Guess who's opposed to the registered traveller program?

[OldTownPilot]

Originally Posted by tonyw

Ain't that the truth. I was ready for the whole nine yards passing through CDG. No taking off my belt, no taking off my shoes, nothing. When I went for the shoes, I was told stop. Ten minutes, tops, during the height of the summer travel season.

The thing that bothers me is the complete inconsistency. I ask at MCO, do I need to take my shoes off, and the answer is, not if they don't beep. Do that at LAX, and the answer's the same. Then I go to IAD, and one day the answer is, don't worry about it, another day the answer is, they need to come off. Same exact shoes, different days, and the answer is different.

WTFO?

And guess where "the shoe guy" Reid came from you guessed it Paris, NOT the US.

Hell where I work the shoe thing is not even consistant with the time of day. One group goes by "sole thickness", one goes by "doesnt beep" and the third says EVERYTHING must come off. Footwear that is, not all clothing, even sandals. I know if I left that off there would be a few more visits to BGR.

The other thing that gets me is each airport has their "thing" that they enforce. Some its shoes, some is carry ons and personal items, and others its jackets and sweatshirts. There is no consistancy aross the board and the "RT" program will only eggadurate these inconsistancies.

[tonyw]

Originally Posted by OldTownPilot

And guess where "the shoe guy" Reid came from you guessed it Paris, NOT the US.

The other thing that gets me is each airport has their "thing" that they enforce. Some its shoes, some is carry ons and personal items, and others its jackets and sweatshirts. There is no consistancy aross the board and the "RT" program will only eggadurate these inconsistancies.

No shoes in Canada, either, come to think of it.

The thing that bothers me is that plastic explosives cannot be detected by x-rays! And this assumes that the terrorists are dumb enough to try something that didn't work again.

I think a registered traveller program, where you've got consistent screening for people who are willing to go through a background check and pay for it, would do two things. It would segregate your more frequent fliers, who know the drill (well, as much as you can since it's never the same anyway) from the folks who don't do much travelling.

It would also introduce some level of consistency for those who pass the initial screening.

I could be wrong. Who knows?

The one thing I do know is that there is no rationale to the current security system and it's just a charade.

[sorrygottarunway]

Originally Posted by Tim

Nothing like a family of 5 with kids from age 10 to infant going to see Mickey in MCO trying to get through the line. The have 2 car seats and 5 bags and a baby to hold

I almost mised a piedmont flight because of this at my home airport in BGM. I then walked back to the ticket counter, and bypassed security through colgan's crew room, and was relaxing in the waiting room before the first kid even made it through.

Not recommended for all occasions, but I wish they did have a "5 items or fewer" line.

[danielsexton]

This all reminded me of my brush with TSA a couple of years ago...

I flying out of PHL to ATL and being a seasoned and regular air traveler I expeditiously removed my shoes, change, cell phone, and laptop and placed them into the appropriate bins. Meanwhile in front of me GRANNY and AUNT SUE were trying to get there coats off and there watches and there bracelets and there ear rings, so i decide to take my bins (they were still in my hands as i had not made it close enough to the belt yet) and go to the line that’s 3 foot to my left where there is no one waiting. With ticket in hand I place my bin on the belt and the agent motions be through the metal detector, before I can get there the agent in the original line screams at the top of her lungs "HE CHANGED LANES" and yells for me to "GET BACK IN THE LINE I STARTED IN" now this aggravates me to say the least because granny and aunt sue still haven't made I through yet, but I quietly comply. When my turn comes up to go through the metal detector the female agent begins to berate me, i can't even remember what she said or what I responded but she grabs my arm and pulls me through the detector (which didn't go off) and yells "NEED A SUPERVISOR" and throws her orange traffic cone in front of the metal detector and stops all screening through that lane. Pop's the supervisor who looked to be at least 65 comes over and asks me "What's the problem" I recounted the whole story to him and he says something to the effect of "Don't worry about her, I'll take care of it" and motions me on to get my stuff.

[OldTownPilot]

Down in ATL I had to explain a connection seat request card to the ID checker. His problem was that the words "from Atlanta" were not on the card. It did say From CVG, to ATL, to LGW however. Since I was going intl I just shoed my passport, so then I pull out my airline ID and explain it to him.

I almost mised a piedmont flight because of this at my home airport in BGM. I then walked back to the ticket counter, and bypassed security through colgan's crew room, and was relaxing in the waiting room before the first kid even made it through.

Not recommended for all occasions, but I wish they did have a "5 items or fewer" line.

Thank goodness for SIDA badges