RichardKenner

That only happens at airport where you need to show a BP at the WTMD (meaning that selectee special handling is done at that point). I don't know if there are any of those left.

KDS

Hmmmmm... then someone in TSA "management" should check DEN's checkpoints. No scribbles, etc. there; TDCs just stamp the BP with a round "stamper" that has a "print" radius of about 1/2 inch. Wonder how they audit that the TDC was doing the right things?

Caradoc

Is the "T"DC doing something that the average traveler might misconstrue as "constructive" toward maintaining the "security" of the "sterile area?"

If yes, then the "T"DC is doing their "job."

Neutron Star

My last time through SAT, the TDC had a round stamp divided into four quadrants for name, date, time, and terminal.

One time through BUR I "pre-scribbled" my boarding pass by making checkmarks next to name and flight info, and then drew a doodle on the boarding pass. The TDC called over the TDC next to her to try and figure out why my boarding pass looked like that.

TheRoadie

It *could* have been that you went through security before, forgot something from outside, and this was your second trip. They have NO imagination except the false one that we're all criminals.

cynicAAl

I like that. I just cleared security at PDX 10 min ago where TDC made no less than 9 check marks on my BP, then circled my name and added her initials. Their highlighter budget must be huge.

I lined up at the WTMD, then was directed to the scanner, so opted out. Male assist put on new gloves, then swabbed them for explosives. The gloves tested positive and were fresh out of the box. Had to get a supv to clean the scanner and open the cabinet for a new box. He said that these gloves (made in Malaysia) were causing a huge number of positive scans for explosives, and he hoped someone in DC was paying attention, as this was a huge waste of taxpayer money. I bit my tongue rather than pointing out an even bigger waste of taxpayer money standing right in front of me with his hands in my pants.

loops

That is one of the mostly oddly appropriate things I have heard all day and it has been a long day. I wonder if any of the boxes of blue gloves has exploded yet? Glad someone has seemed to figure out that it's the gloves that are causing all the alarms, not all of the passengers. PDX must have been an awful airport to fly out after that shipment of gloves arrived and was deployed among the work-farce until the source of all the alarms was discovered.

gsoltso

It is not necessarily standard across the board, some airports have different ways of marking them. Many airports just use a scribble (we do) to mark the BP as a part of the process, sort of like ticking off things on a checklist. Name, date, locations, time, etc.

TheRoadie

Because the bad guys are known for presenting flawed boarding passes to call attention to themselves? Or ones for the wrong date or flight so they will be thwarted from getting on their intended flights?

Surely DHS doesn't believe a terrorist cell competent enough to create, conceal and carry binary explosives past the checkpoint is going to "forget" to have a matching ID and accurate boarding pass?

WHAT SELF-RESPECTING TERRORIST IS GOING TO BE CAUGHT BY THIS HURDLE?

That's why it's offensive to thinking people that TSA presents this as one of the many layers of security. We are not as stupid or shallow as you think we are. And neither are the bad guys. Yet you waste resources and our time with the doc check charade.

The inconsistency in the process from airport to airport isn't "intentional variation" to keep the bad guys on their toes. It's an admission that the process is theatre, and the scribbling/stamping is merely rearranging the props on the stage.

scott523

Really? How about a passenger this morning giving me a SWA boarding pass with a different name and destination? Or a family of 4 presenting me BPs originating from Houston claiming to miss their flight to Houston last night and thinking they didn't have to check in again for a new boarding pass? Or a passenger giving me an Aug.27 boarding pass a few days ago? Another passenger with a different name last week? And two passengers giving me an evening return flight from ATL/BOS during the morning rush last month?

This is why TDC is one of the many layers of security.

JoeBas

*GASP* Say it ain't so?

Color me shocked.

Caradoc

Theatre.

FTFY. HTH. HAND.

JoeBas

And if you didn't stop all of these nefarious Ne'er do wells, exactly, what, would have happened?

I guess they all went back home with their bombs saying "Man, that guy's good!"

TheRoadie

Yes. I didn't say all travelers were smart. I was saying the BAD GUYS will be smart, and not caught by a document check. I also said we in FT were smart, because we understand what you're doing is not adding one whit to true security. Read on.Not a security risk. You are wasting OUR dollars by doing stupid people that service. They need to pay the price for their own stupidity and perhaps they'll check their own documents next time. You are enabling and coddling stupid or inexperienced people and that's NOT YOUR MISSION. Let the airlines or airport fund that position. If they present a useless document at the gate because they bypassed a check-in counter, let them deal with it. Why do you confuse that service for a SECURITY layer? Get it yet? I guess not.NOT A SECURITY ISSUE. Stop wasting your time and money doing a passenger service function that needs to be funded by airline or airport staff. NOTHING TO DO WITH WEI. A confused passenger. Let them through security unless you really need to keep them out of the airside for congestion reasons. Bounce them then. If they have no WEI, let the airline sort it out. Flying under another person's name is not a criminal act, it may be an economic fraud against the airline. So let the airline do that screening like they used to, because they're the ones benefitting from the process. It's not security, because the passenger has no WEI, so don't waste our money doing the airline's bidding. And don't lie that it enhances security. If the passenger has no WEI, they're not a threat.So what? They can't get on the plane, and they'll figure it out. Again, you're coddling and enabling people who need to get their act together. Not a government SECURITY requirement.You honestly believe ANY of the folks you identified and intercepted has evil intentions? And you saved a possible terrorist attack?

If the TDC is an effective SECURITY layer, then it's protecting against the wrong thing, which was claimed to be keeping WEI off airplanes.

If it's (as sometimes claimed) a layer to keep bad guys from flying, then why doesn't the TDC position have a real-time data base lookup function? Because that's already been done! By the airlines interfacing with DHS before issuing the boarding pass. If anybody buys a last minute ticket and the process isn't complete at the check-in counter in real time, the TDC screener is still not going to catch it.

How does it enhance our SAFETY when you detect a careless grandma who pulls out the wrong boarding pass? It doesn't and the process is a waste of a layer.

RadioGirl

Well said!! ^^^