TSA deploys "Behavior Detection Officers"

They’ll be watching your facial expressions and body language. They’re the TSA’s newest semi-secret weapon against possible terrorists and bad guys of all sorts - the Behavior Detection Officers. You may not know them when you see them:

The watcher could be the attendant who hands you the tray for your laptop or the one standing behind the ticket-checker. Or the one next to the curbside baggage attendant…The strategy is based on a time-tested and successful Israeli model, but in the United States, the scrutiny is much less invasive, Ekman said. American officers receive 16 hours of training — far less than their Israeli counterparts — because U.S. officials want to be less intrusive.

Read the entire story from McClatchy Newspapers. 

Heathrow is hazardous to your health

 According to a neuropsychologist Heathrow airport is one of the world’s more stressful spots:

Dr Lewis said: “We have measured people in all kinds of situations from riot policemen confronting a stone throwing mob to racing drivers and sky-divers and these are among the highest peaks in heart rate and blood pressure that we have ever seen. The conditions at Heathrow Airport and the stress levels that passengers are routinely subject to poses a very grave danger to the health of travellers at the airport.”

Lewis told that Times of London that his tests showed that passengers’ heart rates often shot to dangerous levels as they endured security checkpoints, congested waiting areas, and rude staff. According to the Times:

Dr Lewis also found that the physiological stress levels recorded exceeded those of Formula 1 racing drivers or free-fall parachutists. Blood pressure rose from an average of 123/81 to peaks of around 170/99.

This is one more reason to chuck the checked bags. Eliminating the possibilty of lost luggage and the baggage carousel hassle should lower your stress level. But you’d better know the carryon rules and master the new liquid regulations or more trouble - and a higher heart rate -  awaits you. 

Snakes (almost) on a plane

Who needs in-flight movies when a comedian like this want to get on board:

A man was stopped at Cairo’s airport just moments before he boarded a Saudi Arabia-bound plane with carry-on bags filled with live snakes, as well as a few baby crocodiles and chameleons.

Security officials became suspicious of the 22-year-old Saudi man’s bags when the X-ray machine at the departure gate gave odd readings. Police said they opened the bags and found a large number of reptiles, including at least one cobra, squirming to escape. - AP via Washington Post

“Squirming to escape” might well have described his fellow passengers if he had made it on the plane. 

Year of the liquid ban

Although restrictions on liquids have become a fact of life for airlines and travelers, it’s difficult to know if these measures are deterring attacks.

“The trouble with terrorism is it’s not like safety,” said Kenneth Button, a professor at George Mason University’s School of Public Policy. “Safety is a technical problem.”

If some part of an airplane is malfunctioning, it can be repaired, Button said, but averting terrorism is not that simple. “Every time you stop one attempt, they change tactics,” he said.

Security measures such as the TSA’s ban on liquids are partly cosmetic, according to Button. They keep travelers aware of dangers and encourage them to be vigilant, but they also serve to make people generally more confident about flying. - from a Reuters story looking bag on the year-old liquid ban

NPR on the worst travel summer ever

“Particularly worrisome is the spike in the number of chronically late flights — those that are late 70 percent or 80 percent (or even 100) percent of the time. Every airline has at least a few of these flights on their schedules. Passenger-rights groups are pushing for regulations that would require the airlines to “label” these flights as chronically late so consumers can avoid them — or at least know what they are getting into when they book a ticket….

As troubling as the latest figures on flight delays may be, they don’t tell the whole story. The delay statistics don’t include diverted flights, or flights that are held on the tarmac for hours, then return to the gate. Last year, more than 16,000 flights were diverted to other airports, and one in 20 flights was canceled.” - National Public Radio

TSA tweaks carryon inspections

The TSA has quietly changed its carryon inspection rules to require DVD players and large video games to be removed from luggage for separate inspection.  No news of these changes appears on the TSA web site, but USA Today has reported on the change:

Small electronic items, such as cellphones, MP3 players, iPods and portable video game systems do not have to be removed from passenger’s carrying cases.

“Everything seems to be running smoothly,” United Airlines spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said Sunday of the change, which went into effect Saturday. Elaine Sanchez, spokeswoman at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, also reported no problems even though, she said, Sundays are among the busiest days of the week.

Your luggage in 3-D

We reported months ago about the new $350,000 three-dimensional carry-on luggage scanners. Here’s what the COBRA machines “see” and here’s a story from Cleveland that reveals a little more about what they do. The story says these scanners - similar to CAT medical scanners - will allow travelers to leave liquids and electronics in their carryons for screening, thus speeding up the security process. I’m doubting the TSA will modifiy their practices much even when these machines are in use.

