Anticipation of airport security is stressful.
Oct 20, 2015, 5:06 am
#16
Join Date: May 2011
Location: San Antonio, TX
Programs: AA EXP, DL Silver, Global Entry
Posts: 1,863
I don't stress about a lot, just my nature. I probably think more about the quality of the upcoming flight than getting through security. I've done what I can to make transiting security as quick and easy as possible.
Oct 20, 2015, 9:53 am
#18
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: ONT/FRA
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 878
Oct 20, 2015, 11:39 am
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 3
Oct 21, 2015, 3:17 am
#21
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Cambridge, UK
Programs: VS, BA, C, C++, IoT
Posts: 117
Well, flying back from LAS to LGW a couple of weeks ago, the TSA lady doing passport/BC checks was wonderfully cheerful, and singing her questions and comments to the pax! Funnily enough, our queue was in a good mood afterwards, so the X-ray / search crew were, too.
Sometimes, it only takes one good soul to lift everyone's spirits.
Sometimes, it only takes one good soul to lift everyone's spirits.
Oct 22, 2015, 11:01 am
#22
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Baltimore, MD USA
Programs: Southwest Rapid Rewards. Tha... that's about it.
Posts: 4,332
Much as I love to bash TSA and blame them for everything from missed flights to the US Zamboni shortage, I think they’re getting something of a bum wrap here.
I believe that the overwhelming majority of people who excessively stress about flying are those with one or more phobias. Claustrophobia, acrophobia, agoraphobia, and terrorphobia are all pretty common, and the typical commercial aviation experience tends to trigger them all. You’re in an enclosed space, at a great height, packed in with strangers. And here in the US, you’re aboard what we’ve been told for the last 15 years is a giant, red, blinking target light that screams “KILL ME! KILL ME, I’M HERE! C’MON, DO IT NOW!” as it hurtles through the void toward certain, inevitable doom.
The TSA experience, unpleasant and despicably un-American as it is, doesn’t stress me out much as I fly. I’m here on FT bashing TSA for their stupidity and neo-fascism on a daily basis, so by this article’s premise I should be so worked up by the time I reach the TDC that I’m ready to hurl (puke or throw things, either is a possibility). But I’m not, and I think it’s because I don’t suffer from any of the other phobias that are so easily triggered by flying.
I’m not terribly fond of heights, but I have never been afraid in an airplane and always select a window seat to enjoy the view. I don’t care for enclosed spaces much, and as I’m 6’-4” and 280lb, a Y seat on WN certainly counts as “enclosed” for me, yet I’ve never felt any particular anxiety while aboard a plane. Discomfort, certainly, as seat pitches have been reduced to the point where only Cotton Hill can be reasonably comfortable in the seat (he got his shins blown off in the war), but not anxiety.
So while I certainly feel some stress from lost luggage, mechanical and weather delays, TSA despicabilityness, potential theft, the threat of catching Ebola from some coughing guy, having my head explode due to an allergic reaction to perfume or cologne or simple body odor, and the tiny, tiny, tiny possibilities of being shot in the terminal, disintegrated in mid-flight, or pulling a Ralph Hinkley on landing, I’m generally in a pretty good mood when I arrive at the airport. The anticipation of dealing with TSA lunkheads and their arbitrary made-up State Secret BS rules doesn’t bother me any more than catching a couple of red lights on the drive in.
I believe that the overwhelming majority of people who excessively stress about flying are those with one or more phobias. Claustrophobia, acrophobia, agoraphobia, and terrorphobia are all pretty common, and the typical commercial aviation experience tends to trigger them all. You’re in an enclosed space, at a great height, packed in with strangers. And here in the US, you’re aboard what we’ve been told for the last 15 years is a giant, red, blinking target light that screams “KILL ME! KILL ME, I’M HERE! C’MON, DO IT NOW!” as it hurtles through the void toward certain, inevitable doom.
The TSA experience, unpleasant and despicably un-American as it is, doesn’t stress me out much as I fly. I’m here on FT bashing TSA for their stupidity and neo-fascism on a daily basis, so by this article’s premise I should be so worked up by the time I reach the TDC that I’m ready to hurl (puke or throw things, either is a possibility). But I’m not, and I think it’s because I don’t suffer from any of the other phobias that are so easily triggered by flying.
