g-didi

I can't keep it straight. Small detail, but I like to know ahead of time.

In Canada I carry my BP and ID to the screener at the belt and then take those two items with me through the metal detector. I am also obliged to show both before entering the plane.

I remember travelling in the States in July and there is an ID checker well before the belt. I was told to put ALL my things through the X-ray - which resulted in my ID and BP being loose in the bin.... I didn't care for that as obviously they could disappear quite easily. At boarding, only my BP was required.

So on Tuesday when I fly from DTW to LAS which procedure is it? Show my BP and ID only once at the TSA checkpoint and then put it safely in my bag to be screened or carry it through the metal detector with me? Do I only show the BP to board the acft?

Thanks.

abmj-jr

Assuming all domestic flights:

1. Show your BP and ID to the ID checker at the start of the line.

2. Never, ever put your BP through the WTMD. Keep it and show it as you go through.

3. At the gate, hand your BP over to be scanned at the gate as you board.

ND Sol

#24

HSVTSO Dean

Once, at the TDC podium.

After that, feel free to do whatever you want to with it. You don't have to show it again at the WTMD.

There are times that you will be required to produce it again, but not during a 'normal' screening process.

Boggie Dog

Darn, beat me to it.

goalie

for me, i've simply given up and just carry it in my hand

i know that it supposed to be sop (n.b. supposed to) but please tell that to the folks at lax (ua t-7) as in addition to the std liquids, shoes & laptops announcement, there was "please keep your boarding pass with you and do not put in with your bags"

myrgirl

Some airports do require showing the BP again at the WTMD.

HSVTSO Dean

Cool, but they're not supposed to. TSA even came out after they changed the requirements and said that FSDs do not have the authority to require the showing of boarding passes a second time at the WTMD, meaning that TSA wants it checked only at the TDC podium, and that's that.

My best advice is to use the Got Feedback? thing and tell TSA which airports are doing it. It might inspire them to get in touch with the local TSA powers-that-be and put a stop to it.

Note, however, that if there is no TDC podium - i.e.: the WTMD operator is the one performing the ID/BP check, then that's fine. We do that in Huntsville after 5:30pm or so, when we're down to a faint trickle of passengers and a skeleton crew, and can't afford to have one of the blue shirts out at TDC.

Boggie Dog

Dean as seems typical for your agency having certain policies applied equally across the country is something that TSA seems incapable of doing.

Like the shoes on the belt/bin BS that has never been clarified.

You would think that with as many SES employees that TSA has they could get someone to follow their direction.

These issues are clear indications of a serious leadership vacuum at TSA.

Oh, and before you tell me that shoes are not seen on xray if they are in the bins please explain how shoes in a carry-on can be screened without being removed.

LessO2

That point doesn't make sense.

You know that "WTMD" stands for "Walk-Through Metal Detector," right?

Or, you're saying to keep the BP as passengers go through the x-ray machine?

Seconded. Chicago/O'Hare is the first notable that comes to mind.

Here are the drills:

INTER-CANADIAN TRAVEL
BP and ID approaching gate.
BP to the bin feeder at the x-ray
No shoe removal
BP and ID at the gate

CANADA TO US TRAVEL
BP only to private guard entering Customs hall
BP, Passport and Declaration Card to Immigration person (assuming no NEXUS)
BP only to the bin feeder at the x-ray
Remove shoes
BP and Passport at the gate

TRAVEL WITHIN OR OUT OF THE US
BP and ID to ID checker
(sometimes) BP only at checkpoint
no BP or ID check at gate
(for travel to Canada only) BP and Passport at gate


Personal suggestion: Never EVER leave anything "loose" in the bin. Shove your wallet, mobile phone, BP, IDs, etc. into a bag.

abmj-jr

Yes. Trying to type and make sense at night is getting more difficult as I get older. Of course I meant not to pass the BP through the x-ray and to show it as he passed throught the metal detector.

abmj-jr

That may be that at your airport but of the 25 or 30 I passed through in the last year, I'd say at least 20+ required showing the BP while walking through the WTMD. None said it wasn't necessary and only a few didn't look at it. I figured those few just forgot or were being lazy. It seems they were actually the only ones following policy. <sigh>

g-didi

Thank you everyone. I believe I understand the procedures now and will be flexible to include #24 in my routine to avoid flyer frustration!

(Edit to include #24 since I just read the excuses list. No wonder I couldnt figure it out!)

chollie

Except at SEA (unless something has changed in the last week). Still required to display BP at the podium and as you clear the WTMD.

Also required to show both ID and BP when going through TSA when transiting international to domestic at JFK or ATL.

And, of course, you may be required to show ID again at the gate or on the jetway if TSA is doing the roving gate checks.

FliesWay2Much

I can say with a certain degree of experience that TSA SES employees (from Gale on down) would have a hard time competing for GS-9 positions outside the Beltway. The career SESs are bad enough. The politicals are downright incompetent.