I have made my opinion on body scanners quite clear. If you have missed it, bottom line is I don’t like them. They violate our privacy and passengers are able to avoid them and [...]]]>

You can see a woman being scanned. The TSA agent who yelled at me is standing in the metal detector.

I have made my opinion on body scanners quite clear. If you have missed it, bottom line is I don’t like them. They violate our privacy and passengers are able to avoid them and request a pat-down, making them pointless.

On Sunday I flew from Tampa to Seattle via Denver and got my first view of the body scanners in action at Tampa International Airport. The scanner is not too imposing, but it is obviously something different. There are a few body images by the scanner that show you what it does, but they are small and people are rushed by them.

The whole time I was waiting in the security line, the body scanner wasn’t being used. By the time I was taking off my shoes, they had started pushing passengers into the scanner versus the metal detector.

I started to get excited. Not to try it out, but to respectfully decline going through the body scanner and get a pat-down instead. Well maybe excited is not the right word. The thought of having some stranger feel around my body isn’t  great, but I wanted to take a little stand against the privacy invading machines.

I was flying with my girlfriend, Amy, and even though she knew about the scanners (or had heard me rant about them from time to time), she really didn’t understand my true dislike of them. The two people before us were told to go in the scanners. Then I was next, but I started going to the metal detector instead. I was waiting to be told I had to do the scanner or pulled aside to get a pat-down, but I was not. I just walked through the metal detector while the people in front of me and behind me were all forced into the body scanner. Now that is a big hole in security.

From what I have read, a passenger who does not do the body scanner, must be patted down. However it seemed unorganized and I don’t think the TSA agent at the metal detector realized people were being pushed into the body scanner.

Amy wasn’t so lucky. She felt rushed and not really sure what was going on and didn’t decline being scanned. They made sure she had no foreign items on her, she had to raise her hands and the scanner went around her and then she had to stand outside of the scanner with a TSA agent holding her  in a roped off area (everyone had to do this). He was waiting for someone in another area to view her body images and confirm she was clean. He was talking to them via radio, but they didn’t seem to be working. It took about a minute for him to get a response that the two females could go (Amy was one of them). I trust it was a radio error and those images weren’t on the screen any longer than they needed to be.

After I was done and Amy was waiting to hear she was clear to go, I was taking some photos of her and the scanner. This is when the TSA sprung into action. From the metal detector I heard, “sir, you cannot do that.” I confirmed he was talking to me and that I wasn’t allowed to take photos of the body scanner. I am not exactly sure if there are rules against taking photos. I guess someone might  take photos and learn how to beat the system? Well I don’t need to take photos to see how the system doesn’t really work, you just had to ask for a pat-down or in my case, just go through the metal detector. They never came over to take my photos or talk to me, so obviously it couldn’t have been that big of a deal to them.

What doesn’t make sense is they took action against me for taking photos, but no one noticed I didn’t go through the body scanner nor get a pat-down. It is so inconsistent. By no means was I trying to do this on purpose, but I imagine similar experiences are happening like this all around the world.

I know I talk negatively about these scanners, but I feel there is some hope in the near future. There are body scanners with Automated Target Recognition that have the ability where no human actually sees your image. The computer looks at your body scan and if there are any foreign items, it will flag you and the TSA will inspect you. There is a display of a stick figure only. If they had this version, which didn’t violate privacy, and it was required, not optional, I could get behind the body scanners. But until then, I will continue to voice my strong opinion against them and about the inconsistencies of their usage. However, the TSA says there is no system they feel meets their security needs yet.

Fort Wayne International Airport is the latest airport to get the full-body scanners, which brings the total US airports to 23. I have not hidden my opinion that full-body scanners are a bad choice due to the fact that they violate a passenger’s privacy and can be easily avoided.

Last week a [...]]]>

TSA badge

Fort Wayne International Airport is the latest airport to get the full-body scanners, which brings the total US airports to 23. I have not hidden my opinion that full-body scanners are a bad choice due to the fact that they violate a passenger’s privacy and can be easily avoided.

Last week a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) worker at Miami International Airport ended up being arrested, after a co-worker teased him about his genitals.

Rolando Negrin  was being scanned as a training exercise when a co-worker started to repeatedly harass him for the size of his “manhood.” Witnesses say Negrin lost it and started to hit his co-worker with a police baton. Negrin could be heard saying in Spanish, “get on your knees or I will kill you and you better apoligise [sic].”

The TSA has a zero-violence policy and stated, “we are investigating to determine whether other officers may have violated procedures in a training session with coworkers and committed professional misconduct.”

The TSA likes to note that this incident was internal and did not involve the general public. However, we have already seen the body scanners abused in public once and as they are used more, I am sure we will see them abused again.

When scanning passengers, the TSA says that a screener views the live image in a remote location and the images will be permanently deleted, never being stored. However, in a letter to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the TSA states they have 2,000 test images stored, using TSA personal, at its test facility. This means that the system has the capability to store images, not to mention workers could sneak in cameras or phones.

EPIC has tried to gain access to the test images to see how privacy might be violated, but the TSA has refused to release them. EPIC has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security under the Freedom of Information Act seeking details about the government’s use of advanced imaging technology. Many fear if the scans are publicly released, it will allow people to learn how to beat the system. Right now the system is really easy to beat, just refuse to be scanned and ask for a pat-down.