I’m not terribly fond of heights, but I have never been afraid in an airplane and always select a window seat to enjoy the view. I don’t care for enclosed spaces much, and as I’m 6’-4” and 280lb, a Y seat on WN certainly counts as “enclosed” for me, yet I’ve never felt any particular anxiety while aboard a plane. Discomfort, certainly, as seat pitches have been reduced to the point where only Cotton Hill can be reasonably comfortable in the seat (he got his shins blown off in the war), but not anxiety.
So while I certainly feel some stress from lost luggage, mechanical and weather delays, TSA despicabilityness, potential theft, the threat of catching Ebola from some coughing guy, having my head explode due to an allergic reaction to perfume or cologne or simple body odor, and the tiny, tiny, tiny possibilities of being shot in the terminal, disintegrated in mid-flight, or pulling a Ralph Hinkley on landing, I’m generally in a pretty good mood when I arrive at the airport. The anticipation of dealing with TSA lunkheads and their arbitrary made-up State Secret BS rules doesn’t bother me any more than catching a couple of red lights on the drive in.
Oct 22, 2015, 1:39 pm
#24
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 616
My stress level used to rise a lot more at the checkpoint and even my wife said I wasn't my normal self. My stress levels don't really change much anymore. I accepted that I was going to get the enhanced patdown because I couldn't go through the scanners due to my previous insulin pump. It also helped that I was usually going somewhere fun and the screener was going to be stuck in the airport touching balls all day.
It will be interesting what happens when I travel next month. it will be the first time flying since I got my new insulin pump, which the manufacturer says can go through the body scanners. I'm sure it will alarm the scanner but that shouldn't require the full body patdown.
I'm more irritated when I told the screener that I couldn't go through the scanner and they got an attitude. They would either try to coerce me into the scanner, tell me I will get a invasive patdown in a threatening manner, or have a whatever attitude and roll their eyes.
It will be interesting what happens when I travel next month. it will be the first time flying since I got my new insulin pump, which the manufacturer says can go through the body scanners. I'm sure it will alarm the scanner but that shouldn't require the full body patdown.
I'm more irritated when I told the screener that I couldn't go through the scanner and they got an attitude. They would either try to coerce me into the scanner, tell me I will get a invasive patdown in a threatening manner, or have a whatever attitude and roll their eyes.
Oct 27, 2015, 1:53 am
#25
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,684
I currently travel over 10x per year -- mainly internationally. I have a theory that the uncertainty/unpredictability associated with airport security lines/processes around the world cause the bulk of stress around frequent travel. It's just not knowing. Almost the same way that a traffic jam used to before we had google maps traffic or waze which tells us exactly where the jam is, how long it will take, etc. I know TSA and others have attempted apps to help create transparency here, but it's still not as advanced or live as what we've seen for road infrastructure.
What about airport security stresses you out?
How frequently do you see a shortage of staff or security lane closures during rush hours?
What about airport security stresses you out?
How frequently do you see a shortage of staff or security lane closures during rush hours?
I've probably flown 500 trips. I've never been denied going through security. It causes me 0 stress. I'm an adult not a child or whiny adult who acts like a child. Going through security is one of the least stressful things in a work travel day.
Oct 27, 2015, 10:40 am
#26
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: where the chile is hot
Programs: AA,RR,NW,Delta ,UA,CO
Posts: 41,668
I travel a ton more than you. Being stuck in a tin can with the humidity of a desert with everything that comes with it is waayyyy more stressful than the 5 minutes I spend going through security. The walk to my hotel is usually worse. Being stuck away from friends and family more stressful. Time zone changes, hotel issues, a rental car I don't like, jet lag, etc. All more stressful.
I've probably flown 500 trips. I've never been denied going through security. It causes me 0 stress. I'm an adult not a child or whiny adult who acts like a child. Going through security is one of the least stressful things in a work travel day.
I've probably flown 500 trips. I've never been denied going through security. It causes me 0 stress. I'm an adult not a child or whiny adult who acts like a child. Going through security is one of the least stressful things in a work travel day.
