SFO: TSA now Pre-checking I/D's & BP's while in line but before reaching the TDC?
#1
Moderator: Smoking Lounge; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: SFO
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Posts: 28,866
SFO: TSA now Pre-checking I/D's & BP's while in line but before reaching the TDC?
As you know, there is a little gate that says "wait here" where one waits before being motioned to the TDC podium and you proceed when called by the TDC
but.....
Friday night (7/8) at the UA elite checkpoint
There was a pre-checking of your I/D & BP at the "wait here gate" by a TSO. No super secret black light but a TSO doing a review of you bp and I/D and then making some super secret scribble on your BP (and this is after you show your bp to the AirServ employee who makes sure you are in the correct line)
I asked the TSO "when did this new nonsense start" (my exact words) and he responded with "about 4 hours ago"
Anyone else experience this new "safety feature"
but.....
Friday night (7/8) at the UA elite checkpoint
There was a pre-checking of your I/D & BP at the "wait here gate" by a TSO. No super secret black light but a TSO doing a review of you bp and I/D and then making some super secret scribble on your BP (and this is after you show your bp to the AirServ employee who makes sure you are in the correct line)
I asked the TSO "when did this new nonsense start" (my exact words) and he responded with "about 4 hours ago"
Anyone else experience this new "safety feature"
#2
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: boca raton, florida
Posts: 621
As you know, there is a little gate that says "wait here" where one waits before being motioned to the TDC podium and you proceed when called by the TDC
but.....
Friday night (7/8) at the UA elite checkpoint
There was a pre-checking of your I/D & BP at the "wait here gate" by a TSO. No super secret black light but a TSO doing a review of you bp and I/D and then making some super secret scribble on your BP (and this is after you show your bp to the AirServ employee who makes sure you are in the correct line)
I asked the TSO "when did this new nonsense start" (my exact words) and he responded with "about 4 hours ago"
Anyone else experience this new "safety feature"
but.....
Friday night (7/8) at the UA elite checkpoint
There was a pre-checking of your I/D & BP at the "wait here gate" by a TSO. No super secret black light but a TSO doing a review of you bp and I/D and then making some super secret scribble on your BP (and this is after you show your bp to the AirServ employee who makes sure you are in the correct line)
I asked the TSO "when did this new nonsense start" (my exact words) and he responded with "about 4 hours ago"
Anyone else experience this new "safety feature"
#3
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So the security process now starts before the TDC?
They can see my BP when I get to the podium.
They can see my BP when I get to the podium.
#4
Moderator: Smoking Lounge; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: SFO
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Posts: 28,866
#5
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: SJC
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 1,628
Are they checking BPs and IDs 4 feet on the other side of the TDC podium too? Because you can't be too careful!
I truly do feel a lot safer, because I'm oh-so positive that a terrorist wouldn't successfully pass the test of showing the same ID twice. Whew!
I truly do feel a lot safer, because I'm oh-so positive that a terrorist wouldn't successfully pass the test of showing the same ID twice. Whew!
#6
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Salish Sea
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#7
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 6,967
Yes - they were about 2 metres apart, or less. Did you have to spell your name at the second checker? Was your scribble in pink and did it cover almost the entire pass and look like a tree in the upper right, and some other pretty pictures elsewhere?
#8
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Out of an Abundance of Caution, they should have BPs checked after the TDC, before you can grab bins, after the WTMD, and before leaving the checkpoint.. Super Sekure
#10
Join Date: Feb 2008
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#11
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 6,967
Well, the Germans got a pass, after quite some discussion.
Even if one knows enough basic English to respond to 'Name?', asking those who cannot speak English well to spell their name is expecting a lot. And as you indicate, there are others as well who may have challenges. My TDC was a mumbler with an accent, so it was a challenge for ESL flyers but would most likely be challenge for hard of hearing as well to understand what he was asking.
I also use the NATO phonetic alphabet when spelling my name to English speakers over the telephone, etc as it us usually misspelled by English speakers. That leads to confusion if the person asking for the spelling doens't understand what I am doing when I 'spell' it that way.
Even if one knows enough basic English to respond to 'Name?', asking those who cannot speak English well to spell their name is expecting a lot. And as you indicate, there are others as well who may have challenges. My TDC was a mumbler with an accent, so it was a challenge for ESL flyers but would most likely be challenge for hard of hearing as well to understand what he was asking.
I also use the NATO phonetic alphabet when spelling my name to English speakers over the telephone, etc as it us usually misspelled by English speakers. That leads to confusion if the person asking for the spelling doens't understand what I am doing when I 'spell' it that way.
#12
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SFO does not have any TSA checkpoints!
Remember, TSA does not conduct passenger security screening at SFO. This function has been outsourced to a private contractor. If you look closely at the TDC/TSO uniforms, you will see that they are similar to TSA uniforms, but different in some key ways. They say "TEAM SFO" on the back, for example, instead of TSA.
So, this procedure might be something cooked up by the third-party contractor managers, not any kind of directive from DHS.
So, this procedure might be something cooked up by the third-party contractor managers, not any kind of directive from DHS.
#13
Join Date: Jul 1999
Programs: QF WP, AA EXP
Posts: 3,520
Yep, they were doing this in the elite line at the International terminal yesterday.
I really flustered the real doc checker when I pointed to my throat and shook my head no when he asked me for my last name. He didn't know what to do. Looked around quite a bit, asked me if any one else was traveling with me, and then finally told me to go ahead.
What a bunch of idiotic jackholes.
I really flustered the real doc checker when I pointed to my throat and shook my head no when he asked me for my last name. He didn't know what to do. Looked around quite a bit, asked me if any one else was traveling with me, and then finally told me to go ahead.
What a bunch of idiotic jackholes.
#14
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: NYS
Programs: Days of Our Lives, General Hospital
Posts: 1,495
Remember, TSA does not conduct passenger security screening at SFO. This function has been outsourced to a private contractor. If you look closely at the TDC/TSO uniforms, you will see that they are similar to TSA uniforms, but different in some key ways. They say "TEAM SFO" on the back, for example, instead of TSA.
So, this procedure might be something cooked up by the third-party contractor managers, not any kind of directive from DHS.
So, this procedure might be something cooked up by the third-party contractor managers, not any kind of directive from DHS.
#15
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Nashville, TN
Programs: WN Nothing and spending the half million points from too many flights, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 8,043
Well, the Germans got a pass, after quite some discussion.
Even if one knows enough basic English to respond to 'Name?', asking those who cannot speak English well to spell their name is expecting a lot. And as you indicate, there are others as well who may have challenges. My TDC was a mumbler with an accent, so it was a challenge for ESL flyers but would most likely be challenge for hard of hearing as well to understand what he was asking.
I also use the NATO phonetic alphabet when spelling my name to English speakers over the telephone, etc as it us usually misspelled by English speakers. That leads to confusion if the person asking for the spelling dosen't understand what I am doing when I 'spell' it that way.
Even if one knows enough basic English to respond to 'Name?', asking those who cannot speak English well to spell their name is expecting a lot. And as you indicate, there are others as well who may have challenges. My TDC was a mumbler with an accent, so it was a challenge for ESL flyers but would most likely be challenge for hard of hearing as well to understand what he was asking.
I also use the NATO phonetic alphabet when spelling my name to English speakers over the telephone, etc as it us usually misspelled by English speakers. That leads to confusion if the person asking for the spelling dosen't understand what I am doing when I 'spell' it that way.
I am still working on "It is your SOP that I see my belongings."