Transportation Security Administration

What Does The TSA Mean By “Resistance” In A Pat Down?

Yesterday reader Ron Bonner asked “exactly what [does] TSA means by “resistance” when telling a passenger they will feel up to their “resistance” during a pat down. I am interested in knowing if a standard TSA Pat Down requires the screener to make physical contact with a persons penis, scrotum, labia, anal region, or breasts….

Debunking TSA Mistreatment Of A Dying Woman

On the 2nd of October Michelle Dunaj, a 34 year old terminal Leukemia patient passed through Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac) on her way to Hawaii for what she referred to as the “last trip of her life.”  Ms. Dunaj’s routine screening by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at Sea-Tac has since become international news…

The TSA Hasn’t Rescinded Checkpoint Photography Policy

Over the past few days rumours have begun running rampant that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has rescinded its policy allowing photography of its security operations and checkpoints … these rumours are false.   The main source for the rumor that the TSA eliminated its policy is due to the agency’s website change over. Many…

Curious Case Of Explosive Contaminated TSA Gloves

Anyone who has been selected for secondary screening, or bag screening, by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is familiar with the agency’s procedures for swabbing of a Transportation Security Officer’s (TSO) gloves for traces of explosives following a pat-down or search of a bag.   But what does a passenger do when the gloves TSA…

Did The TSA Stop A Terrorist Through ID Authentication?

On the 20th of September 2012 the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Transportation Committee on Homeland Security released a report entitled “Rebuilding TSA into a Smarter, Leaner Organization.”   Within the 59 page report on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Subcommittee covers a wide range of topics, some logically, some that sound good and…

TSA Goes To The London Olympics To Provide No Security

In just over a week the 2012 Olympic Games will commence. London’s busy airports will receive a massive influx of passengers, straining their already strained security checkpoints.   Recently it has come to light that G4S security, which provides security at a number of airports in the United Kingdom, including Britain’s global gateway, London’s Heathrow…

TSA To Allow Snow Globes In Carry On Bags Again

One vestige of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) absurd security should be gone in a few weeks, as the agency has announced it intends to allow snow globes to travel in passenger carry on baggage again.   Snow globes were banned from carry-on bags by the TSA following a failed terrorist plot in the United…

TSA Technologies, Security Theater & Oversight Failures

For years I have actively avoided using the term “Security Theater” when discussing the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).   Over the years I have torn the TSA apart as well as defended them, as the agency has good and bad, while most people just focus on the bad.   Today however, looking at technologies the TSA is…

Reader Mail : How Do I Bring My Glock As Carry On?

What might seem like common sense for one traveler may be an unknown topic for another. Walk through any airport at any time of day you’ll see people breezing through check in and others struggling to understand the process at the counter. Step into an airport security screening checkpoint and you’ll see some pros zip…

Congressman Claims TSA Assault During Screening

On a recent flight from Texas’s San Antonio International Airport Congressman Francisco Canseco (R-TX) claims a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Transportation Security Office (TSO) assaulted him during a random pat down.   During the screening process Rep. Canseco claims the TSO’s screening process became too uncomfortable causing him to move the screener’s hand to the…