I enjoy the airplane experience. I don't think of it as a tin can with the 'humidity of a desert' (clearly tongue-in-cheek, as anyone who has spent any time at all in the desert can attest). Of course, I go out of my way to be friendly and courteous to the flight crew and my seatmates. I certainly don't consider my onboard flying experiences as 'stressful'. I don't stay in a hotel if I'm going to be stressed out walking there. Time zone changes, time away from family in friends, hotel issues, rental cars - I don't stress about these things. I'm an adult, not a whiny child or a whiny adult who acts like these things matter.
I do experience stress at the checkpoints. All of the other things are, to a great extent, under my control. Don't like being cooped up in a tin tube with the (alleged) dryness of a desert? Don't like being away from family and friends? Stop whingeing and find a job where you are doing things that are so important you forget about the stress. Stay in different hotels. Take taxis instead of renting cars or change rental agencies. Sheesh.
I do stress out when a TSO at a checkpoint decides my 'heart pills' (nitro tabs) are contraband and confiscates them. I do find it very uncomfortable when TSA discriminates against me regularly because of my physical limitations. I do stress out when I get forceful groin chops and strange hands inside my pants and stroking my buttocks.
I guess when it comes to defining stress, it's "different strokes for different folks", even when some folks have really really important jobs and others are just people who want to fly some place.
Oct 30, 2015, 7:20 am
#28
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: IAH mostly.
Programs: I still call it Onepass every now and then. Platinum.
Posts: 500
My airport stress level went WAAAAYYYY down three years ago after getting my GE card and getting Precheck on every single flight since then (not counting the arbitrary "random" selections going through the WTMD and airports that either close their PC lanes or don't have one at all, which is rare now).
I used to dread going through security and being yelled at simply for being there and having no idea whether I had followed the discretionary rules for the day set by an undereducated government clerk. It was extremely stressful and Precheck solved it. My trip through security usually takes only as long as it takes for me to walk through and pick up my bags on the other side.
That said, whenever I do get one of the arbitrary selections, my stress level goes back up and I give as good as I get when they go through their unnecessary nonsense, but that is somewhat seldom... maybe 1 in 6 or 7 trips through security. I can't help it - I hate being assumed, based on nothing more than a blinking light, to be a bad guy and treated like a criminal when I am fat, white, bald and old with a WASP name and have already passed a background check.
I used to dread going through security and being yelled at simply for being there and having no idea whether I had followed the discretionary rules for the day set by an undereducated government clerk. It was extremely stressful and Precheck solved it. My trip through security usually takes only as long as it takes for me to walk through and pick up my bags on the other side.
That said, whenever I do get one of the arbitrary selections, my stress level goes back up and I give as good as I get when they go through their unnecessary nonsense, but that is somewhat seldom... maybe 1 in 6 or 7 trips through security. I can't help it - I hate being assumed, based on nothing more than a blinking light, to be a bad guy and treated like a criminal when I am fat, white, bald and old with a WASP name and have already passed a background check.
Oct 30, 2015, 4:25 pm
#29
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: ONT/FRA
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 878
Oct 31, 2015, 9:18 pm
#30
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA EXP >3 Million miles,HH Lifetime Diamond
Posts: 2,887
I get deeply stressed about security in the US. It's undoubtedly some level of social anxiety, but it bothers me every time. I share your angst.
Here's where I think the problems lie:
- It's often as if you've done something wrong just by showing up. No matter how carefully one follows the rules, the TSA is never pleased with what I do for them: my bag is in the wrong way, my liquids are in a little bin instead of with my laptop, I've been told I looked too nervous... I'm always guilty of something.
- The TSA talks too much. There are the "barkers," and then there are the lengthy explanations. If one is unfortunate enough to be a selectee, there is always the lengthy chatter about "any sensitive areas?" "Now I'm going to touch you all over the place," etc. In Europe, if one is selected, they just frisk and move on with it. It's much, much faster. Somehow the explanations make it worse.
- The actual friskings are far more intense than anything I've experienced in other countries. The TSA takes a long time.
