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)…
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…
Congressman John Mica’s (R-FL) rants about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are nothing new. Rep. Mica, who represents Florida’s 7th Congressional District, was involved in the creation of the TSA and began becoming vocal about the privatization of the agency in 2010, focusing his energy on Orlando Sanford International Airport. Why tiny Orlando Sanford International…
As millions of travelers throughout the United States get ready for Christmas Dinner with their friends and families, followed by flights home with new gifts, gadgets and home baked pies from Mom, there may be some confusion regarding what passengers may or may not bring through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) check points. This topic…
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…
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…
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…
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…
I have previously been asked “Why does it seem you hate the TSA,” but this readermail question comes at my coverage of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from a different angle. Today’s reader mail from Alexis W. through me for a bit of a loop. Alexis asks “I have been following you on Twitter…
