It didn’t make it into Gadling’s top ten list of items not to attempt to carry through a TSA checkpoint, but Matt Daimler, founder of the invaluable SeatGuru.com, sent in this photo he snapped at LaGuardia Airport security: That’s right, don’t bring a snowglobe in your carry-on this holiday season. Bah humbug and all that. And […]
Category: Airport security
Caught on tape: TSA harasses traveler for carrying cash
This is the kind of stuff that drives me absolutely bonkers: A passenger departing St. Louis was detained and harassed by the TSA because he was carrying $4700 in cash. When questioned, the gentleman opted to secretly tape the conversation using his phone, and whattayaknow, it’s on the internet. It’s not a crime to carry […]
Tired of secondary screenings? Change your name
It’s come to this: A Quebec businessman whose name is one of the many that have erroneously landed on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s flight passenger watch list has decided to change his name to avoid lengthy security hassles at the airport. Mario Labbé, an executive with a Montreal-based record company, says his Canadian […]
Airport security: TSA re-allows lighters on board; non-flammable water still a threat to safety
The TSA has ruled that lighters will once again be legal to take onto airplanes, effective August 4. Not Zippo lighters or other “torch” lighters, just “common” lighters. Amazing. Bottled water is still illegal, but a container containing a flammable liquid is permissible. That’s freedom, baby. And why the two week delay? Do lighters’ magical terrorist […]
George Lucas (hearts) airports
These posters are fantastic. They’re pitching the Star Wars weekends at Disney/MGM in Orlando, taking place this month, but for whatever reason, the Star Wars characters are moving through airports, instead of cavorting in the Magic Kingdom. (FYI, this weekend is your chance to meet the diminutive Kenny Baker, who actually controlled R2-D2 from inside […]
Security update: Shorter no-fly lists; air cargo won’t be screened, “for your safety”
Two updates on the airport security front. One good, one bad. First, the no-fly list is being revised. Downward! While the actual length of the list is a secret, TSA chief “Kip” Hawley told a Congressional oversight committee that the list was to be cut in half. Considering how often you hear complaints about people […]
Update: Pie apparently a threat to security after all
Take everything I said a few days ago about TSA agents having a sense of humor and happily allowing pie-wielding passengers to pass through security, and throw it in the trash like so many 4-ounce bottles of shampoo. Sigh. From the always plain-dealin’ Cleveland Plain Dealer (via USA Today): Overall, operations at Hopkins were smooth, [(TSA assistant […]
