TWA884

An airport in the US?

petaluma1

Wouldn't it be nice of TSA would acknowledge that instead of blaming passengers when things go wrong? Increase in "air rage" and, allegedly, assaults on screeners are up 31% from 26 in 2016 to 34 in 2017 - how much can be traced to the stress caused by TSA?

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/inv.../283-611884519

Boggie Dog

I don't believe that TSA would ever admit to being part of the problem.

mywanderlust

When I go to a TSA checkpoint, the screener just takes a glance at my ID, scribbles on my BP, and sends me on my way.

Meanwhile, their British and Irish counterparts only want the boarding pass. The UK has machines scanning the passes instead of an actual person, and I only needed to show my passport to the gate agent when I boarded.

Wouldn't a BP scanner suffice to enter a checkpoint?

WillCAD

I"m sure it would, but the reason why the TDCs check the BP against the ID is that a tiny number of people have gained access to the sterile area using BPs that either were not theirs, or were for flights that had already taken place. Some of those folks later actually gained access to aircraft and stowed away. Which scared the livin' bejeebus out of an already panicky population, who demanded that "something must be done!"

petaluma1

It's not unusual to read on the TSA Twitter site of someone who got through TSA with a BP that wasn't theirs.

chollie

Of course, if the already panicky population ever traveled outside the US or took time to better inform themselves, they would realize that even when someone gets through a checkpoint with a fake ID or BP (or nothing at all), TSA is always quick to assure us that the flying public was never in any danger because of the more-than-compensatory other 20 layers of security.

A fancy way of saying what the rest of the world realizes: if the checkpoint folks have done their jobs, ID doesn't matter because no one is getting on a plane with anything that could be a threat to aviation security.

Badenoch

A major source of my airport "stress" is the assortment of dunderheads who can't seem to grasp the simple requirements of going through security. They fumble with documents, wear heavy watches and jewelry going through the metal detector, throw a hissy fit when pulled aside for a pat down, argue when caught with a tub of cold cream or stand at the belt rummaging through their carry-on because they didn't think the requirement to take laptops out applied to them too.

At least the TSA is making the effort to get us through the process faster by reminding the dunderheards to have their documents at the ready, etc. when they reach the front of the line.

davie355

<redacted by moderator>, I have no problem with appropriate reminders that documents should be ready for presentation.

Yelling at people that they need to have docs ready is grossly inappropriate.

Badenoch

Sometimes dunderheads need to be yelled at to get the point across. When I hear the TSA agents yelling I don't take it personally because I know it doesn't apply to me but to those too dense to keep their documents ready for presentation. YMMV.

petaluma1

Those "dunderheads" don't think it applies to them either.

chollie

Somehow at airports across the world, security folks manage to get their message across, often to a group of people speaking a much wider range of non-native languages than at the usual checkpoint in the US - and somehow, around the world, security screeners outside the US manage to speak to 'dunderheads' in a normal, individual-focused tone of voice.

And the lines are almost always shorter and/or faster.

Of course, if I am at a checkpoint and I don't speak the language and someone is yelling to the world at large, I ignore it unless it is specifically addressed to me.

I ignore it just like I generally ignore dogs barking and drivers honking at the world at large.

And the lines are almost always shorter and/or faster.

IMHO, the real 'dunderheads' are the folks who claim to be professionals but who can't get their message across without mindless unfocused yelling and barking. Professionals at checkpoints around the world - and sometimes here in the US - are capable of communicating directly and with an 'inside' voice.

TSORon

Honestly none do, your right. In almost all cases its just people not paying attention (talking on the phone, navel gazing, corraling the kids, etc). Those few who are actually being "dunderheads" never really want to admit that they are not meeting expectations, its embarrassing. Just people being people.

TSORon