mikeon

deleted

FliesWay2Much

For heaven's sake, if you are a victim of a gate screening, MAKE THEM CHANGE GLOVES!!!

If everybody did this, most of this idiocy would stop. Yes, I'm a wild-eyed idealist.

John C

The scary thing is I was joking - trying to name the most stupid thing I could think of. Just goes to show, there really is no idea dumb enough for the government not to have already funded it.

Traveller

Is 100% of cargo on passenger planes now x-rayed and screened? I thought I heard a few years ago that it wasn't.

Superguy

Hell no. What was true then is still true now.

But we can't drink water on planes now ...

MSY-MSP

One of the problems I see with 100% gate screening is that it then renders the primary checkpoint useless. I mean what is the point in the primary if you are just going to secondary everyone.

Traveller

Makes alot of sense. I can't take a travel size bottle of shampoo onboard, but a terrorist can put a bomb in a package in the cargo hold. And he/she doesn't even have to disguise it in tiny shampoo and lotion bottles.

AC110

The airlines???

Voters are the only ones who allow governments to do things in a democracy. Don't blame the airlines. If the voters didn't want this, they should have stopped it at the last election. If not then, perhaps the next election.

SJCFlyerLG

I flew from SAN to SJC on AE today at 5:13. Despite the hysterical reports on the radio about 3 hour delays, it took about 3 minutes to get through TSA security (granted, this was at the commuter terminal). There was an extra TSO asking all pax if they had any liquids, naming several of them specifically. The shoe carnival returned in full force, with all shoes (including flip-flops) through the X-ray. An extra TSO was present at the X-ray queue, and the TSO did a BP check (#2). Another BP check (#3) was done after the WTMD.

At boarding time, we were instructed to "line up" in a cattle call - no groups were called. Behind the podium, two TSO's searched EVERY carry-on for liquids. They caught me with a small tube of toothpaste, which I did not even know was in my notebook backpack (I had previously checked my various liquid, gel, and pasty items). The bag search was much more thorough than was done in the old gate-grope days. I think the plane held 50 pax, and the searches were finished in about 10 minutes.

Upon arrival at SJC, I did not see any gate screening happening, and there did not appear to be any hand screening at the security station. I am guessing that different airports are adapting different procedures, a la shoe carnival.

Note that I am totally opposed to this ridiculous over-reaction, but so far today, things were not so bad from a delay perspective. BTW, all of the gate personnel I spoke with also agreed that this was an absurd over-reaction.

AC110

Because if you do a secondary, you're doing twice as much so people are twice as safe. New math. This will be on the test.

GUWonder

Just my rough guess: Most voters don't have much of an immediate beef in the game. On the matrix of concentrated and diffuse costs, concentrated and diffuse benefits and given the decision-making hierarchy amongst the players, government actors playing out CYA and needing PR will win in the nearer-term in this arena. Once they get their PR victory and CYA room, then the concentrated commercial interests will come in to save a good number of us FTers. But more of the dog and pony show will remain (for quite some time) to keep the charade popular and beyond excessive questioning from those with little beef in the game yet who are seduced by "strong leader", right or wrong.

Gate-screening instead of checkpoints probably makes more sense if this nonsense is going to continue. However that's going to require a lot more money and plant changes. In any event, this all shows the confidence level with primary screening and profile-based haraSSSSment.

Superguy

Bingo. It admits that the primary screening isn't worth jack.

Superguy

But your bottle of water is welcome to ride next to that box in the hold

Superguy

The problem is that politicians may hate the system, but if they speak out against it, they're opponents will have a field day with it. "X is soft on terror, vote for me!"

So we have a bunch of politicians who won't affect change (regardless of party) because they worry too much about their political careers than doing what's right.

LessO2

Purely political play here.

Hawley is going to go to Congress and cry for additional funding and staffing.

This will affect the on-time performance of aircraft. Airlines can't take the time to sit there and remove the luggage because of bag matching. Especially if the reason people haven't boarded is because of the charade game at the gate.

Most of this nonsense will pass. It's just a matter of time.

What's sad about all of this is that, from the beginning, it has been stated that there is no immediate or known threat to flights in the US.