TSA boss pulls back the curtain

Wow - here’s an excerpt from a very interesting interview with TSA administrator Kip Hawley from schneier.com:

The stories about 90% failures are wrong or extremely misleading. We do many kinds of effectiveness tests at checkpoints daily. We use them to guide training and decisions on technology and operating procedures. We also do extensive and very sophisticated Red Team testing, and one of their jobs is to observe checkpoints and go back and figure out — based on inside knowledge of what we do — ways to beat the system. They isolate one particular thing: for example, a particular explosive, made and placed in a way that exploits a particular weakness in technology; our procedures; or the way TSOs (transportation safety officers) do things in practice. Then they will test that particular thing over and over until they identify what corrective action is needed. We then change technology or procedure, or plain old focus on execution. And we repeat the process — forever.

This is supposed to be a multi-parter; we’ll try to keep an eye on it and keep excerpting it day by day. Here’s the Schneier blog front page which will have the latest - part two is already up.

And here’s a guest blog Hawley wrote in late spring for the Aviation Week. 

Everybody hates Heathrow

Can one airport be so bad that it can drag down one of the world’s greatest cities. You bet: 

London’s status as one of the world’s leading financial centres risks being undermined by excessive delays at Heathrow and the airport’s sprawling layout, the new City minister warns on Monday.

“In her first interview in the role, Kitty Ussher has told the Financial Times that the government shares business concerns about queues at passport control, the effect of security measures and the airport’s set-up.

Calling herself an “advocate” for business in government, she spoke of the unhappiness felt by executives at the so-called “Heathrow hassle” and the miserable experiences they have suffered. - from the Financial Times

In 1777 Samuel Johnson, who wrote the first major English dictionary, said:

“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”

Of course he never had to go through customs at Heathrow… 

The long & narrow way across the pond

The New York Times graphic says it all - not snakes on a plane but sardines. Narrow single-aisle jetliners mean more trans-Atlantic flights with less room for passengers. Read the story here.

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TSA's latest hi-tech gadget, new maturity?

The TSA has a new weapon in the war against passenger confusion: the bullhorn. From a San Diego newspaper: 

On July 18, two dozen flights were delayed and Terminal 2 gates were emptied after a Transportation Security Administration screener lost track of a carry-on bag singled out for a search.

An X-ray scan showed the bag contained more liquid than allowed under federal regulations.

The screening lapse upset passengers, with some complaining that TSA staff did a poor job of telling them what was going on. They recounted scenes of agency officers standing on tables and shouting announcements that few could hear.

Michael J. Aguilar, security director of the TSA office in San Diego, yesterday said he plans to add bullhorns to the agency’s arsenal to better inform Lindbergh passengers in the future.

The TSA does have a tough (impossible?) job, and we could all think of ways to do it better, right? Well, some are praising the agency for a new level of maturity:

The TSA’s intelligence circular that leaked this week demonstrates that the agency the flying public loves to hate has matured beyond confiscating nail clippers, tweezers and lighters, they said Wednesday.

The experts agreed that this judgment holds true even if the four incidents that triggered the warning turn out to have innocent explanations, as two of them — in San Diego and Baltimore — appeared to on Wednesday. (OBOW ed.: not the same San Diego event mentioned above)

“This is what TSA should be doing whether it turns out to be a whole bunch of harmless coincidences or part of a plot,” said James Carafano, a security expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation who in the past called for TSA’s abolition.

“This kind of analysis wouldn’t have happened before Sept. 11, 2001,” or even for some time afterward, he said. - AP via IHT.

 Here’s the TSA statement on the leaked memo and recent incidents.

Dangerous security

A British House of Commons committee rightly concludes that some security measures may increase danger instead of decreasing it: 

A report by the Commons transport select committee said queues of hundreds of passengers in cramped spaces could become a security hazard.

The committee recommended that reducing queues at security and speeding up check-in times should be a priority.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said baggage security rules introduced last August met “a very real threat”.

The regulations resulted in disruption and delays and, although the situation has improved, passengers still face longer queues and increased waiting times. - from the BBC

 

The Brits are looking for a compromise:

 

“I made it very clear that the one piece of hand luggage restriction which applies to customers departing the UK and transferring through the UK has no security justification,” said (Brititsh Airways) chief executive Willie Walsh.

Recent events in London and Glasgow have conspired to put the brakes on any change though. 

SECURITY THAW: lighters can fly, more milk to go

 The TSA has announced that beginning Aug. 4 airline passengers can carry on common cigarette lighters (hotter burning torch-type lighters are still banned) and those traveling with infants can carry larger quantities of breast milk. From the Transportation Security Administration press release:

WASHINGTON – In an effort to concentrate resources on detecting explosive threats, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced it will no longer enforce the ban on common lighters in carry-on luggage. Torch lighters will continue to be banned in carry-ons. The agency collects more than 22,000 lighters a day which represents a high percentage of all prohibited items surrendered at checkpoints nationwide. The measures will be implemented on August 4th.

