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TSA'S Summer Meltdown, and The Solution That Nobody Will Talk About
Now in Ask the Pilot: TSA's Summer Meltdown. Security lines are longer than ever, and the obvious fix is one that nobody will talk about. TSA doesn't need more screeners, it needs FEWER... (www.askthepilot.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I flew "commercial" out of KWDG one time about 2005. It was the experience that convinced me to use FBO charter service from then on. This airport had at the time passenger service that consisted of one Beech 1900 that had 2 flights a day(I don't remember if it was Mesa or Lone Star at the time). Rarely had more than two people boarding. TSA comprised of 4 fulltime screeners and 2 part time screeners. That's right there were two screeners to each passenger on average. And they had to have a city police officer come out for each arrival and departure. On this day I was the only person boarding at KWDG and was patted down twice by different TSA agents. I was told by the supervisor because "we have a required number of pat downs we have to do a month to stay qualified." How the heck is that my problem! If you have so many screeners that you can't they stay "current" maybe you should have fewer screeners and reallocate the resources elsewhere. I'm sure there are several small regional airports with the same crap going on.
"You have 3.5 oz. of water in that bottle, I will have to confiscate it because I believe its contents could be an explosive" tosses bottle in garbage can right next to line.
I am sure there are a lot of incidents happening in the background that the flying public will never know about. What we do know about, is that it only takes one or two screeners with a 'God complex' to give all of them a bad rap. Or a screener or two with 'sticky-fingers'. Most of the screeners I have interacted with at DSM are easy going yet professional and live by the axiom 'if you treat others with respect, that is how you will get treated in return'
The biggest contributing factor is the Airline's nickel and dime strategy. Checked bag? that will be $50. (everything now goes in a carry-on) Now, Carry-on? that will be $35. As other posters have stated, checked bag? free. carry-on? nominal fee. that should cut down on people carrying their life's accumulated gradoo, stuffed into a bag the size of 1970's microwave oven. There is room for improvement on all fronts. Most importantly, don't forget to bring your patience with you.
I am sure there are a lot of incidents happening in the background that the flying public will never know about. What we do know about, is that it only takes one or two screeners with a 'God complex' to give all of them a bad rap. Or a screener or two with 'sticky-fingers'. Most of the screeners I have interacted with at DSM are easy going yet professional and live by the axiom 'if you treat others with respect, that is how you will get treated in return'
The biggest contributing factor is the Airline's nickel and dime strategy. Checked bag? that will be $50. (everything now goes in a carry-on) Now, Carry-on? that will be $35. As other posters have stated, checked bag? free. carry-on? nominal fee. that should cut down on people carrying their life's accumulated gradoo, stuffed into a bag the size of 1970's microwave oven. There is room for improvement on all fronts. Most importantly, don't forget to bring your patience with you.
And that travel and travail share the same root.
I've never understood how it is that, after the TSA have ensured that I am not carrying a knife, I am served a meal on board with steel cutlery, including a knife with a 3" blade. Do the airlines assume that terrorists only fly coach?
They have not ensured your are not carrying a knife. Again, they FAIL to screen 95% of weapons going through security. Because they are not doing security at all. They are putting on a show to make people feel safe. More than 10 years later, people still don't understand this? How is that possible?
What I'm worried about is that TSA screeners aren't screened thoroughly enough. So, we need the airport PD to screen them. But who screens the airport cops? What if one of them goes off the rails and joins ISIS? We'll have to get some feds in to screen them in the morning. But who screens the feds?