSO acting as a travel document checker. The process of double…
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…
Regardless of how you feel about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) they agency serves a defined purpose, that of securing transportation security in the United States, primarily in airports. Working along side the TSA in airports are police officers, who are supposed to enforce the laws within the airports, ensuring airport security regulations are properly…
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…
I am not only an AvGeek and frequent flyer … I am also the father of an autistic child. Autism takes many different forms and makes traveling as a family very challenging. I wrestle with the very notion of taking my youngest son on a flight, because I can not predict what the experience will…
While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created on the 25th of November 2002 and officially began operations on the 24th of January 2003, with the appointment of Governor Tom Ridge (R-PA) as the first Secretary of Homeland Security, the Department of Homeland Security didn’t become the agency as we know it today until…
Before I dive into this post, discussing another post by consumer advocate and travel expert Chris Elliott this week, I should note that I both like and respect Chris. This is not a dig on Chris or his opinions. We both cover the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regularly, we both have strong opinions on the…
