Say what you will about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), but the agency is made up of people and those people are just like you and I. The within the TSA are parents, neighbors, someone’s brother, sister, child … and they share a common experience of where they were on September 11th 2001 and what…
Getting from the ‘land side’ to the ‘air side’ of an airport security checkpoint can be frustrating, especially for infrequent flyers. Airport security checkpoints in the US and around the world may have different designs, but the process of getting through a checkpoint with your belonging is always the same. This reader mail comes…
Since the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) implemented its ‘enhanced pat down’ screening procedures in late 2010 the legality of the agency’s authority to execute enhanced pat downs has been consistently called into question. While the TSA has the legal authority to carry out administrative searches without probable cause, as I wrote about in November…
Anyone who flies with any frequency knows the drill at the airport, shoes off, jacket off, 3-1-1 bag out, laptop out, leave your knives in your checked bag and make sure your H&K MP5 is packed in a secured case and is declared with the airline. All the fun of the airport screening process…
Since the inception of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Behavior Detection Officers (BDO) program in 2003, it has been less than effective by design and deployment. Currently, TSA BDOs seek out potential security threats through Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT). SPOT focuses on involuntary physical and physiological reactions, such as micro facial expressions,…
I don’t tend to post one-liner jokes on Flying With Fish, but sometimes something’s are to good to pass up … The Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) policy and procedures covers a vast range of topics to address passenger security, including outlining the procedure for screening service animals. Among the animals directly addressed in the…
A week ago I wrote TSA’s 25,000 Security Lapses & How They Can Be Reduced and referenced the use of Aztec barcodes as a security feature stating “TSA has not worked with airlines to implement these impossible to forge barcodes.” I received a few comments and emails stating Aztec barcodes could be forged. Some…
Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed down a ruling requiring the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to seek out public comments on the use of Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) scanners. While the Court of Appeals ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by the Electronic Privacy Information Center,…
Earlier this week documents from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) revealing more than 25,000 known security breaches since the agency took over airport security screening on the 13th of February 2002 became public knowledge during U.S. House Subcommittee on National Security hearings on TSA Oversight. First off, keep this in mind … 25,000+ known…
This month the topics of aviation security concerns are once again coming to the forefront of the news. Having recently written about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) warning of surgically implanted bombs 18 months after the threat was discovered, and Libya possessing an estimated 250 tons of non-detectable Semtex, I had the opportunity to discuss…
