Very loose security at LAX...?
Jun 19, 2014, 6:02 pm
#16
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Close. TSA has set an internal goal of moving 85% of pax through PC by the end of 2015. A lot of this is premised on meeting higher goals for enrollment in GE / TSA Pre. If the latter doesn't happen, the 85% goes down.
Jun 19, 2014, 9:56 pm
#17
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: PHX
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So I flew out of LAX a few days ago. I am a lowly Silver Medallion, so I was fully prepared to just go through the general security line, but they had a TSA agent looking at everyone's boarding pass and directing them to the correct line. To my surprise, she motioned me (and my non-elite companion) to what I assumed was the Sky Priority line.
Where I ended up, with about five people in front of me, there were no bins. I was quite confused especially as I saw the people in front of me go through a simple metal detector (not the full body scanner that the "normies" were using), without taking off their shoes or taking anything -- laptops, etc -- out of their bags. My companion and I had the same treatment.
As an exclusive post-9/11 flyer, this was the simplest and most stress-free security experience I've ever had. I'm certainly not complaining, but was this correct procedure? Is this actually the way Sky Priority security at LAX works? Especially with a companion who has no status?
(P.S. Ironically, LAX is the only airport where I've ever been "randomly selected for secondary screening" so this was a nice surprise!)
Where I ended up, with about five people in front of me, there were no bins. I was quite confused especially as I saw the people in front of me go through a simple metal detector (not the full body scanner that the "normies" were using), without taking off their shoes or taking anything -- laptops, etc -- out of their bags. My companion and I had the same treatment.
As an exclusive post-9/11 flyer, this was the simplest and most stress-free security experience I've ever had. I'm certainly not complaining, but was this correct procedure? Is this actually the way Sky Priority security at LAX works? Especially with a companion who has no status?
(P.S. Ironically, LAX is the only airport where I've ever been "randomly selected for secondary screening" so this was a nice surprise!)
Please remember, in the rest of the world this is normal-it is only flights to/from/within the US that are subject to the TSA security theater.
Jun 20, 2014, 3:47 pm
#18
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When I flew out of MDW recently, they have the "regular" PreChek line, for people who actually havit on their boarding pass, then, there's a second line for the people who are randomly selected when they arrive at the checkpoint.
Right about where they merged, but closer to the "randomly selected" line, there was a TSA officer (hawker) calling out all of the rules to people - no shoes off, no laptops out, etc. He specifically mentioned that there were NO BINS in this line
. Seemed odd to me. There have always been bins at every other airport before, and I usually have tons of stuff in my pockets - 2 phones, thick silver chain necklace, belt that always alarms, etc. They DID have the tiny round bins, and I was able to make do with 2 of them, it just seemed weird to me.Any thoughts?
Jun 20, 2014, 4:26 pm
#19
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Join Date: Jun 2014
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What you saw is our managed inclusion program.
Since you don't need to remove as many items in TSA Precheck, we try to limit the number of large bins in the vicinity. We have done analysis that those large bins slow down the line.
Since you don't need to remove as many items in TSA Precheck, we try to limit the number of large bins in the vicinity. We have done analysis that those large bins slow down the line.
Jun 20, 2014, 5:17 pm
#20
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: PHX
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This is the part of your post that I found recently for the first time . . . .
When I flew out of MDW recently, they have the "regular" PreChek line, for people who actually havit on their boarding pass, then, there's a second line for the people who are randomly selected when they arrive at the checkpoint.
Right about where they merged, but closer to the "randomly selected" line, there was a TSA officer (hawker) calling out all of the rules to people - no shoes off, no laptops out, etc. He specifically mentioned that there were NO BINS in this line. Seemed odd to me. There have always been bins at every other airport before, and I usually have tons of stuff in my pockets - 2 phones, thick silver chain necklace, belt that always alarms, etc. They DID have the tiny round bins, and I was able to make do with 2 of them, it just seemed weird to me.
Any thoughts?
When I flew out of MDW recently, they have the "regular" PreChek line, for people who actually havit on their boarding pass, then, there's a second line for the people who are randomly selected when they arrive at the checkpoint.