“Explosives remain the most significant threat to aviation,” said Kip Hawley, TSA administrator. “By enabling our officers to focus on the greatest threats we are using our officers’ time and energy more effectively and increasing security for passengers.”

TSA is also modifying the procedures associated with carrying breast milk through security checkpoints. Mothers flying with or without their child will be permitted to bring breast milk in quantities greater than three ounces as long as it is declared for inspection at the security checkpoint.

About breast milk:

“This rule has been a pain for working mothers who pumped breast milk while on a business trip without their child and wanted to carry more than three ounces home with them.” said TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe. “They had to throw larger amounts in the trash and that was not only wasteful but emotionally charged.” - AP via USA Today

There’s an economic component to the lighter rule change. It has cost the TSA $4 million per year to dispose of all the confiscated Bics and Zippos.

 

(TSA graphics)

You know it was bad flight when...

…you have to get a polio shot when you land - yikes!

‘Passengers on a flight to Melbourne from Bangkok are being vaccinated against polio after doctors detected the paralysis-causing virus in one of the travelers.

A 22-year-old student was found to have the disease shortly after returning to Melbourne on a July 2 Thai Airways International flight from a vacation in Pakistan. Health officials are tracing all 238 passengers on flight TG999 to vaccinate them against the virus, which is spread in the feces of infected people. So far, 59 passengers have been immunized and no new infections have been reported, said the Department of Human Services for the state government of Victoria in Australia.

“We’re being ultra-cautious here,” said Bram Alexander, a department spokesman. The infected passenger told officials that he had used the plane’s toilets to urinate only, Alexander said.’ — AP via IHT

Saluting the stranded

…I’ve noticed that passengers comport themselves remarkably well on stranded planes, even amid appalling conditions like backed-up toilets and a lack of food.

“Because things are so bad right now with the delays and missed connections, I really feel it’s become an ‘us against them’ attitude.” Ms. Ogintz said. “I think people actually tend to be nicer to each other than they used to be.

- The New York Times has kind words for stranded summer travelers 

Airport Wi-Finder

Given this summer’s routine airport delays, wouldn’t it be nice to know if the next place you’re getting stuck in has wi-fi - before you get there? Here’s a list of airports with Wi-Fi from USA Today.

Like the plague...

“I’m not flying anymore this summer, except in extraordinary and absolutely unavoidable circumstances.”

So says uber-traveler Joe Brancatelli, prefacing a portfolio.com article on airlines and airports to absolutely avoid this summer…if possible. 

More noise-killers

If my cheapo suggestion for travel headphones that reduce noise was a little down-market for you, here’s a review of 10 more expensive — and probably better — options from gizmowatch.com.

UK baggage nightmare, status quo

The Telegraph says thousands of checked bags are languishing at Heathrow, most the result of missed connections.

BA (British Airways) says it is currently handling 23,000 transfer bags at Heathrow each day, using a system designed for 18,000 bags. Overall, the number of bags being checked in as hold luggage has increased by 25 per cent since the introduction of the “one cabin bag” ruling by the Department for Transport (DfT) last August.

Passengers flying into Heathrow from other European countries and the US, where they are allowed two pieces of hand baggage, are being made to check in one item before continuing their journey. It is these transit passengers who have been hit hardest by the ruling.

And, unfortunately, rumors of the demise of the one-bag rule are premature:

The Association of European Airlines is lobbying the EU for a pan-European policy on airline hand baggage. But the DfT is adamant that the one-bag ruling must stay for now.

“We are responsible for making sure that every flight is safe and secure,” said a DfT (UK Dept for Transport) spokesman. “The best way to help those doing the screening is to restrict passengers to one bag, as staff have to check carefully for liquids and other items that may pose a security threat.”

 It’s gotten bad enough in Britain that travelers — especially business travelers — are beginning to avoid flying to, or through, the UK unless absolutely necessary.

Two new sites

Adam at travelgearreview.com tipped me off that MEI, maker of the legendary Voyageur travel pack, has finally launched a web page. It’s not the greatest site but it’s a lot better than nothing. I’ve been in contact with MEI about testing some of their new bags and packs, and I have a Voyageur in my possession (thanks to Adam) which I hope to write about soon.  Some of the listed models are just barely out of prototype stage and some are non-stock/build-on-demand.

Air travel guru Joe Brancatelli has launched a great blog (The Summer of Our Discontent) on the free side of his joesentme.com site. The blog’s basic premise is that the summer of 2007 has been the worst period ever in the history of commercial aviation!