On Friday at IAH, my bag was searched over and over again and ran through the x-ray literally 5 times before she finally found the offending item. Holding up the item, she said I had two choices: check it or give it up. I said neither, and she said those were my only two options.

I eventually asked her what the offending item was and she replied "a knife." I was tempted to say one shouldn't assume, but held back and just asked her to look and verify. After seeing that no knife existed, she still had to take it to another TSO before she relented and gave it to me with a warning that I should pull it out of my bag next time and have it separately run through. So at AMA yesterday I ignored her advice and it was in my bag with nary an issue.

Of course, this "incident slowed down the line" (and Pre was not open) with the multiple times the bag's contents were run through the x-ray machine for a non-prohibited item.

Food for thought, I don't think the evidence is compelling but it's a different argument to relax tsa screening.

http://www.vox.com/2016/5/17/11687014/tsa-against-airport-security

Every time I go through a checkpoints at DTW all I ever here in conversation is:
"Who's on break?"
"When am I on break?"
"I'm going on break."
"Go take your break"
"He/she already took break"

They spend so much time talking about breaks that I'm not sure they focus on much else.

That is so true:

"Can I go on break?"
"What time you get off?"
"Two"
"You can go when she gets back"
"What time does she leave?"
"I think four"
"When did she go on break?"

This is true. Who would want the job? Adding extra screeners doesn't do any good if you're losing an equal or greater number. Also, I heard a local news report in Chicago where they did the math and figured out that the number of extra screeners being brought into Chicago airports amounted to basically ONE extra screener per checkpoint (once you divide them up among the many terminals and account for multiple shifts per day).

The bottom line is that security lines have been teetering near a tipping point for a while. The combination of slightly more travelers + slightly fewer/slower TSA screeners = much, much longer lines. It's not a linear effect, and there's only so many people you can push through a checkpoint per hour with all the ridiculous things that add variability (like, your laptop and your light jacket can NOT be placed in the same bin -- this is enough to stop the line and re-scan all your belongings).

OMG can we say Brussels?

TSA is so beyond worthless. They appear to be trained to notice a filled bottle of water and little else. I mean they have never noticed my non-compliant 3-1-1 things when they are not a water bottle.

TSA tells so many lies, and it's a shame we don't have a single Congressman or media source willing to call them out on it - loudly and frequently.

How many of the current number of TSOs are actually working TSOs? BDOs, LTSOs and STSOs do absolutely nothing to process pax - their primary duty really is to stand around doing nothing.

Supposedly TSA down-sized the number of screeners - yet I recently read that there are 1500 spotniks. 1500 TSOs - that's enough to staff more than a few paid-for Pre lanes and additional checkpoints around the country. That's almost double the number of screeners that Neffy wants us to think will solve all the delays. Even now, Neffy would rather have people wait three hours in line at Chicago than ask his LTSOs, STSOs and spotniks to do something productive.

How many of the 700 new hires are merely going to back-fill positions created by 'promoting' current screeners to BDOs, TSOs, STSOs or dog handlers, effectively taking them out of the work force?

Neffy, like Pistole before him, refuses to acknowledge a trending, growing problem. Good people leave because of the cr*p split shifts and part time hours and the lousy work atmosphere - tense confused travelers, half the work force standing around doing nothing or worse, distracting those trying to do a good job with their barking and personal chatter.

Over time, good people keep leaving - or, less frequently, get promoted from actually working and processing pax to standing around uselessly as a privileged LTSO, STSO or BDO - a pay rise with zero attached duties. Increasingly, those who are left are incompetents and bad attitudes - which further discourages any new hire who is any good from sticking around. It's an on-going vicious cycle leading to the bottom.

Where are the FSDs? Where's the Chicago FSD when the lines are three hours long? People make jokes about the chicken factories, but at the rate things are going, you'll need to wear an adult diaper if you are a solo traveler and don't have anyone to hold your place in line if you have to leave to use the bathroom.

Where are the FSD's when TSOs are barking about 'my checkpoint' and 'my chickpoint'? Where are the FSDs when TSOs close a Pre lane without warning and send everyone already in the lane to the back of the regular line?

How long does Israeli security checks take at TLV?

Perhaps in line with this article:

http://timslagle.com/comedy/solution...nd-ponies.html

I note that AskTSA is now telling pax who ask about long lines:

Good question, where exactly are the FSD's, AFSD's, TSM's CSR's and all of the other invisible TSA employees during this national crisis caused by TSA's Neffenger? Why aren't they out on the checkpoints taking action since it is their operation that has failed on every point?

TSA screening policy has resulted in the backups and long lines. Neffenger ordered more intense screening in order to correct the screening failures that made the news several months ago. The results are slower screenings, more bag inspections, and other visible to the public slowdowns such as non-productive TSA employees.

Explain to me why a laptop in a Pre Check line is perfectly ok to be xrayed while in its bag but not ok in the 2nd class lines? Or why shoes in a bag are ok for xray but the ones that should be on our feet need their very on bin? Explain why several 100ml bottles of water are ok but one 500ml bottle is somehow dangerous?

TSA policies demonstrate a mental illness that no amount of money can fix nor will hiring more people alleviate the issues.

If I didn't know that Benny Hill was dead I would be thinking he was in charge of TSA Screening Operations.

TLV is essential THE airport for all of Israel.
Whatever they do right (or wrong) would have to be magnified 100x for the US (for major airports...what about smaller ones(?)).

Maybe the slowdowns and long lines are being caused by TSA screeners directly. This article suggests that the slowdowns are at the direction of the TSA Union, AFGE.

http://cnsnews.com/commentary/michel...-down-airports

TSA's Union Power Grab: Thousands Slowing Down Airports

There is no explanation when you consider that ExtortionCheck was invented to create a privileged class of frequent flyers who are silent about the TSA in exchange for being "special."

The TSA and the union aren't competent enough to pull this off on a sustained basis.

Wife and I went through TSA-Pre yesterday at CLE (UA end of terminal) and there was nobody in this line. It took 10 minutes, with two clerks looking at the X-Ray Machine screen for about 5 minutes with one of our cases. Several other clerks were standing around doing nothing. Then they wanted to look inside this case. Another five minutes to swab, etc.., before they decided there was no problem. I asked one of them if they were "working to rule" and he just grinned and said NO. His facial expression said it all.

As far as I am concerned, these long lines at security are being deliberately caused by the TSA clerks.