Right about where they merged, but closer to the "randomly selected" line, there was a TSA officer (hawker) calling out all of the rules to people - no shoes off, no laptops out, etc. He specifically mentioned that there were NO BINS in this line
. Seemed odd to me. There have always been bins at every other airport before, and I usually have tons of stuff in my pockets - 2 phones, thick silver chain necklace, belt that always alarms, etc. They DID have the tiny round bins, and I was able to make do with 2 of them, it just seemed weird to me.Any thoughts?
Jun 20, 2014, 5:21 pm
#21
Join Date: Apr 2005
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What you saw is our managed inclusion program.
Since you don't need to remove as many items in TSA Precheck, we try to limit the number of large bins in the vicinity. We have done analysis that those large bins slow down the line.
Since you don't need to remove as many items in TSA Precheck, we try to limit the number of large bins in the vicinity. We have done analysis that those large bins slow down the line.
Jun 20, 2014, 10:59 pm
#22
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: YVR
Posts: 80
My last time using the PreCheck lane at MCO (on the 17th) had an older TSO announcing every few seconds, while passing the trays and bags through into the Xray "You are in PreCheck! Keep your shoes on, your belt on, laptops and liquids in your bag. You are in PreCheck!" whether this was advertising or (more likely) trying to speed things up because of the ignorant leisure travelers.
Jun 21, 2014, 6:43 am
#23
Join Date: Apr 2005
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My last time using the PreCheck lane at MCO (on the 17th) had an older TSO announcing every few seconds, while passing the trays and bags through into the Xray "You are in PreCheck! Keep your shoes on, your belt on, laptops and liquids in your bag. You are in PreCheck!" whether this was advertising or (more likely) trying to speed things up because of the ignorant leisure travelers.
Jun 21, 2014, 8:52 am
#24
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It does not focus on IDs, large sums of cash, drugs, flash cards and reading material in different languages, medical nitro pills, artfully disguised $83 clear glass bottles of perfume that look like a grenade in a screener's fantasy, sock monkey 2" toy guns...
It would be very interesting to see stats for the items confiscated at airports around the world at the checkpoint. Real numbers to correspond to the artfully fabricated numbers TSA publishes every week.
Jun 24, 2014, 7:14 pm
#25
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 209
I've had this happen at ATL and EWR. Both times I didn't have to take off my shoes, laptop, etc or remove small metal items from my pockets. However, on both occasions no one ever told me this was the precheck line. So I had no idea I didn't have to go through the whole process. It felt like I spent more time asking the agent what I needed to take out (coins? belt? cell phone? wallet?) than if I had just dumped everything in my pockets into a tray. I'm sure others were confused.
Also, at EWR I was allowed into the special line while my husband wasn't. He was behind me, and no one audibly told me we were being separated. It wasn't until I was loading my items onto the belt that I realized he wasn't behind me anymore. But since no one told me what was going on, I got through security a full 10 minutes before him and couldn't see him anywhere. I know he hates flying and panics when anything doesn't go smoothly, so he was probably worrying about me while I was worrying he'd be freaking out. For all I knew he was taken for a private security screening and I had no way of knowing that. I was on the verge of asking an airport employee to page him when I saw him ~20 people back before the scanner.
ETA: I put in a complaint to the TSA about my experience. I got a response today. It was a form letter giving me information about the Pre Check program. It didn't address my complaint at all. They really don't care.
Also, at EWR I was allowed into the special line while my husband wasn't. He was behind me, and no one audibly told me we were being separated. It wasn't until I was loading my items onto the belt that I realized he wasn't behind me anymore. But since no one told me what was going on, I got through security a full 10 minutes before him and couldn't see him anywhere. I know he hates flying and panics when anything doesn't go smoothly, so he was probably worrying about me while I was worrying he'd be freaking out. For all I knew he was taken for a private security screening and I had no way of knowing that. I was on the verge of asking an airport employee to page him when I saw him ~20 people back before the scanner.
