How would you grade TSA?

[xsedrinam]

There have been threads over the past few years covering related issues with Transportation and Security Administration (http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/index.shtm), part of Homeland Security, in the U.S.

With an estimated 200 million U.S. citizens looking to travel by air this summer, (I don't have any solid figures on the numbers of non U.S. citizens traveling), are you one of them? What have been your experiences with airport security over the past year? Positive or negative?

Would you give TSA an A, B, C, D or an F?

[mattscott306]

I haven't had any issues with them, so I gave them a C. I know they could be doing better, but the workers are only doing what they were trained to do.

Who are we grading btw- the workers or the management?

[mrkramer]

I put a C since I havn't had any problems with them.

[iJon]

I've mastered the art of getting through security. I don't feel much safer and it makes things longer than it used to be.

My favorite was when I flew back home and a hispanic guy got on the plane with a bag. The bag was to big for underneath the chair and there was no room in the overhead bin. The staff felt it would be fine to leave the bag in an unused seat. This young college girl thought he was from the Middle East and felt his bag was a bomb and started crying and freaking out. They evacuated the whole plane and we didn't leave for another 1.5 hours.

jon

[smueboy]

Poor - the impression i get is that the people screening (bags/people) could care less.

[devilot]

Terribly inconsistent. Extermely strict in some airports, not in others, and yes, the ones I'm thinking of are international and so on the same "level."

That said, I was once selected for the stricty empty-out-your-bag search... I almost didn't make it on my flight even though they knew it. :rolleyes: But I can appreciate teh attention to detail and "safety." Shrug.

I wish things were consistently strict or consistently not.

[wonga1127]

I just love getting things perfectly packed for my carry-on so it all fits and is easy to get stuff and having to be "randomly searched" because someone traveling with me had a pair of toe-nail clippers with them. Its great when you have to re-pack with everyone looking at you.

Funny story about that flight, we were taking off and the cabin started filling with blue smoke. It was so funny.

[xsedrinam]

I haven't had any issues with them, so I gave them a C. I know they could be doing better, but the workers are only doing what they were trained to do.

Who are we grading btw- the workers or the management?
They both seem to reflect on the overall set up, organization of a site, and individual treatment. I've found the security to be top notch in some regions of the U.S., where others have been consistently poor. I won't mention the regions since some may be from South FL. :p

Nothing though compared to what I've faced in Venezuela. Two different times I was strip searched. :eek:

[Doctor Q]

Why don't they give away or sell the quart Ziploc bags (that they want your shampoo in) to the people waiting in line?

I saw them telling people who got to the front of the line with such contraband that they could go off elsewhere in the airport to hunt for a place to buy those bags (probably as a box of 100), then get back at the end of the line and start over again. If they had a stack of them there for people who are waiting, those people would sail through on the first try and we'd all be out of there sooner.

[zimv20]

Why don't they give away or sell the quart Ziploc bags (that they want your shampoo in) to the people waiting in line?

i just flew back from puerto vallarta, and there was a big bin of them near the security entrance.


are the US immigration officials TSA? i don't recall. upon my return to the US, in atlanta, the immigration guy asked me the purpose of my visit. i replied that i was on holiday, then he gave me all this hassle that it wasn't yet memorial day and why can't i say "vacation." because, you know, all terrorists are british. :rolleyes:

[xsedrinam]

are the US immigration officials TSA? i don't recall.
"On March 1, 2003, the DHS absorbed the now defunct United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and assumed its duties." Can't find a satisfactory link other than this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_security), at the moment.

[devilot]

Why don't they give away or sell the quart Ziploc bags (that they want your shampoo in) to the people waiting in line?They do at SJC (San José, CA).

[janey]

a big fat F---------?

actually I haven't had any particularly crappy encounters with TSA people other than rough handling of stuff I spent 10 minutes to carefully pack in my bag being thrown back in there in mere seconds, but I've heard enough crappy stories and seen enough stupid things happening.

Soon flying to SF, but I stupidly got tickets for a flight departing from LAX instead of one of the smaller airports nearby. I'm going to say goodbye to everything in my checked luggage, assuming it's going to be stolen or lost, and packing everything valuable I possibly can into my carryon bags. :rolleyes:

[rdowns]

Why don't they give away or sell the quart Ziploc bags (that they want your shampoo in) to the people waiting in line?


