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. 

UK travel tips - from the UK

Nick Trend of the Telegraph offers this briefing for UK travelers in a challenging summer of delay, fear, and frustration. There’s nothing ground-breaking here, but there are some helpful links and solid information if you’re Glasgow, Gatwick, or Heathrow-bound.

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)

Shoes in hand, do the security dance

Tyler Brule is not enjoying the workout he’s getting at airport security checkpoints.  His take on the stripping, frisking, and queuing is funny, sad, and dead-on. Some excerpts from the International Herald Tribune:

Which of the following do you prefer? “The Barcelona Way,” “the Finnish Body Punch” or “the Hounslow Conga”? If you’re not familiar with these various regimes, let me explain. In the Catalan version of the airport security check you have to take off as many articles of clothing as possible, fill up as many plastic bins as you can balance in one arm while towing a wheely suitcase in the other and then deposit all of them on a conveyor belt…The Hounslow Conga is an Anglofied version of this ’50s party classic, only slower and without a theme tune. Like a regular conga line, lots of people (in this case thousands), all squeeze together in a long snake and dopily follow the person in front them…Having sampled all of the above over the past two weeks, I found Heathrow airport’s Hounslow Conga to be by far the most soul-destroying. — read the entire piece here.

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. 

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.

Joe on UK's travel woes

Ubertraveler Joe Brancatelli has London on his mind, and his complaints are simlar to mine:

But Heathrow, the world’s busiest airport, is a nightmare: crowded, congested, and dilapidated. And travelers are hamstrung by a recent British security edict that limits passengers making connections to just one carry-on bag, even if they’ve arrived from America with the standard complement of two pieces of hand luggage.

“The one-bag issue is really a competitive problem for us,” admits Robin Hayes, a native Londoner and executive vice president of the Americas for British Airways, by far the largest carrier at Heathrow. “We’ve definitely noticed that business travelers who would normally connect in London for an onward flight are now flying through Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, and even Paris.”

But with Heathrow, at least, there’s hope for improvement. Led by airlines that have a vested interest in keeping it Europe’s primary connecting hub, groups are lobbying the British government to allow travelers to carry on two bags again. (Last week’s terrorist incidents in London and at Glasgow Airport may have slowed down that momentum, however.) - portfolio.com

As we reported recently, the Brits may be close to scrapping the no-personal-item one-bag rule, but — as noted above — recent events aren’t helping.

UK lifting one-bag limit?

The one carryon/no personal item luggage rule that has plagued travelers transiting through the United Kingdom may be on the way out, according to The Times of London:

British Airways’ chief executive Willie Walsh believes the one-bag restriction on hand luggage is to be lifted within weeks.

In a speech yesterday morning to BritishAmerican Business Inc, an organisation that encourages trade across the Atlantic, Walsh said that the current limits on baggage are ineffective. “To be effective, security has to be credible. The truth is that the UK’s current one-bag rule is not credible. If it were felt to be a worthwhile security measure, it would be in force here in the US – and in the rest of Europe. It is not.”

“We recognise how irritating it is for people flying from the US, having carried on two items of security-cleared luggage at their home airport, to be told at Heathrow that they must check one item into the hold if they want to catch a connecting flight.”

Wow, a rare outbreak of common sense and reason! This is the biggest news for the carry-on/one-bag traveler since the liquid ban. My fear was that the “no personal item” rule would spread to other countries. Thankfully, this won’t be the case - for now.

Tempest in a todder's cup

Most have now heard the story of the poor mother who was hassled recently over her toddler’s sippy cup at a TSA checkpoint at Washington’s Reagan National Airport. Much was made by the blogosphere of this “incident” but the TSA’s video seems to prove that she was the one who lost it. She does not appear to have been mistreated. This brings up an important point: While many of the airport security measures are ridiculous, the TSA is not always wrong. And their employees are not evil; they are human — which means some are better than others and none of them are perfect. No matter how ridiculous the security procedures are, the fact remains that being polite, patient, and cooperative is the best way to get through. Write your congressman if you don’t like the TSA, but be nice to their employees if at all possible.

X-ray examination

“New X-Ray scanners at British airports could be exposing passengers to potentially dangerous levels of radiation, according to one senior radiologist.

The machines are designed to “strip search” passengers by using low-level X-Rays, which produce an image of their bodies, revealing whether they are secretly carrying weapons, explosives or illegal drugs.

But the scanners may not be safe for certain people, particularly children and women in the early stages of pregnancy, according to Dr Sarah Burnett, who works as an independent radiologist in London.”  -  read the entire story from thisislondon.co.uk/The Evening Standard

Flying cafeteria

As we mentioned last month, there’s a new US cut-rate carrier offering flights for as little as $10. Skybus brings the Ryanair concept to the US. USA Today reports that the Skybus “cafeteria” pricing plan has some odd twists:

“Skybus charges $5 for each checked piece of luggage. Like Southwest, flights are open seating, but you can pay $10 for the privilege of boarding the plane first. Food and beverages may be purchased on board, including soda and snacks. Outside food is forbidden – seriously! And nothing is free: You can purchase a blanket and pillow (and carry them home after the flight if you so desire).”

More on the Skybus menu here. 

The Skybus carryon weight limit is a very European 22 pounds. It’s not clear whether that’s a total weight of the carryon and personal item or if they are weighed individually. And there’s a twist: the carryon size is limited (according skybus.com) to 9”x16”x19”. Most popular carryons are at least 20” long. It will be interesting to see if this rule is designed to make an extra $5 off traditional carry-on travelers.

