May 23rd, 2012 at 1:00PM: Some people should not be allowed to wear a uniform.
While flying from Spain to the U.S. to attend the Gadling annual team summit, I touched down first at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. I got into line at U.S. Customs to enter the country.
The line was in a huge room with a row of bulletproof glass booths manned by U.S. Customs & Border Protection officials checking passports and ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
airportsecurity posts
Rude US Customs Officials: How Not To Welcome People To The United States
May 23rd, 2012 at 1:00PM: Some people should not be allowed to wear a uniform.
While flying from Spain to the U.S. to attend the Gadling annual team summit, I touched down first at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. I got into line at U.S. Customs to enter the country.
The line was in a huge room with a row of bulletproof glass booths manned by U.S. Customs & Border Protection officials checking passports and ...Instead Of Passport Stamps, Let's Collect ICTS Stickers
Apr 3rd, 2012 at 1:00PM: There's this nagging question that keeps coming up every time I read an interview with a travel writer or person who spends a great deal of time on the road, and frankly it's starting to bother me: "How many countries have you been to?"
The problem with that question is, visiting a country is different for every person. Some people are there for business; some are there for pleasure. Some step ...TSA PreCheck program to be expanded, details sketchy
Feb 9th, 2012 at 3:30PM:
The TSA PreCheck program being piloted by The Transportation Security Administration is expanding and will allow some passengers to go through pre-screening then make it through security checkpoints faster at many more airports in 2012. The exact benefits of the program, however, are difficult to define.
"We are pleased to expand this important effort, in collaboration with our airline ...Man detained in Cayenne, French Guiana airport for having hummingbirds in his pants
Oct 2nd, 2011 at 5:30PM: A Dutch man was detained at Rochambeau airport in Cayenne in French Guiana for attempting to smuggle over a dozen live hummingbirds out of the country. The passenger was apparently acting suspicious and searched by authorities. According to Jeanna Cullinan of insightcrime.org, each of the tiny birds were wrapped in cloth to keep them still, and then placed into pouches that were located above the ...TSA workers are blaming body scanners for cancer; D.C. public interest group calls for independent reviews
Jul 1st, 2011 at 2:30PM: Workers for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from locations around the country are reporting higher-than-usual rates of cancer, strokes and heart disease amongst employees who work on or near new full-body scanners.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C. recently obtained information under the Freedom of Information Act that shows TSA employees at Boston's ...Does your passport photo still look like you?
Jun 4th, 2011 at 4:00PM:
My boyfriend got his current passport on his 17th birthday. Now on the verge of his 27th year, the picture inside barely resembles him. He changed and grew as stamps were added, but his passport photo remained the same. His shaggy, teenage hair has morphed into a more clean cut look, and these days his face is looking a little less tan and a little more grown up. But somehow, customs agents ...TSA 'Behavioral Officers' look for the obvious
Apr 27th, 2011 at 12:00PM: Our pals over at AOL Travel are reporting that the TSA has "behavioral indicator officers" who attempt to observe people in security lines to determine if anyone is a security risk. So, if you still think that it's funny to make bomb jokes while waiting to pass through the x-ray machine, you might want to start working on some new material. The TSA, meanwhile, might want to consider that travel, ...Travel group promoting Trusted Traveler Program
Apr 25th, 2011 at 4:00PM:
Should frequent flyers and business travelers get through airports faster than everybody else? Yes! says the U.S. Travel Association who is trying to convince lawmakers that big airport users need special attention.
"Travelers encounter much hassle at our nation's airports, and it's time for Congress to act," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. "A one size fits ...Echo chainsaw commercial shows TSA at their worst
Apr 19th, 2011 at 11:30AM:
Echo power tools has a new television ad for their chainsaws that takes some liberties - though some would say not many - with the intimacy of TSA pat downs. The comical commercial features a man passing through airport security being subjected to a fairly aggressive, yet thorough, pat down of his crotch. Meanwhile, inattentive agents allow his chainsaw to pass through the X-ray machine ...
Ten crazy videos and photos from the airport security checkpoint
Mar 9th, 2011 at 1:30PM:
To most people, the airport checkpoint is where we line up, get partially undressed, and attempt to get through as quickly as possible, without incident or drama.
