Pretty difficult to come up with a separate line for separate needs. We have a combined lane for employees, crew members, selectees, persons with disabilities and passengers with strollers. We also use this lane for regular passengers whenever there is a long line for the checkpoint or we're not screening people in these categories. In Terminal 2, where I'm now working, we can only man 2 lanes most of the time, and to have a separate designated lane is just not practical. So employees and crew members have cutting privileges.

I do agree, however, that in all circumstances, the person cutting in line should say "excuse me."

I was talking about the security lines.

For check-in each airline has its own counters. Interestingly most seem to make a difference between First/Business/Economy AND *Gold distributed pretty much over the entire departure hall (LH definitely has).

HTB.

I'm not a big fan of alliance elites (e.g., *Golds, OW Sapphires/Rubies and ST ElitePlus) being directed away from biz lines and toward designated alliance elite lines. It too often means longer lines and the published benefit of going to the biz line for check-in gets infringed upon.

Everyone in the queue tries to make eye contact with the crew members cutting the line, but they all seem to have their eyes firmly fixed to the ground or the conveyor belt. An "excuse me" would certainly be appreciated, since all of us traveling for business are doing at our own time too. We do not get paid for the extra hours we spend standing around in an airport.

Crews and anyone else that has cutting privileges should definitely say "Excuse me" or otherwise acknowledge that we're cutting in front of someone that's already been waiting for a while. There's no excuse for not saying something, but it is embarrassing. I know that's the reason many crewmembers don't say anything or make eye contact. We often don't have a choice but to cut, but when you have multiple sets of eyes glaring at you it's tempting to just keep your head down and get through the screening as fast as possible. Also, when you do say something along the lines of "Excuse me", the glaring person you're cutting in front of often says something along the lines of "Get to the airport earlier". It's definitely easier to not make eye contact or say anything, but I know that doing so just adds to the impression of the "entitled employee" image. With that in mind, I try to always smile ruefully and say "I'm sorry, can I step in here real quick? Thanks."

Frankly, all of the reasons people say we should screen crew seem a little moot when you consider that not all airports require crews to be screened. It's no secret that at many airports we can bypass security, so unscreened crews have been wandering around airports for years without any problems. Then again, I'm biased.

^ ^

I'm really surprised at suggestions that air crews (and airport employees too?) should not be screened. Of course they should! Everything coming through the checkpoint into the sterile area should be screened - a bad loophole would exist if flight crews and their possessions were unscreened.

It's bad enough that through-the-fence ops like cleaners, cargo, catering, etc. are not properly screened before entering the AOA. Neither employees nor their work-related or personal items are screened before entering the AOA from these airport tenants.

You want bags that have been out of the owner's possession for considerable lengths of time to enter the sterile area unscreened?? Hello! Bad idea.

As for rudely jumping the line...well, that is just plain wrong. I have been miffed enough a few times to push my way in front of a crew member who just pushed their way in front of me. Sometimes the only way to counter vinegar is with more vinegar, sorry to say.

That could go long ways to just cutting the line... ^

As for people having a disgusting attitude towards people who work hard at minimum wages, shame on you. Bad Karma has ways of getting back to you.

what checkpoint were you at? I gather that you are talking about people crowding in line at the x-ray divest tables? I can tell you that Lufthansa and BA are the worst for it by far. Usually the crew/employees take the lane with the gate WEST SIDE of all checkpoints. Now ducking under the tape lines in the queue before the ID checker is another matter.

It was the side that is closest to the NWA checkin. Most of them were domestic US airline crew members.

Sounds like North or Colorado CP.

They wouldn't bring a bomb onto their *OWN* airplane but I could certainly imagine an Al-Qaeda member getting airline crew status and using it to smuggle in stuff for an attack on other planes.

I disagree here. Yes, it would run up the bill a lot. Good--it would make a far greater effort be made to reduce the lines.

How do you know it's so unlikely? In fact, this is a clear threat area given how often these bags are out of the crew member's control.

There are alot of holes in the system - but this one requires the status quo to keep it plugged - and that means screening for all. No exceptions. The TSA staff should be fully screened each and every time they leave the sterile area as well.

What is the ideal structure of the lanes leading to the security checkpoints? I would suggest that the simplest method would be one lane for everyone, with the front person taken to the next available screening machine. NO EXCEPTIONS. If you are an employee, you wait in line; if you are going to miss your plane, you wait in line. If you are a pilot, you wait in line. If you are a screener for the TSA, you wait in line. If you are a platinum flyer, you wait in line.

That's the simplest (and most fair) approach. But do any airports do it?