- Cognitive dissonance. I just can't cope with how silly it is. We have AIT machines that we know do not work, laughable liquid rules, shoe carnivals, and the mistaken notions that "Travel Document Inspectors" are like Sherlock, and find wellsprings of information by using a black light and a drivers license. Yet people still fall for it.
- Absorption of collective anxiety. Checkpoints are full of upset, tired people. There are so many elements that create a storm of psychological pressure: total lack of control, unknown wait times, unknown elements of screening, changing and strange rules, disorganised crowds, yelling. All of this combined means that others are stressed too. I would include the TSA staff; many of them seem stressed as well.
- Badges and uniforms. Depending on the country, many airport screeners are dressed as "hosts:" they wear hospitality-themed uniforms. In the US, there is a "minimum wage security guard" appearance. And there is all kinds of research in social psychology about authoritarian behaviour combined with badges and uniforms. It's not a good combination.
Can it be okay?
Yes.
If you get PreCheck at a pleasant airport, it's only a minor nuisance... as long as the metal detector doesn't beep for random full-body scanning. Some TSA staff really are genuinely kind people.
Here's where I think the problems lie:
- It's often as if you've done something wrong just by showing up. No matter how carefully one follows the rules, the TSA is never pleased with what I do for them: my bag is in the wrong way, my liquids are in a little bin instead of with my laptop, I've been told I looked too nervous... I'm always guilty of something.
- The TSA talks too much. There are the "barkers," and then there are the lengthy explanations. If one is unfortunate enough to be a selectee, there is always the lengthy chatter about "any sensitive areas?" "Now I'm going to touch you all over the place," etc. In Europe, if one is selected, they just frisk and move on with it. It's much, much faster. Somehow the explanations make it worse.
- The actual friskings are far more intense than anything I've experienced in other countries. The TSA takes a long time.
- Cognitive dissonance. I just can't cope with how silly it is. We have AIT machines that we know do not work, laughable liquid rules, shoe carnivals, and the mistaken notions that "Travel Document Inspectors" are like Sherlock, and find wellsprings of information by using a black light and a drivers license. Yet people still fall for it.
- Absorption of collective anxiety. Checkpoints are full of upset, tired people. There are so many elements that create a storm of psychological pressure: total lack of control, unknown wait times, unknown elements of screening, changing and strange rules, disorganised crowds, yelling. All of this combined means that others are stressed too. I would include the TSA staff; many of them seem stressed as well.
- Badges and uniforms. Depending on the country, many airport screeners are dressed as "hosts:" they wear hospitality-themed uniforms. In the US, there is a "minimum wage security guard" appearance. And there is all kinds of research in social psychology about authoritarian behaviour combined with badges and uniforms. It's not a good combination.
Can it be okay?
Yes.
If you get PreCheck at a pleasant airport, it's only a minor nuisance... as long as the metal detector doesn't beep for random full-body scanning. Some TSA staff really are genuinely kind people.
I am a US citizen. Travel more internationally than domestically, and share much of the view of this poster. The US is by far the most stressful, random, chaotic travel process anywhere much more so than LHR which I know many like to complain about, but there is a process there even if it changes from time to time. Travel in the US is filled with lines for no reason, processes and procedures that are at the whim of individual agents who are slow and unhelpful, dirty and crowded airports. I have precheck, and GE, use of lounges
but last week in Philly for instance, trying to make an intl to domestic connection could not use the precheck line even though the boarding pass clearly said precheck, the bar code wouldn't scan. Precheck won't let me go through and the regular line says why didn't you use precheck. Pat downs in the US are intrusive, and most TSA agents can't set the scanners properly. Long line in T5 in ORD 2 weeKS ago because the scannews were too sensitive, and they needed to scan everyone at least twice, at a a very busy time. Americans for their part are unprepared for security and move at a snails pace t b rough TSA looking bewildered.
I know I'm ranting, sound like I'm super anxious but I'm really not. Love to travel, explore new places, have been in large and small airports all over the world, seen the good the bad and the ugly .. and will keep on doing so.. just wish we had a more thoughtful and useful approach to the security issue. It doesn't work, and there are no good solutions out there that balance privacy, civil rights, and national security