22 lb/10 kg - the magic number

For international flying there’s a magic number: 22. Pounds that is; or 10 if you count in kilograms. That’s the most common carryon weight limit for international carriers. Some, like the smaller (mostly British) airlines have even lower limits, but 22 is the mark to shoot for. To be on the safe side make sure that your “personal item” is included in this weight and that it fits inside the larger carryon, since some countries - most notably the UK - allow no additional personal item unless it will fit in one larger bag. The dimensional limits have not changed: 45” combined still works almost everywhere, some allow a bag up to about 50”.

If you’re committed never to check a bag it’s never been tougher. But, given the mounds of checked luggage (and 1000’s of pieces lost every day) the rewards of going one-bag/carry-on have never been greater.

 This link has information on international luggage limits for various airines. It’s not 100 percent accurate (it assumes you usually are allowed the extra personal item, which is no longer always the case). Always check the website of your airline. Some carriers allow fudging, but the safest bet is to assume they will follow their own rules when it favors them.

Litmus testing carry-on liquids

First the little baggie, now the litmus paper. Carry-on liquids will now be pulled randomly from travelers’ carryon zip-lock bags and checked with litmus paper in UK airports, assumedly to ensure that no explosive chemicals leak through the security checkpoints.

The London Times:

A spokesman for Heathrow said that the airport had been trialling the testing process, which involves placing litmus paper in the liquid under test, since January. “We have been running the trial as if the DfT’s (UK Department for Transport) rules had already been implemented. We are already geared up for testing and there should not be any impact on passengers.”

In a letter leaked on a pilots’ discussion forum, the DfT told airports: “It is anticipated that this introduction will cause inconvenience to customers, airport staff and crew travelling through UK airports and will potentially impact the speed of security processing.”

Commentary from the Times reporter: 

I’m not against reasonable security but this seems to be going too far. Next thing we know we’ll all be having to get to the airport four or five hours in advance to go through all these different security checks.

The DfT should listen to the concerns of regular travellers and not take disproportionate measures that will do little to catch real terrorists who must, by now, have realised that there are far easier targets.

As for what you put in the baggie - you can buy almost anything in TSA-approved travel sizes here.

International liquidity

This page from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration lists those countries with 3-1-1 carry-on liquid rules for air travel. The list is long and growing. The Washington Post travel blog reports that Hong Kong has joined the list. Banning liquids is less common in Asia - only Japan and South Korea did so previously. The entire EU is on board with the liquid ban.

 More about 3-1-1 here.

Perfect storm

The light traveler who has resolved NEVER to check a bag faces a stiff challenge in the UK. Let’s say you fly to London, drive to Scotland, then take a short hop on low-cost carrier BMI back to London or over to Europe. Guess what the carryon rule is for British Midland if flying coach? Try 7kg/15 pounds (6kg if flying out of Manchester), and the stated rules say you get only ONE piece and NO personal item - your personal item must fit in the carryon.Your 20-pound carryon PLUS your six-pound messenger/camera/briefcase bag that you flew over the pond with are no longer allowed. According to this the Brits enforce this rule rather stringently.

This changes everything for the light traveler. And this is the trend: Lower weight and piece limits for all baggage, more fees for checked bags, and higher overweight penalties. Add to this the 3-1-1 liquid rule and you have a perfect storm for the light traveler. And don’f forget - there are others who want ban luggage altogether!

$7 billion for bag zappers

The U.S. House and Senate have approved $7 BILLION worth of new airport security equipment which will make the screening  of checked bags almost completely automated according to USA Today. 

‘Key to the new system are bomb-detection machines built onto conveyor belts that can screen luggage 10 times faster than current systems that scan luggage piece by piece. The older machines are being strained by the 1.5 million bags checked each day at U.S. airports.

Louis Miller, executive director of Tampa International Airport, called the funding “extremely important.”

“We can go a long way in a hurry with that kind of money,” he said.’

Carrying on...lightly

Carry-on weight limits for major US airlines usually top out at 40 pounds or more, but my definition of light travel does not include a bag that weighs as much as an elementary school student. Because you can carry on 40 pounds doesn’t mean you should. Lifting 40 pounds over your head (or dropping it on your fellow passenger’s head) is no fun. The light traveler should shoot for a packed carryon that slips under the more restrictive weight limits of smaller airlines and international carriers - around 22 pounds. Under 20 pounds will get you comfortably on to almost any plane, and your back, neck, and shoulders will thank you. Get it to 11 pounds (5kg) or under and you’ve passed from lightness to sublimity. And there will be hardly an airline on the planet that will turn your carryon away.

Baggage blues

Here’s an overview of international baggage rules for international air travel from the worldly perspective of the International Herald Tribune’s Roger Collis. Judging from trends described in this story, traveling light is becoming more of a necessity than an option.

"Even then, she cannot fit everything into a one-quart bag"

An excellent story about liquid restrictions from today’s International Herald-Tribune includes lots of tips for women who carry on. Some highlights:

“Marcy McKenzie … has started asking dermatologists and dentists for one-ounce samples of creams, toothpaste and mouthwash. She has also collected empty prescription-drug containers from pharmacists that she refills with shampoo and hair gel.”

 “A friend … skirted the rule by wearing a push-up bra that lacks wires (so it does not set off security alarms) but includes a small pocket for gel inserts. By removing the inserts, Bos said her friend had enough space to stash hair-gel tubes.”

“So after the 3-1-1 restrictions were announced, he bought four toiletry kits at a local drugstore and stocked each one with about $15 worth of his favorite talcum powder, shaving cream, toothpaste, hair gel, face lotion and hand cream. He stashed the kits at the four Dallas hotels he stayed in most often …”

I still worry about unmarked containers - you never know when a screener will balk at them. BTW - You can buy almost anything in TSA-approved travel sizes here.