They do, at least at all the airports I've been to in the past 6 months...

JFK
LaGuardia
Denver
Fort Lauderdale
Atlanta

As for the TSA, I'd give them a C-. Most problems I see are caused by ignorant travelers. I've mastered the art of getting through security and being able to spot those who will hold up the line so I can get on another one. Hint- look for business travelers who know the ropes.

[Lyle]

Most problems I see are caused by ignorant travelers. I've mastered the art of getting through security and being able to spot those who will hold up the line so I can get on another one.Same here. I'm not a "frequent flyer" by any stretch of the imagination, but I fly enough to have picked up on this trick. Of course, sometimes you don't have a choice.

[Thanatoast]

An "F".

Removing my shoes and belt doesn't make me any safer than not. Banning shampoo and toenail clippers doesn't make me any safer than not. Putting thousands of names on lists for future harrasment (including Ted Kennedy and a nun) doesn't make me any safer than not.

Demanding to be treated like a human being with rights instead of a prisoner and probable criminal however will get me a one-way ticket to the back office, my name on a list, and kill any hope of me reaching my destination.

Not safer. Not better. Not good.

[zimv20]

An "F".

Removing my shoes and belt doesn't make me any safer than not. Banning shampoo and toenail clippers doesn't make me any safer than not. Putting thousands of names on lists for future harrasment (including Ted Kennedy and a nun) doesn't make me any safer than not.

Demanding to be treated like a human being with rights instead of a prisoner and probable criminal however will get me a one-way ticket to the back office, my name on a list, and kill any hope of me reaching my destination.

Not safer. Not better. Not good.

right on.

and fie on the whole situation where TSA are free to give you as much **** as they want, but one dares not talk back.

[mkrishnan]

I gave them a B. I think right now, they're doing a greatly improved job of balancing security and liberty. They made a lot of egregious mistakes right after 9/11, but they've learned from them. I do try to go out of my way to be nice to the agents, too, because their job is a pretty sucky one. :(

And after that initial nonsense settled down, I've found they've been very nice back. I freaked them out once last year because I left my iBook inside my bag. But when they saw it was pink and white and had a hello kitty desktop, they just shrugged and weren't too mad. :D

[Doctor Q]

Removing my shoes and belt doesn't make me any safer than not. Banning shampoo and toenail clippers doesn't make me any safer than not. Putting thousands of names on lists for future harrasment (including Ted Kennedy and a nun) doesn't make me any safer than not.I guess we have two separate questions here: How reasonable are the policies they enforce? And, given those policies, how well do they handle the enforcement?

[obeygiant]

Airport security is a facade. My brother works for american airlines and the ground crew walks in/out anytime in different entrances, and the TSA is just there to make passengers feel safe.

[jayb2000]

a big fat F---------?

actually I haven't had any particularly crappy encounters with TSA people other than rough handling of stuff I spent 10 minutes to carefully pack in my bag being thrown back in there in mere seconds, but I've heard enough crappy stories and seen enough stupid things happening.

Soon flying to SF, but I stupidly got tickets for a flight departing from LAX instead of one of the smaller airports nearby. I'm going to say goodbye to everything in my checked luggage, assuming it's going to be stolen or lost, and packing everything valuable I possibly can into my carryon bags. :rolleyes:

Assuming you don't want to spend money on the fancy TSA approved back door locks, here is an easy trick I came up with.
Go the hardware store and buy a 100 pack of small, maybe 4" zip ties.
http://www.supernotebook.com/atx%20accessorie%20images/lot-of-10-zip-ties-master-350x350.gif

Assuming your luggage has two zippers, you can zip them together with one of these. That way, if they decide to randomly break into your bag (for security of course) you will know, and they won't wreck your bag because it is not a non-approved actual lock.
Costs almost nothing and gives you some piece of mind.
I've been doing it since 2001 and have had no issues.


Oh, and I gave them a C for lack of interest and silly and inconsistent rules.

[Thanatoast]

I guess we have two separate questions here: How reasonable are the policies they enforce? And, given those policies, how well do they handle the enforcement?

As you may have guessed, I think the policies are totally unreasonable. They're based on total CYA and nothing else.

