"TSA...working hard to ensure that miss your plane" Topic

Returned from South American last week and had a very frustrating experience with TSA in Houston. After transiting customs and dropping off my bags, we had to be screened by TSA AGAIN!

Mind you, I never felt that I'd left the 'secure' part of the airport, but okay. You want to rescreen us, fine. But get it done efficiently!

For the multiple arriving international flights they had exactly 1 line open. You could feel the anger seething through the customers as we queued up and watched the clock counting down on our connecting flights. The joke was the TSA agent telling people 'they had lots of time' to wait in line and they would not miss their flight. I made my flight with four minutes to spare. Anyone behind me – sorry about your luck!

Its not like they don't know how many people are arriving and will be continuing onward that need to be screened. Its not like they can't see all of us stacked up in the queue.

Bad management and apathy. I feel for the airlines, it must have been a challenge to rebook all the folks that missed their flights. I'm sure the airline staff was overjoyed to deal with the frustrated, aggravated customers.
It really puts me in the mind to drive to my destination whenever possible.

Thousands
Standing
Around

One more reason I don't fly….

Try flying thru Newark. They yell at the deplaning passengers while instructing them as to what line they should get in for screening.

Apparently, despite the summer vacation season, TSA has decided they don't need to adjust the number of personnel on duty. I've been told by airline personnel to expect huge TSA delays thru September.

Homeland Security is just Welfare that is palatable to the other side of the aisle.
-Kle.

I don't fly, because I will not subject myself, my wife or my kids to being either groped or the Porn-O-Scanner.

G-Dog, go down to your local Fed Congresscritter's office and gripe, in person.

I don't fly

I guess you could take a boat, if you wanted to leave the Americas.
-Kle.

Here is my experience with TSA:

So, I am clearing security at the airport and the TSA agent says "Hey, I saw your badge, where is Gotham?" My response: "Whaaat?" In my best Despicable Me tone, and then it hits me – I'm wearing my Gotham City Police Department shirt from Kelly's Komix! Have you ever had to explain that a badge is real, but the shirt is from the Batman comic book to a TSA Agent??? Now I have! Thanks Brooks – I'm now an official Gotham City Police Officer – because it was easier than saying the shirt is from a comic book!!!!!

I empathize with you and your TSA experiences. I finally got to stand in the scan-o-matic – it was actually rather a non-experience.

I've always been nervous about flying but now I've given it up altogether. No Greece, Italy or Egypt despite my desire to visit the scene of the great ancient cultures. The TSA and cattle-car airlines have destroyed my dreams. C'est la vie.

WE NEED A BULLET TRAIN! So we can be a civilized developed democracy. I hate flying… But driving is not much better.

Sadly,rail travel is also subject to TSA intrusions.

"…Since 2005, the TSA's Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response teams have been spot-checking for terrorism threats in the nation's massive network of highways and rail systems…"

link

I'm not against what they do per se, but I'd like it done in a quick, efficient manner that causes me as little inconvenience as possible.

Security theater. And just as real. Was running late a couple of months ago and TSA decided to rescreen my coat.

Had forgotten and emptied my pants (shorts actually) and put the contents in a coat pocket. Forgot I had a .22 cartridge I had picked up while cleaning up at my brother's. Apparently as I had the butter knife from my niece's tea set (about two inches long) in the same pocket they decided it must be jewelry (charm bracelet) while examining it in the scanner. For some reason they didn't just empty the pocket.

At any rate it delayed me long enough that the airline let some lucky stand by have my seat and took off ten minutes early without me.

Managed to catch another flight that got me to the connection in time to get to the job but it cost me a couple of hundred.

Last flight back from the job the agent opened the side pouch on my camera case. I had placed a medium set of nail clippers and my house keys in there to avoid having anything in my pockets to empty out while going through the screening. Apparently she decided the clippers weren't a threat (the file is shorter than the house keys).

Will be interesting to see what happens when I go through this morning. One of the drawbacks to working out of state.

Aren't these security checks after check-in? If you've already checked your bags, surely the plane won't leave without you – not without finding and unloading your bag anyway.

I have twice had been on a flight which had to disembark and and have everyone claim their baggage because some bozo has checked bags but didn't turn up for the flight. I really wouldn't have wanted to be them when they collected their bags.

because some bozo has checked bags but didn't turn up for the flight.

They were probably caught in security.

And, as a friend discovered when she was held up by repeated checks at Dulles, yes they will leave with your bags on the plane and you not.

civilized developed democracy

All you need is civilized security people. I have met a few polite US TSA staff. I have yet to meet a jerk in security line anyplace else; I am sure there are some but they seem rarer.