Originally Posted by Superguy
Sorry if this was posted before ... search didn't show this topic.
So, why is security so inconsistent at each airport? It seems like every airport plays by different rules. And even when I fly thru the same airport at different times, the rules are different.
If you're talking about inconsistent applications of the same SOP, you have a valid point. As a TSA screener, I am frustrated as well. It certainly makes life difficult for us as well as you. However, it seems that you're really talking about different situations which may be consistent applications of the SOP.
Originally Posted by Superguy
BWI: September, my ID was checked once. It was only when I went thru security. United didn't check it, nor was it checked at the gate. Didn't feel less safe. Christmas Eve: same deal, but another check at the counter. No problems.
The airlines are responsible for checking your ID. The airline ticket agent may check your ID more as part of the payment procedure should you use a credit card to buy your ticket as opposed to a security measure. The individual who checks your boarding pass at the checkpoint entrance is not a TSA screener; that individual is a private contractor hired by the airlines whose responsibility it is to check ID and boarding passes of all persons entering the checkpoint. Airports vary as far as checking IDs at the gate is concerned. Some do and some don't. So far, all of this has to do with airline and airport policy
not TSA policy.
Originally Posted by Superguy
SFO: September. Some of the biggest PITA security I've seen. I flashed my ID 3 times before I even got to security. Removing shoes was mandatory. Checked again at the gate.
There's nothing indicating that you were asked by TSA to show your ID. When you said before you got to security, I have to assume that you're talking about non-TSA personnel and are really talking about either airline representatives or their hired private contractors. Removing shoes should not be mandatory, and I covered that in another thread.
Originally Posted by Superguy
SLC: Various occasions. Some of the most anal I've ever seen. At times, I couldn't even carry my bags to the counter when I was next in line. Like I was going to put a bomb in there from the 5 feet from the head of the line to the counter. Had hands swabbed numerous occasions. Have to have take luggage to get screened after check in. Wife's purse emptied, repacked, then rescanned while we waited to see if anything else was in there. The only thing I could think of is who's to say that an unscrupulous agent couldn't put something in there while we waited? It didn't happen to us, but I felt bad that it could easily happen to somone of Indian or Middle Eastern descent. Too many other gaping holes I've seen inside the terminal that made me feel much less safe than what the terminal did.
Sounds to me like you underwent selectee screening. Did your boarding pass have
SSSS on it? If so, nothing inconsistent here; you simply underwent a more thorough security screening process which is what selectee screening is designed to do. By the way, I am not a big fan of selectee screening. I consider it a waste of time. However, the 9/11 Commission strongly endorsed it, so like it or not, it is here to stay. I don't like it.
Originally Posted by Superguy
ORD: My wife and I saw a 1 year old child being searched, but the mother wasn't.
I question what you perceive as screening. Sounds to me more like the child either alarmed at the WTMD or, more likely, was a selectee and the mother was not. This is one of the reasons why I think selectee screening is a wasted effort because of the lack of common sense when a young toddler pops up on the computer for this type of screening and the accompanying parent doesn't. However, both were screened when they came through the checkpoint because both could only enter through the WTMD (unless the mother was given a pat-down as an alternative screening method which may have been done out of your view).
Originally Posted by Superguy
It's easier to get into the Pentagon than it is an airport anymore.
Seeing as how the Pentagon IS a public building, yes, you can get inside but only up to a certain point. Of course, it's been several years since I've been inside the Pentagon, but I really can't see you waltzing into a SCIF without experiencing a very unpleasant physical encounter which would go beyond the politically-correct screening methods you experience at the airport. Could be wrong, but I doubt it.