Here's a story. Last year I took a quick filght to Montana - bought my ticket only two days in advance. Of course I was sent to the "I am a terrorist" line, where I was put through the "I am a terrorist" explosives-detecting-air-sniffing machine. After going through the machine I was asked to take off my shoes and put them on the belt, like usual. I wondered to myself, "If they just checked for explosives, why am I taking of my shoes as well? Either the air-sniffing machine doesn't work, or they don't trust the x-ray machines or techs to detect explosives, or...this is all a crock of ****!"

Security theater, nothing more. The TSA agents have to have the ********* jobs, standing there with people glaring at them all day long, jumping them through pointless and petty hoops, knowing the whole time that nothing they're doing is making a bit of difference.

[janey]

Assuming you don't want to spend money on the fancy TSA approved back door locks, here is an easy trick I came up with.
I love those, but my bag came with a TSA approved lock. A lock someone has the key to or can pick gives me a little bit more peace of mind than zip ties that can be opened by anyone with scissors. :o

[Cassie]

I've been searched a couple times, mostly because I tend to bring item's of "questionable nature" (E.g: a tin box full of 100 year old coins?:confused: ) So I voted C. I get searched about once a year, but then again I only fly about 4 times a year. They are doing their job, it's just a hassle.

[xsedrinam]

Last two trips, one to NYC and the other to Costa Rica, they confiscated my daughter's mousse, and would not let my wife by with two see-through ziplocks. My daughter had to walk along 5th Ave. with kinky hair, but the planet was safer. :rolleyes:

[Legolamb]

Gave them a C. Most of the time, I've seen really dumb passengers making a bad situation even worse. My husband, for example, cannot be convinced to remove his coins from his pants pocket and put them in his jacket BEFORE we get on line. And he insists on wearing his favorite metal studded belt, which would set off even a non functioning machine, and them complains that he is being profiled. I'm muttering to myself (yeah, for being stupid).

[Steve1496]

I give the TSA an F. I dread flying because of TSA.

[rdowns]

Arrived in Denver on business trip the other day and found another person's things in my suitcase. Way to go TSA. :rolleyes:

[Doctor Q]

Arrived in Denver on business trip the other day and found another person's things in my suitcase. Way to go TSA. :rolleyes:How do you imagine that it happened? Whenever I've seen them open a case, they put it in front of them, open it, rummage around, then put the stuff back in. They aren't doing more than one of them at once.

Was your stuff all there? Did you do something about the extra stuff?

[mactastic]

Arrived in Denver on business trip the other day and found another person's things in my suitcase. Way to go TSA. :rolleyes:
"I swear dear, I have no idea how those pink crotchless panties got in my bag. Damn TSA screeners." :D :p :eek:

[nbs2]

Just more of the inconsistancies and failure among TSA staff to know and understand regulations.

Since I try to remain well-versed on the regs, I probably don't do much to make the screeners lives any easier, but I try to always be polite. Most irritating was before the "shoes off" rule became standardized, I would never take off my shoes. I just find walking around in your socks in the airport to be filthy. Add in that it was on the tile in DCA, and I found it unsafe. Most airports understood and didn't make a fuss. ABQ wouldn't let me through and "assured me" that I was required to remove my footwear.

I do agree that many of the policies are silly - it's just more reactionary politics. The point of safety regulations is to make us safer before the problem, not hassle us after it has gone away. All it does is inconvenience and create problems for the public while providing little to no extra security.

The worker bees get a D+/C-, the policy makers get a T (for Troll - I'm rereading HP right now :))

[EricNau]

First of all, I am not concerned about my liberties in regards to flying. ...If by putting me through a labyrinth of machines "they're treating me like a terrorist" then so be it. ...If we only scanned suspected terrorists no one would ever get caught. So in that respect, I don't mind strict security (I welcome it).

That said, the security at our airports is anything but secure, and I must say the TSA is completely inept. The "random" in-depth searches especially bother me for two reasons: 1) the least likely are always chosen (ie clergy, the handicapped, and elderly), and 2) if every 1 in 5 persons are searched "at random," then for every 5 terrorists, 4 will get through. ...Since we shouldn't profile, the best solution is to search everyone. I've been to airports (NOT in the U.S.) that easily prove that strict security does not equal long lines. In Germany, every carryon was thoroughly searched, every person thoroughly scanned (all shoes were removed, etc.) and the line consisted of 3 people, in a very large and crowded airport.

