#1 Barking. It's completely un-called-for
#2 The liquid ban. It makes no scientific or conceptual sense, makes screeners' jobs far more difficult, thereby making it less safe to fly.
#3 Shoes. Nobody has ever been hurt or injured by a shoe-related weapon in an airport or airplane. It wastes time and it prolongs the screening process. It's a stupid rule, time to axe it.
#4 SSSS. We all know it's bogus. Just stop it, for crying out loud.
Item #1 will be tough to fix--too many "soldier of fortune" types thinking they're the "front line in the war on terror." Items #2, #3, and #4 are easily correctable, but Kip would never swallow his pride to make these changes.
The barking, the liquid ban, and the shoe carnival catalyze the TSA's loss of legitimacy as an authority. From an organizational behavior standpoint, we're dealing with meaningless, poorly-enforced rules. It's a recipe for disaster.
I sometimes think that TSA employees should have to take a mandatory trip to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. They can see how polite, friendly, organized, and quick it is to clear security in perhaps the strictest airport in the world... I'm not talking about the profiling stuff; just their attitude.
Last edited by Mats; Jul 15, 2007 at 12:57 pm