TSA restarting gate screening?
 

I looked back in the forum for two pages and found no prior references....
At Grand Rapids (GRR) Thursday on a UA flight to ORD I was
first in line to board and just as boarding started (just handing my BP to agent) two TSA people walked up with a folding table, set it up in front of the agent...the agent then made an announcement just as he was scanning my BP that there would be random security screening....fortunately I was on my way down the jetway and missed being "randomly" screened...I remember the old days when first person in line was frequently the "random" selectee.
Has anyone else seen this??

There have been occasional threads this year like this one which have reported random gate screening.

See post #2 in the link above where there are some links that take you back to earlier this year when this unfortunate practice was re-introduced to the traveling public.

GRR has always done more gate screening than other airports based on my observations.

Perhaps they are overstaffed?

One can only hope that the recent DHS budget cuts will help.

I always take a few moments to tell the GA what a senseless, disgusting practice gate screening is.

Gate screening is nothing more than evidence that the first round of screening is likely to be a failure. No-one who goes through the first "checkpoint" should have to be screened again.

MSO does it too -- and from the conversation I overheard this morning, it's because the NWA contract employees (and probably those of the other airlines, too) "bypass security" when they come upstairs to the gate.

So let me get this straight... the airlines' contract employees don't go through security.... so the passengers are subjected to random gate screenings?

Yeah, that makes sense.

Nice! So, with the new Red Carpet boarding line, the GS and 1K members will win a secondary screening when we take advantage of the perk? That makes perfect sense to me.:p


:td:

Gate screening never "restarted." It was widely used from 9/11 to 2003, then reduced and is now random.

Spiff, what does the GA's say in response? Do they seem to agree, or do they automatically side with the TSA?

There is no Red Carpet boarding line in GRR...

Oh CRAP!
 

I forgot to post about this! On my UA flight HKG-LAX on Dec. 14 there was gate screening for every single passenger. 5 tables were set up and everyone had to open their carry-on for full manual inspection. "Please change your gloves" was met with blank stares."

It varies.

I put the last GA on the spot, so to speak, because I said it loudly enough for the 3 gate harassers to hear me. She didn't reply but looked a little surprised as I went from "thank you, have a nice day." :) to pointing at the harassers and saying "that is really disgusting." :mad: before walking down the jetbridge.

International flights TO the United States fall under a different set of rules. There are no TSA "officers" screening those flights; local governments and contractors do the job. Gate screening--in one form or another--is actually required for most departures to the US.

This comes in many forms: from mandatory frisking of everyone (Belgium, South Africa), to the occasional peek at carry-on luggage.

The only place that doesn't have it is at Tel Aviv/Ben Gurion Airport. They rightfully argue that they should "do it correctly the first time." The TSA once said that they too liked this idea. But I guess they got bored and started back at it.

gee, so they started the "random screening" after pax have already proceeded down the jetway :rolleyes:. sheesh, you figure with all this time, they might get something right <hee hee & sarcastic snicker> but no, leave it to the tsa to let the evil ter'wrist CVO 1K 2 Million slip right by them. ;)

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8320/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

I've seen groups for TSA screeners walking through ORD with a cart and a folding table. From time to time they can be seen doing gate screenings.