troyintn

I am not sure what the survey accomplised or tried to accomplish. It seems more like a bad idea for a TSA marketing strategy.

ybanag

On occasion I travel with a co-worker in his wheelchair. He calls TSA days before to make arrangements and someone would meet and assist him at the checkpoint. He would pass the queue and get patted down and his wheelchair tested. I do not remember his carry-on being swabbed though. The same is done on our return flight.

travelmydreams

I rate them an abject failure for security effectiveness. Just the inconsistency in evaluating an item I frequently carry on (tripod head) demonstrates the randomness of the bag screening. It gets flagged and my bag is tossed and the next time not a peep from them. However, the majority of them are nice enough from my experiences, at least as nice as they can manage under the circumstances of the job and the work culture associated with that agency. And I still hold a bit of a grudge after one of them pinched an underwater camera housing out of my luggage in Puerto Rico a few years ago.

Coming home from DEN this weekend, the security line was stupid long. There were only two lanes open for the general public and one for pre-check. Pre-check appeared to be double staffed with workers who basically were loitering around while the other lanes were packed and short-staffed. I went to complain to the supervisor once I got through about this crappy management, and he told me they are down by something like 20 people and were short 5 for that day. He still didn't address why so many were manning the empty pre-check line but did say that they recently got a pool of 147 applicants for the vacancies and only 6 passed the drug test! I never thought I would witness the conflict between state and federal marijuana law in the airport security line!

petaluma1

I would imagine that most of that was in place before 9/11, with the exception of the "no-fly" list.

smani

What have they done so far (other than hassle travelers) to warrant their salaries? Caught any terrorists?

blackbeard

Have you ever tried to buy fuel for a car with a European credit card in the USA? The pump asks for a ZIP code, try entering a non US ZIP code, even trying to pay in the office does not work.

GUWonder

The TSA is ineffective, as is so clearly evidenced by its wasting of resources to check ID and boarding passes instead of using all those resources provided to it to focus exclusively on interdiction of contraband weapons, explosives and incendiaries from getting on the plane.

A TSA screener checking your boarding pass or ID is a TSA screener who is not focused on detecting and interdicting contraband weapons, explosives and incendiaries from getting on the plane. That is a sign of the organization's in effectiveness.

The TSA too should count its lucky stars that so few people -- if any -- in the US have had the means or will to be a terrorist and aim their violent implements at commercial passenger flights in the US.

sethb

And then there's the TSA checking IDs at the boarding gate. What's the point of that, other than proving they have too little to do?

I've asked them whether they trust their own colleagues at the Security Theater Perimeter. They don't like that question.

sunshineaz

The last time we went through a pre-check screening, My husband was told to remove his shoes (he wears cowboy boots and they always make him remove them) and empty his pockets. I was able to put my purse and carryon on the scanner belt and walk through with shoes and a light sweater over my blouse. When I got to the other end, the lady wanted to check my purse, I said fine. She then asked 3 times if it was safe for her to open my purse. I told her sure, it was safe. On opening it finally, she dumped the contents and examined the purse and contents. The purse was 8 inches by 6 inches, 2 inches thick, unlined leather. Inside were a small wallet with paper money and ID, a passport and a pair of glasses. She even opened the wallet to look inside. Not sure what they expected to find in there.

Meanwhile, because of the congestion, they waved several others by while closely checking us. Over 60 in age, 1 small carryon tote containing magazines and books, 1 purse, 1 sweater and nothing else between the 2 of us. We always check everything so we don't need to drag it around the airport.

DeafBlonde

Yes, exactly...that means you fit their "Profile" of "Domestic Terrorists"!!!

Schmurrr

No. Heard of PreCheck? Heard the stories about passengers in wheelchairs?

I have to call BS on this. Are planes flying out of non-US airports with more reasonable screening procedures experiencing terror events at a greater rate than those flying out of US airports? No.

I think one could argue that TSA is actually furthering terrorists' work. Nude body scanners, the touching of genitalia at checkpoints, making travelers remove clothing, the confiscation of harmless items, and making travelers reveal private medical information at checkpoints are (a) not symbols of a free society wherein human rights are respected and (b) undermine support for the US government.

Regarding (a): Hate the US? Trick the US into egregiously violating its Constitution and its citizens and enjoy!

Regarding (b): How much credibility does the US government have when innocent people are felt up, snowglobes and toys are confiscated, when independent researchers finally get to test a backscatter scanner and show that it is highly fallible (contrary to government assertions), and when TSA employees are caught stealing from passengers and passing drugs through checkpoints? If it means paring down TSA (and the NSA), I'm all for getting out of the Middle East. Good job, TSA (and NSA). You are successfully eroding public support for the US's continued involvement in the Middle East, which is what al Qaeda et al. want. Way to help them achieve their goal.

Plus, as a bonus, TSA, NSA, et al. are creating conditions that could spur an increase in US domestic terrorism as a backlash. Good luck catching the domestic terrorists at an airport, TSA.

SeriouslyLost

Wrong in both fact & law. Nice rant though.

javabytes

We need a 2014 survey to learn once again that the TSA sucks?

WilcoRoger

Your above contribution re-inforces a common European prejudice that generally speaking Americans are not the sharpest knives in the drawer (to put it nicely) Mind, I don't subscribe to that point of view, but you make a strong case to defend that position.

Grichka

Some months ago I picked up my suitcase after an AA domestic flight. Arrived at my hotel and was unable to open it. The lockers codes (TSA approved) had been changed....
After I managed to open one side by forcing it and the other side by trying multiple combination around the original one, I found a message inside my suitcase that it had been opend by TSA and blablabla....

Thank you TSA, very funny....