TSA's birthday card list

A new TSA program - Secure Flight - will require more personal info from you. And don’t just tell them you’re, er, 29 - again…

You may have been patted down at airports or suffered the indignity of having your dirty laundry from a vacation searched at screening checkpoints. Now prepare yourself for security to get a little more personal.

Passengers making airline reservations soon will be required to provide their birth date and their sex in addition to their names as part of aviation security enhancements the 9/11 Commission recommended. The information provided at the time seats are booked must exactly match the data on each traveler’s ID.

The new program, called Secure Flight, shifts responsibility for checking passenger names against “watch lists” from the airlines to the Transportation Security Administration. Only passengers who are cleared to fly by the TSA will be given boarding passes. - chicagotribune.com

Secure Flight is set to begin soon (“early this year”) for domestic flights, late this year for international.

From the TSA:

The initial implementation phase of Secure Flight will result in the complete transfer of responsibility for passenger watch list matching to TSA from aircraft operators whose flights operate within the United States. The second phase of Secure Flight will result in the transfer of responsibility for passenger watch list matching to TSA for flights into, out of, and over the United States to TSA.

By assuming watch list matching responsibilities from the airlines, TSA will:

• Decrease the chance for compromised watch list data by limiting its distribution
• Provide earlier identification of potential matches, allowing for expedited notification of law enforcement and threat management
• Provide a fair, equitable, and consistent matching process across all airlines
• Reduce instances of misidentified individuals
• Offer consistent application of an expedited and integrated redress process for misidentified individuals via the Department of Homeland Security’s Travel Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP)

Update on March 11, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

And there are now one million names on the watch list.

US Airways joins the 45" club

Fifty one no more: US Airways now requires carryons to measure no greater than 45”. They had been the last to adhere to the old 51” standard. Will monetary considerations win out and drive the standards to be more restrictive (for more checked bag fee $) or can we expect the 45” standard to hang around for a few more years? I don’t expect much size constriction but weight and piece limits (no personal item/1 carryon) are another matter. They’re already here in some case and should propagate.

Liquidity

An interesting overview of the carry-on liquid conundrum from twincities.com/The Pioneer Press:

But by next year,  (TSA Administrator Kip) Hawley expects size restrictions to be lifted because of new technology. By the end of 2010, he anticipates all liquid, gel and spray restrictions will be lifted. Until then, liquids, gels and sprays in packaging larger than 3 ounces are thrown into garbage cans, which are collected by the airport’s regular trash hauler. If it’s an alcoholic beverage, the liquid is poured out. On pain of firing, TSA employees are forbidden to filch items out of the trash, TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said.

If you’ve got just a bit of perfume left in a too-big bottle, a TSA employee has the discretion to bend the rule and let you take it through,  McCauley said (didn’t know this - Brad). You can’t count on that, but you do have options other than surrendering the item. You can return it to your car; take it to your airline agent and ask that your checked baggage be retrieved so you can put it in there; or mail it back to yourself.

Filching forbidden, alcohol poured out? Right.

Unless you enjoy strip searches...

…don’t try techno artist Evan Roth’s method of “security theater” statement making. Laser-cut steel sheets inserted in carry-on luggage raise eyebrows and - I’ll bet - threat levels as they shout their message on scanner screens.

  

Update on October 8, 2008 by Frank@OBOW

The long-suffering folks that run the offical TSA blog claim to be amused by this, but they make it clear that any traveler that decides to send this type of message will not be amused by what follows:

As some of you might have seen on other blogs, Evan Roth is an artist who is designing personalized messages you can send to TSA security officers. He laser cuts the letters out of a sheet of stainless steel. The sheet is designed to be placed inside of a passenger’s bag so they can send personal messages to the officer. Have to give the guy credit, he’s creative. Even we got a laugh out of it.

