Greetings from TSA
 

Hello, FlyerTalk. My name is Ross, and I am the press secretary for TSA in Washington, D.C.

I have used FT for many years in my personal capacity, but thought it was time to join FT in my official capacity.

I know many of you have questions regarding our programs/policies, etc., and I am going to do my best to assist and point you in the right direction.

Look forward to chatting with you.

-Ross

Hi Ross, welcome (in the official capacity) and thanks for being here.

Welcome to Flyertalk in your official capacity ^ and thank you for doing this ^. I "have a feeling" ;) that you're gonna be getting a whole lot of work here and as I'm sure you know from your personal trips to F/t, we can be a tough crowd ;) but I do hope that you'll be able to provide insight and help as the situations arise. Again, welcome ^ and thanks for donning your armor ;)

Now if I may ask a very simple question...

Is it a requirement for a pax to state their name when asked by the TDC as according to the regs, the only things needed to enter the secure are are an I/D containing a picture of the pax standing in front of the TDC and a boarding pass for a flight on that date with the name on the boarding passs matching the name on the I/D presented by the pax-and if it is in fact required, why is this procedure not followed at every airport that I travel thru (and this is at airports where the lines at the checkpoints are both horrendously long and empty?

Ok, so it was more than one question ;) but I'd still like to know the answer (and I'm sure others would like to know as well)

I am ready...I think...:D

Welcome aboard Ross... looking forward to your perspective
as an insider. :)

Welcome.

I have to give you credit for setting up your employer for a duly critical audience.

How long ago was this engagement with FT started -- as in when was TSA approached or FT approached by TSA to have this role here?

About two weeks ago I personally contacted FT regarding this. Just the way I converse with travelers via twitter (@TSAMedia_RossF), it is beneficial to speak with you via FT. Not sure why we didn't do this before. We have a very small staff within our public affairs office, so this is just something that I plan on doing personally.

Thanks for the info. It will be nice to have someone from TSA here officially. Has FT been identified as an influencer source of problems for the TSA with the media looking here for stories about the TSA?

No. The truth is we should have been on FT a long time ago. I have monitored FT on my personal account for years, and in my position at TSA, I wanted to respond and provide answers to many of your unanswered questions.

Welcome.
I hope you have thick skin.

Welcome! I appreciate the official presence here and look forward to your participation.

Welcome to FlyerTalk, Ross.

Hopefully we can work together towards creating a safe environment for travelers while also reducing or eliminating the hassles of travel.

Ross,
It's great to have you here.

You have huge brass ones for volunteering to post here. ^ ^ ^

Don't take the bait from the trolls. Very few people in this forum seem to be even remotely supportive of the TSA, and most are way beyond hostile. Learn how the ignore list works.

Good luck!

it's not so much as taking the bait from the trolls but imho, a lot of us here would simply like TSO's to be consistent in procedure from airport to airport as opposed to the old "two rabbis, there opinions" route and I'm not talking about all of the "randomness" that the TSA tours but simply that if the procedure is to do "A" and you get "A", why do do some TSO's do "B" and when a pax is presented with a situation at a checkpoint where the TSO is wrong (nd wrong in terms of what is publicly stated by the TSA), it takes a 3 striper, a 2 striper, the TSO invoked, two LEO's, a suit plus two foxes, a chicken and a pig to attempt to resolve the situation?

So with all of that, it's not being anti-TSA for me but just wanting proper training and consistency in following one's own procedures