To others, the checkpoint is an opportunity to make a point, show off or get in trouble. We've collected ten funny photos and videos from the security checkpoint that'll make you want to get through it even faster next time you ...Baggage Scanning Technology Evolving
Mar 5th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
The latest in baggage scanning technology looks kind of like the CT scanner hospitals use to to look inside the human body much like a loaf of bread, one slice at a time. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials hope this new tool will do a better, faster job detecting explosives in baggage.
The Explosives Detection Systems (EDS) machine runs with CT scan technology, modified ...Delta airlines puts elderly woman on wrong flight due to boarding pass mix-up
Feb 23rd, 2011 at 1:00PM: In a Top 10 of phone calls you probably don't want to receive from an airport official: "Your grandmother was found in baggage claim."
Eighty-year-old Nefissa Yesuf's Sunday Atlanta to Dulles flight didn't go quite as planned. CNN reports that airline and airport staff failed to notice that a Delta employee had allegedly given her someone else's boarding pass by mistake. Yesuf, who is from ...Easy Luggage handling program for cruise passengers
Feb 6th, 2011 at 8:00AM: One of the great benefits of a cruise vacation is only having to unpack one time as your floating hotel goes from port to port, a big advantage over land vacations. But the cruise eventually comes to an end and we have to pack up and go hone. A relatively new service makes that whole process much easier.
The normal procedure for luggage handling at the end of a cruise has a lot of steps. Leave ...Make a statement at the TSA checkpoint with metal-ink undies
Jan 9th, 2011 at 4:30PM: Tired of all of this business with patdowns, nude-o-scopes and grope-a-thons at the security checkpoint? Want to make a statement? Don't want to strip down to your speedo to make that statement? Well then metal ink undergarments might be in your future.
Over at cargocollective.com, a series of undergarments are now on sale that use metal ink to print in their silk screening process. The ink ...Passenger arrested after refusing TSA patdown
Dec 24th, 2010 at 2:00PM: A Texas woman on her way to Christmas festivites on the west coast will be staying in the Lone Star state this season, all due to a disagreement with the security officers at Austin-Bergstrom International airport. After opting out of security screening at the checkpoint this past week, Claire Hirschkind was pulled aside and prepared for a thorough pat down. She agreed to the procedure but only if ...
Waiting in line at the airport: yours will always be slower
Dec 24th, 2010 at 11:00AM:
Does it always feel like the other line is moving faster? When you're standing in an airport this holiday season, you'll probably feel this a lot. You'll have to wait to check in (unless you do this at home), wait at the airport security checkpoint, wait to get something to eat and wait to board the plane. Invariably, you will become annoyed that everyone who chose the other line is moving ..."Gate rape" is Urban Dictionary's Word of the Year. Thanks TSA!
Dec 24th, 2010 at 10:30AM:
TSA patdowns have gotten a lot of coverage here on Gadling. The tragicomic lengths TSA officials go through to grab some booty keep us safe have created a whole Internet subculture of jokes and rage. There's even a blog called The Daily Patdown to showcase pictures of security officials looking for the next underwear bomber.
Now the fine folks at Urban Dictionary have named "Gate Rape" as the ...Bogota airport security restriction: no hand grenades (or any other grenades)
Dec 22nd, 2010 at 4:30PM:
With airport security on the rise around the world, it isn't surprising to see long, fairly exhaustive lists of what you can't take on the plane. Who among us doesn't know someone who's lost a lighter or bottle of shampoo at the security line because of these restrictions? It just seems endless.
...The 10 easiest ways to improve air travel this holiday season
Dec 16th, 2010 at 3:00PM: It's time for you to drag your screaming kids, annoying spouse and endless amounts of overstuffed bags through the airport, as you find your way over the river and through the woods. Thanksgiving is behind us, and that's the really ugly time to travel, but Christmas is no picnic either. The gate areas and bars will be crowded, and it's going to be awfully hard for you to be happy while darting ...TSA causes two international incidents by searching Indian diplomats
Dec 13th, 2010 at 8:45AM:
It seems we common folk aren't the only ones who find TSA's security checks intrusive. Transportation Security Administration officials have recently caused not one but two international incidents with India by searching diplomats.
India's ambassador to the U.S. Meera Shankar got frisked at an airport on December 4. She was pulled out of the line because she had brown skin and was wearing a ...