This may seem like a clever gag, but actually the joke is on whoever decides to use one of these plates. Based on the preliminary examples shown on Mr. Roth’s web page, the metal plate will get the passenger’s bag searched every time. And no, it’s not because of what the plate says, it’s because the metal plate acts as a shield and conceals items below it. If an officer can’t get a good look at what’s in the bag, it’s “bag check” time. Fair warning: there are detailed procedures on how to search this type of bag and it’s not one of our quicker searches.

Will TSA let the liquids flow in '09?

There’s a different take on this issue every month, but this one is straight from the horse’s mouth:

The Transportation Security Administration will likely relax the restrictions on carrying liquids through airport security screening checkpoints in a year, TSA Chief Kip Hawley said in an interview.

“I think realistically in one year we, the TSA and foreign colleagues, will be a position” to relax liquids restrictions,” Hawley told the Middle Seat Thursday. “We are within a year of having the ability to differentiate threat liquids through the screening process.”

TSA has been testing X-ray machines that can detect liquid materials used in bomb-making and the technology is close to be ready for widespread use. The X-ray machines themselves are already widely deployed in the U.S., but the software necessary for the liquids detection and evaluation is still being tested.

from the WSJ’s The Middle Seat Terminal blog

Spirit shakedown

Andrea Sachs at the Washington Post travel blog is seeing red over the airlines quest for green - at the expense of travelers who follow the rules:

During my travels, my bags did not expand; in fact, they shrunk, as I finished one 900-page book and several celebrity mags. (So glad Jen dumped John.) However, when I approached the gate agent, I was told that — not again! — I had to check my bags. I went through the whole mime of how my bag fit in the container adding that I flew down with them as carry-on and I should be allowed to return with them as carry-on. The agent was curt and unforgiving, continuing to push me to check them. Eventually, I was tired of arguing and just walked on, tossing out the same rejoinder: If they don’t fit, I’ll check them.The plane was nearly empty; I could have carried-on an elephant and found bin space for it.

I am only speculating, of course, that the Spirit agents were pressing me to check my bags for monetary reasons. And I know this reads cynically; maybe they were just concerned about my leg space. But I have flown this airline pre-baggage fees and received no comments about my carry-ons.

 All I can hope is that we who travel light don’t get penalized for going carry-on only. - entire post here

Liquid turnabout in the UK?

The word just days ago - in the aftermath of a UK terror trial -  was that the liquid carry-on restrictions would be around for years to come. Yesterday the The Independent  suggested something completely different: 

The government is in discussions with security companies and Britain’s airports to lift the ban on liquids being carried in hand luggage as early as next year, The Independent has learnt. 

Technology already deployed at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 can automatically detect the presence of liquids in carry-on bags. Now, government scientists are running tests to see if the scanners can be adapted to pick out those that are harmful. 

“The technology is there, which will allow these scanners not only to test for liquids but also to determine if those liquids are dangerous or not,” said a security industry source. “At the moment, that technology is being tested by the security services and when they are happy that it works, the ban will be lifted.” 

Update on September 12, 2008 by Frank@OBOW

Don’t expect the US to follow suit even if the UK ever drops the ban. The UK has a small number of airports and might be able to deploy the liquid-capable scanners at all of them. It woud take years and many millions of dollars to put these scanners in all the US airports.

Someone likes Kip

TSA director Kip Hawley doesn’t get a lot of pats on the back in the blogosphere, but here’s one on the seventh anniversary of 9/11::

But the fact remains that much progress has been made.  Kip Hawley, the Assistant Secretary of DHS in charge of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), has done a remarkable job in helping move us in the right direction.  One of the most important has been to realize that what works at one airport may not necessarily work at another, and that a truly secure system has to include input from the airport staff involved.  In an important way, this also adds to the element of uncertainty that underlies the system, for if it is too predictable the terrorists have a better chance to figure out how to beat it.