ETA: I put in a complaint to the TSA about my experience. I got a response today. It was a form letter giving me information about the Pre Check program. It didn't address my complaint at all. They really don't care.
Last edited by tornado163; Jun 25, 2014 at 8:10 am
Jun 25, 2014, 10:59 am
#26
Join Date: Nov 2010
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This is the part of your post that I found recently for the first time . . . .
When I flew out of MDW recently, they have the "regular" PreChek line, for people who actually havit on their boarding pass, then, there's a second line for the people who are randomly selected when they arrive at the checkpoint.
Right about where they merged, but closer to the "randomly selected" line, there was a TSA officer (hawker) calling out all of the rules to people - no shoes off, no laptops out, etc. He specifically mentioned that there were NO BINS in this line. Seemed odd to me. There have always been bins at every other airport before, and I usually have tons of stuff in my pockets - 2 phones, thick silver chain necklace, belt that always alarms, etc. They DID have the tiny round bins, and I was able to make do with 2 of them, it just seemed weird to me.
Any thoughts?
When I flew out of MDW recently, they have the "regular" PreChek line, for people who actually havit on their boarding pass, then, there's a second line for the people who are randomly selected when they arrive at the checkpoint.
Right about where they merged, but closer to the "randomly selected" line, there was a TSA officer (hawker) calling out all of the rules to people - no shoes off, no laptops out, etc. He specifically mentioned that there were NO BINS in this line
. Seemed odd to me. There have always been bins at every other airport before, and I usually have tons of stuff in my pockets - 2 phones, thick silver chain necklace, belt that always alarms, etc. They DID have the tiny round bins, and I was able to make do with 2 of them, it just seemed weird to me.Any thoughts?
If you don't get selected for PreCheck, you're going to have to empty everything from your pockets. If you do get selected for PreCheck, you're still going to have to empty at least any large metal items which might alarm the WTMD (phone, keys, etc). So I always empty my pockets well in advance, because no matter what, I will need to empty at least SOME of the stuff, and it's not a big deal at that point to just go the distance and empty it all.
Also, I prefer to not empty my pockets in the middle of a terminal, in full view of any potential pick-pockets who could suddenly develop a hankerin' for my wallet or any cash I might be carrying. Ditto for re-loading my pockets post-security. I consider it prudent to not wave my money and other pocket contents around any more than is absolutely necessary when in public.
Jun 25, 2014, 1:25 pm
#27
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 642
The only thing the TSA cares about is it's budget, which just so happens to be getting an increase due to the newly implemented TSA fee increase on tickets.
Jun 27, 2014, 4:47 am
#28
Join Date: Jul 2007
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Jul 2, 2014, 1:51 am
#29
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I'd imagine the 75% number isn't as hard to meet as one thinks. If you include all of the airline elites, TTs and some "randoms", you end up with a larger number.
Yup. Its not loose security at all.
Large bins don't do nearly as much to slow down a line as naked machines do. Further, it is often easier to put one's smaller metal items (phone, keys, coins, etc.) in a jacket pocket and send that through the machine. That actually speeds the process.
Exactly.
What you saw is our managed inclusion program.
Since you don't need to remove as many items in TSA Precheck, we try to limit the number of large bins in the vicinity. We have done analysis that those large bins slow down the line.
Since you don't need to remove as many items in TSA Precheck, we try to limit the number of large bins in the vicinity. We have done analysis that those large bins slow down the line.
Exactly.
Jul 2, 2014, 6:24 am
#30
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 3,526
What you saw is our managed inclusion program.
Since you don't need to remove as many items in TSA Precheck, we try to limit the number of large bins in the vicinity. We have done analysis that those large bins slow down the line.
Since you don't need to remove as many items in TSA Precheck, we try to limit the number of large bins in the vicinity. We have done analysis that those large bins slow down the line.
TSA doesn't analyze WBI false alarms
The above report is also informative in that it advises us that:
At approximately half of the nation’s airports where Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines with Automated Target Recognition (ATR) software are used, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) does not conduct mandatory weekly Improvised Explosive Device drills because TSA does not know what office is responsible for enforcing the directive, according to a recent federal audit.