Transportation Security Administration

TSA Ends Rapiscan Contract But Keeps Backscatter Scanners

Yes, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has severed it contact with Rapiscan as a supplier of Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) passenger screening scanners … but the removal of the remaining 174 Rapiscan Secure 1000 scanners has nothing to do with them being ‘backscatter‘ technology scanners, nor the potential health risks posed by backscatter technology,  nor…

Why Airlines Aren’t Liable For Baggage Theft & Damage

On a daily basis someone is complaining that an airline has damaged an item in their checked baggage or that something from their checked baggage was pilfered.  These incidents, while barely a statistical blip on the radar compared to all checked baggage, frequently take center stage in public conversation of the airline industry.   A…

“JetBlue Stole My Cameras” … yea, probably not

The photography and airline interwebs are abuzz with a scathing blog post by photographer Jess T. Dugan claiming that on the 18th of December 2012, flying between Chicago O’Hare and Boston Logan, on JetBlue flight 922, the airline stole her camera gear.   There are lessons to be learned here for photographers from Ms. Dugan’s unfortunate…

US Passes ‘No Hassle Flying Act’ & Doesn’t Reduce Hassle

Yesterday the United States’ 112th Congress’ 2nd Session passed S. 3542, the “No Hassle Flying Act of 2012” , which is now being sent to the White House to be signed into law by The President of the United States.   Before you get excited that the U.S. Congress has done something to reduce the…

Does TSA “Randomly” Pat Down Women More Than Men?

The mere mention of the term “Enhanced Pat Down” is enough to send many travelers into an endless rant about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). One issue a significant group of travelers (women) seems to bring up is that more women are selected for pat downs than men.   This is a statistic the TSA has…

Is The TSA’s New Passenger Advocate Role A Good Thing?

On the 13th of February 2012 Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the Restoring Integrity and Good-Heartedness in Traveler Screening Act, or “RIGHTS Act,” addressing the need for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to have a passenger advocate on site, at every airport, to address immediate passenger screening issues.  The RIGHTS Act…

Is TSA Removing Backscatter Scanners? Nope

This morning ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize winning non-profit news organization, wrote about the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) quietly swapping certain Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) scanners from airports around the country, replacing them with other AIT scanners, implying that this is being done for health reasons.   ProPublica journalist Michael Grabell writes, “The TSA is not…

Is A Talk Radio Host On A Secret TSA List Or Flagged For Something Else?

Ian Freeman, the co-host of Free Talk Live, a national libertarian political talk radio show broadcast on more than 100 radio stations, and four television stations, and candidate for State Representative from Keene, New Hampshire,  makes an interesting claim … he claims he is on a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Super Secret Special Searched list….