Security is always a top priority with airport directors.  I’d say that in my time here at least 75 percent of all the conversations I’ve had with directors have included some mention of security.  There are a lot of good ideas in the airport community and today’s TSA has been much more open to them.  In a few months there will be a new administration and new leadership at TSA.  I hope that those new leaders will be able to build on what has been accomplished over these past seven years:  work closely with the airport community, move forward with new technologies (these new laptop bags, for example, as well as inline baggage systems), and commit to a risk management approach that keeps us safe and allows the aviation system to perform its basic function. -  Airport Check-In 

Not buying the friendly part

Phil Baker doesn’t think the “checkpoint friendly” laptop bag concept is as affable as advertised:

Unfortunately, this has not turned out to be as friendly as intended. There’s already confusion as some of the bags referred to as checkpoint friendly are simply slim sleeves or thin cases designed to hold just the notebook — nothing more — and are carried inside your regular bag. And while it’s true you don’t need to remove your notebook, you need to remove this sleeve with the notebook in it! I haven’t quite figured how this saves time. But I suppose it adds a little protection to the computer, keeping it apart from your liquids and shoes on the conveyer belt. 

There’s a second class of cases that does allow a notebook to remain in the case. They’re designed so that a portion of the bag unzips and folds off to the side, so the computer can be viewed without anything obstructing it. 

This meets the TSA requirement to allow an unblocked view of the computer; with no adapters, cords, or even a metal buckle alongside the notebook. These stay in a separate part of the bag. But you do need to unzip the bag to pass through X-ray and, whether you need to remove the notebook or not is subject to the whim of the TSA screeners, which we know varies widely. - entire post here

On the friendly front - Skooba has a CF laptop bag now as well.

"Evidence of airline bomb plot too slim to convict, but liquid restrictions to remain in place"

 …that headline from the Times of London probably won’t make you feel any better about the 3-1-1 rule.

Airline passengers will still face stringent security curbs on what they can carry in hand baggage despite yesterday’s terror-trial verdicts.

The Department for Transport made clear last night that there would be no relaxation of measures that banned most fluids and have forced passengers to remove shoes, jackets and belts before passing through security arches at airports.

Although there is widespread scepticism that “liquid bombs” could bring down a transatlantic airliner, the FBI has provided the British Government and airline industry with evidence of the carnage that would be caused by such devices.

 Read the  entire story here. 

Get used to the baggie...

…cause it’s here to stay:

 Tough security restrictions will remain in place at UK airports until x-ray machines improve their detection of suspect liquids, according to government sources, two years after the aviation industry was engulfed by the aftermath of allegations of a Heathrow bomb plot.

A ban on carrying large amounts of fluids in hand luggage could stay in place for at least five more years, experts added, because the latest x-ray technology cannot spot liquid bomb threats swiftly or process bags quickly enough.

Norman Shanks, an airport security consultant and former head of security at Heathrow owner BAA, said: “I see these measures staying in place for at least another five years, by which time technology may have moved to the point where we can detect if these items are inside bags.” - guardian.co.uk

TSA on laptop bags

Here’s the TSA’s official pronouncement and explanation of the “checkpoint-friendly” laptop bag.

An excerpt:

If you intend to use a ‘checkpoint friendly’ laptop bag once they are on the market, make sure to check that:

• Your laptop bag has a designated laptop-only section that you can lay flat on the X-ray belt
• There are no metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on-top of the laptop-only section
• There are no pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section
• There is nothing in the laptop compartment other than the laptop
• You have completely unfolded your bag so that there is nothing above or below the laptop-only section, allowing the bag to lie flat on the X-ray belt

Remember, a well designed ‘checkpoint friendly’ bag must be packed appropriately if you intend to leave your laptop in your bag for screening.

TSA is not approving or endorsing any bag design or manufacturer and will only allow laptops to stay in bags through screening if they provide a clear and unobstructed
X-ray image of the laptop.

Update on August 20, 2008 by Frank@OBOW

TSA “Evolution of Security” blog thread on this subject - don’t miss all the comments…

Hurray for Ryan, bless his bins!

…but they’d better be big ones:

Ryanair is considering the introduction of a hand-luggage only rule on some future flights in a bid to cut costs.