I agree with the claims that the TSA is just a (very poor) façade to give people the sense of security.

I gave them a D-, and not a F because every so often they do (accidentally) stumble upon and stop a security risk.

[Thanatoast]

Since we shouldn't profile, the best solution is to search everyone.

We shouldn't profile based on a person being brown, speaking with an accent, or being Muslim. We should profile for known criminal activity, questionable itenerary and mention in intelligence reports.

Most people, including the TSA minions and their Troll-like masters get the sides confused.

Making everyone take off their shoes is a crappy 'solution' for keeping us all 'safe'.

And as long as we're going down that road, why not just hand out 'flying uniforms' to everyone? Orange jumpsuits with no pockets and a pair of flip-flops. If it makes everyone safer and you've nothing to hide, why would you object? (I'm making the dangerous assumption that you would object)

[JurgenWigg]

F.

I feel as though these security measures are a total scam. The shoes, the shampoo bottles. Honestly, if you want to make sure some liquid isn't volatile, have them take a drink from it. If it really is some explosive, well, dead terrorist.

the summer after 9/11, i was like 13 and flying back from chicago from the 4th of july (i've got family out there), flying O'hare to Logan in Boston. When i got home I had discovered that i had accidentally packed firecrackers in my suitcase. Well that doesn't make me feel any safer, that especially less than a year from 9/11 low grade explosives can be packed and taken on an airplane without the TSA even noticing. Needless to say I was probably very lucky that I got through and I'm very careful about what I pack, but when at providence airport, my suitcase went through their scanning machine and they took out a roll of duct tape to check out, i mean come on people. I fly back and forth from school, so I probably fly 7 times a year just because of school, not to mention a few more times for travel during the summer, and I have never gotten pulled aside for extra measures or whatever. You'd think if 1 in 5 people are getting pulled aside, I'd eventually get snagged, but no, it seems like it's the same 1 in 5 getting screened. This is from a person who looks arabic (I'm greek). I have absolutely no confidence in our airport security.

[OutThere]

I lost a lot of faith and patience with the TSA after the guy inspecting my stuff took far too long a look at a picture of my girlfriend of the time that I had packed in my carry on. Come on now...professionalism. :rolleyes:

[janey]

Soon flying to SF...I'm going to say goodbye to everything in my checked luggage...
I'm back home.

TSA didn't even bother to open my overflowing luggage full of toys of a ...certain nature, shoes, clothes and shoes...at all. And at LAX, while I was waiting for someone to take my bag to be TSA screened, I watched two TSA agents struggle with one bag for a few minutes to put it through the explosives detector. The bag was small enough to meet carryon requirements. Two agents. One bag.

TSA also didn't care about my bursting-to-the-brim carryons (I actually don't think the guy even looked at it because he was facing someone else talking..), nor that I piled everything into one bin - shoes, laptop, quart sized bag with liquids, ...all on top of each other. Yay for my MacBook though, it was the prettiest and the one that stood out most from all the Dells and Thinkpads everyone else had.

Yay for TSA!

The guy next to me at self-check-in at SFO had a gun in his luggage. He declared it, but nobody that knew what to do was there, so they just made him wait forever until they finally found someone competent enough to guess at what to do next.

[xsedrinam]

I'm back home.

TSA didn't even bother to open my overflowing luggage full of toys of a ...certain nature, shoes, clothes and shoes...at all........

Yay for TSA!

It was just your day. :) That's basically the mindset I try to adopt on any travel day. It's either your day to get hassled or it's not your day to get hassled. Pretty random and fatalistic, but it sure seems to work that way, though it doesn't add any substance to the argument that TSA is doing anything effectively to guarantee we are all safer.

[rdowns]

How do you imagine that it happened? Whenever I've seen them open a case, they put it in front of them, open it, rummage around, then put the stuff back in. They aren't doing more than one of them at once.

Was your stuff all there? Did you do something about the extra stuff?

This was my checked baggage, not carry on. All my stuff was there. There were 2 t-shirts and a pair of shorts that were not mine. Just left them at my hotel.