Any such proposal is likely to affect early morning and midweek departures which normally contain a high proportion of business travellers.

“Should the idea be introduced, it will be confined to non-tourist routes and flights,” said Daniel de Carvalho, a spokesman for the budget airline. “It is part of our general policy to encourage passengers to travel with just hand luggage.” - Telegraph.co.uk

Obviously there’s more than one way to skin the airline cat. Or maybe this shows that none of the carriers know how to remain profitable. You’ve got to think there would be far fewer flight delays with no checked bags.

Not bloody well listening

Millions of travellers are still confused about what they are allowed to pack in their hand luggage, two years after restrictions on liquids at airports were first introduced.

A new survey by the website Expedia found that 80 per cent of Britons have had to hand over personal possessions to airport security staff in the past two years, and half of all travellers do not know what they can carry in hand luggage.

The study, of 1,000 Expedia customers in July, revealed that, in the past two years, about a third have had knives, scissors and aerosols taken from their hand luggage, and 10 per cent have had bottles of alcohol confiscated.- Telegraph.co.uk

Six-word sum-up of 3-1-1

Share your feelings about the TSA liquid restrics in six words and you might win an iPod from Cranky Flier.

“Three? I thought it was four!”

“Toiletry terrorists took two tubes today”

Lowest common (carry-on) denominator

One of the readers of the hobotraveler.com blog researched international carry-on regulations to find the lowest common denominator for bag dimensions and weights. He found that a bag of 19 x 13 x 8 inches (48 x 34 x 20cm) should be accepted by an airline in the world, though most airlines allow much larger bags of 45-50” in combined dimensions. As for weight:

5 kg 11.02 lbs (a few)
6 kg 13.22 lbs (several)
7 kg 15.43 lbs (common)

This is helpful info if you absolutely, positively never want to check a bag. The TB Western Flyer at 18 x 12 x 7” is one of the few bags I know that fits comfortably under the size limits. Some recent discussions at the TB forums extol the Flyer as a bag that fits under nearly any airline seat - real plus given the badly bulging bins on most flights these days!

TB working on "checkpoint friendly" bags, pack

Tom Bihn iw working on new bags and packs designed to meet the TSA’s “checkpoint friendly” standards. The end result will be that with one of these bags you won’t have to remove them from the bag for screening which minimizes hassle and damage risk. Last week Tom flew to a west coast airport for a run-through with the TSA. This post from the Tom Bihn blog explains a few things about the checkpoint friendly program that I was unaware of:

The results? The prototype briefcase is a success: in multiple configurations, it provided x-ray images that met the TSA screening standards. Tom continues to refine the design of the as-yet unnamed prototype checkpoint-friendly briefcase. We expect the briefcase to be available for pre-order within weeks. Tom also has designs in process for a “checkpoint friendly” backpack and messenger bag. These bags aren’t and won’t be just checkpoint friendly: they will offer the same tough materials and handsome, cleverly engineered design that you’ve come to expect from a TOM BIHN bag. We think that you will also appreciate that your TOM BIHN checkpoint friendly bag, specifically designed to go through U.S. airport security, was also designed and manufactured in the U.S.A. under the watchful eyes of our Seattle factory crew. Two current TOM BIHN laptop cases — the Archetype molded laptop case and the Soft Cell laptop sleeve — are already “checkpoint friendly.” That means that sometime in August/September — when the TSA officially initiates the “checkpoint friendly” program — you can leave your laptop in your Archetype or Soft Cell while it goes through the x-ray machine, protecting your laptop from scratches and bumps. (Note: these bags will meet the new TSA requirement as long as you put *only* your laptop in the case, no accessories.) Our experiences testing Tom’s prototype “checkpoint friendly” briefcase revealed the potential this program offers that will save you, the traveler, both time and hassle as well as protect your laptop.

Read more at the Tom Bihn blog.

TSA deploys more tech in more places

Press Release

July 15, 2008

WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced expanded deployment that will bring Advanced Technology X-ray (AT) and Passenger Imaging to 21 of the nation’s busiest airports by the end of 2008. TSA also plans to purchase and deploy approximately 300 additional AT X-rays and 80 Passenger Imagers, bringing the total to 900 AT and 120 Passenger Imaging units nationwide in 2009.

“This major step up in technology coupled with our enhanced security training for our officers will elevate security across the board,” said Kip Hawley, TSA administrator. “AT X-ray and Passenger Imaging technologies greatly enhance our ability to find small improvised explosive device (IED) components made of common items, which remain the greatest threat.”

Passenger imaging technologies enable TSA to detect prohibited items including weapons, explosives and other metallic and non-metallic objects concealed under layers of clothing without physical contact. Advantages of AT X-ray include a greatly enhanced image with the ability to target novel threat items resulting in fewer bag checks and faster throughput, and the ability to upgrade the system with enhanced algorithms.

The following airports will receive new technology in the coming months: Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta, Newark, Boston, Indianapolis, New York LaGuardia, Tampa, San Juan and San Francisco.

Airports already operating new technologies include; Baltimore-Washington, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Denver, Dallas/Fort-Worth, Detroit, Miami, Ronald Reagan Washington National, New York John F. Kennedy, Washington-Dulles and Las Vegas.

TSA will also continue to deploy Bottled Liquid Scanners. This technology is used at the security checkpoint and by transportation security inspectors to ensure sealed containers do not contain hazardous liquids. TSA anticipates deploying up to 900 bottled liquid scanners to the nation’s busiest airports by the end of 2009. - TSA.gov

No consistency for the Griswolds

Haven’t we all seen this:

A Clark Griswold-ish family of four spends many minutes in the security line dithering about what to do and where to go, holding up the many other passengers who already know the drill, having been paying attention over the last seven years. Mrs. Griswold is noticed removing a gallon-sized plastic bag from her carry-on and placing it into one of the bins to go through the X-ray machine. Said bag contains at least 6 full-size bottles of sunscreen, lotion, shampoo and bug repellent. Mind you, the bag was all by itself in plain sight in the bin, visible to anyone.
-
The bin is slid into the X-ray unit, and the TSA agent in charge of scanning the items just passes it right on through. No stopping the belt, no reversing the belt to check it again, just thank you and have a good day…
 
So here we are: The Federal government places arbitrary, burdensome and onerous restrictions on the traveling public, and then becomes quite lax and sloppy in enforcing them. This trend will undoubtedly continue until some other tragedy occurs, at which time we will be told that we need even more restrictions on our freedoms, as the previous ones proved to be ineffective. Next stop - clear ponchos over naked bodies and no carryons. Think it won’t happen? I wouldn’t take that bet. - The Northern Muckraker

But 3.5 ounces of hand sanitzer might buy you a strip search.

The rush to be (checkpoint) friendly

The rush is on to develop laptop cases that allows the traveler to breeze through security without removing the darned computer from the bag. The TSA wants “checkpoint-friendly” bags. Travelers would appreciate “traveler-friendly” procedures and agents, but I digress…

“Two problems with the existing laptop cases are that security officers have difficulty seeing inside them with X-ray equipment, and many of the cases are so crammed with extra gear — power cords, a mouse and the like — that the computer is obscured.

The new cases include either a fold-down section in a bigger briefcase or a stand-alone protective sleeve that contains no extra clutter and can be readily viewed through the scanner.

More than a half-dozen luggage manufacturers, among about 60 that initially responded to a T.S.A. request for proposals about three months ago, have submitted prototypes for testing at checkpoints at three airports: Dulles, outside Washington; Austin-Bergstrom in Texas; and Ontario, near Los Angeles.” - New York Times

Here’s hoping the small bag manufacturers can keep up with the behemoths mentioned in the linked story (Pathfinder, Targus). This is not a great economy for small companies to have to spend $$ for R&D and retooling. Here’s an example of what the new bags may look like.