How much is all this wonderful security costing you, the tax payers? Only $6Billion per year. According to Stanford Daily, when airport security was still privatized in 2001, it only cost $700Million. Even in comparing with 2001 prices, that is $700million versus $4.6Billion.

It is frustrating to see stories like this continue to pop-up. I am sure this will not be the last story of a passenger’s rights being violated. Stay tuned…

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A few weeks ago I wrote a blog calling body scanners a “joke” and I was quite harsh on the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) decision to move forward with them.

Don’t get me wrong. I fly a lot. I like my life. I am all about [...]]]>

Ben Gurion International Airport outside of Tel Aviv.

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog calling body scanners a “joke” and I was quite harsh on the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) decision to move forward with them.

Don’t get me wrong. I fly a lot. I like my life. I am all about protecting it and those who fly with me. But, I am not about the TSA wasting money for “security theater.”

After I posted my thoughts, the TSA posted a blog titled, “Advanced Imaging Technology – Yes, It’s Worth It.” It seem to be a rebuttal to those of us who have voiced concern about the TSA moving forward with the body scanners. However, TSA’s explanation is short on actual specifics of how the body scanners will stop someone from doing harm to airlines and passengers.

In my previous blog, my biggest issue was people could choose to avoid the scanners. If you didn’t want to be scanned, you could opt to get a pat down. For privacy reasons, it is great they offer this alternative, but for safety reasons it makes no sense. Why use all this pricey equipment, if someone who wants to do harm can just avoid it?

Their blog does a wonderful job explaining how these high-tech body scanners can pick up the smallest illegal items, but nothing about how scanners can be avoided or steps that are being taken to stop more privacy violations. I posted the question directly to the folks at TSA Blog, but never got a response, even though they did answer other people’s questions.

Over on my Seattle PI syndication I currently have 45 comments from readers who feel strongly (on both sides) about the body scanners. This shows me there are quite a few other people out there that have grave concerns about these scanners. I have been told a few times, “okay smart guy, how about stop just complaining and provide a solution” (okay, maybe not exactly like that, but you get the idea).

I would really hope someone out there with experience in air safety, could find a better solution. Talking to people about airport security I kept being told to check out out how Israel works their airport and airline security. So, I did and what I found looks like they might be on to something.

Isreal’s security allows for greater security, but less inconvience for travellers. And it must work. Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s larget hub, has not had a security breach since 2002.

“It is mindboggling for us Israelis to look at what happens in North America, because we went through this 50 years ago,” said Rafi Sela, the president of AR Challenges, a global transportation security consultancy, in an interview with TheStar.com. He’s worked with the RCMP, the U.S. Navy Seals and airports around the world. “Israelis, unlike Canadians and Americans, don’t take shit from anybody. When the security agency in Israel (the ISA) started to tighten security and we had to wait in line for — not for hours — but 30 or 40 minutes, all hell broke loose here. We said, ‘We’re not going to do this. You’re going to find a way that will take care of security without touching the efficiency of the airport.”

Their security is a multi-layer system:

LAYER 0: Intelligence
Before anyone even leaves for the airport, Isreal has strong intelligence network, trying to determine particular threats and dispose of them before they even reach the first layer.

LAYER 1: Roadside Check
Before you can even get to the airport, security stops every car and asks two questions, “How are you? Where are you coming from?” The answers aren’t nearly important, but more of how the person responds. Security officers are trained to detect nervousness and distress. Not the amount that a lot of people feel from flying, but those that occur when you are about ready to kill yourself and many others.

LAYER 2: Outside Guards
Armed guards are stationed outside the terminal and are trained to observe passengers. Any sort of odd behavior or strange baggage, you will be pulled aside for additional questioning and possible searches.

LAYER 3: Bag Inspections
Passengers that look suspicious or are just random will be pulled aside to be scanned by a metal detector and have their bags scanned.

LAYER 4: Ticket Agent Questions
Now, you have fully made it into the terminal. The ticket agent will take your documents and ask you a series of questions, the whole time, looking directly into your eyes, “which is very embarrassing. But this is one of the ways they figure out if you are suspicious or not. It takes 20, 25 seconds,” said Sela. Again, they are specially trained to detect body language that would show the person means to do harm. Also, passengers are not allowed to group up, which would provide a group target for a terrorist.

LAYER 5: Bag Termination
Let’s say a terrorist has made it through the first four layers of security and still is able to get his bomb to the ticket agent. Every bag is screened right away. If a bomb or suspicious material is found, they do not evacuate the whole terminal, like you would see in America. Evacuation causes panic, more targets, and a huge delay. Instead, scanners have bomb boxes near by and a suspected bag is put into the box, which can contain an explosion of up to 100 kilos of plastic explosives. People within a few meters of the suspected bomb need to be cleared and the rest of the airport is able to go through its normal business. “This is a very small simple example of how we can simply stop a problem that would cripple one of your airports,” Sela said.

LAYER 6: Body and Luggage Check
You would think this is like America’s security check, but Sela says, “Here it is done completely, absolutely 180 degrees differently than it is done in North America. First, it’s fast — there’s almost no line. That’s because they’re not looking for liquids, they’re not looking at your shoes. They’re not looking for everything they look for in North America. They just look at you.”

All these layers have solid security, but they also get passengers from the parking lot to their gate in less than 25 minutes. Now, that is impressive. Sela feels the TSA could move in this direction, but they are on the wrong path. “Even today with the heightened security in North America, they will check your items to death. But they will never look at you, at how you behave. They will never look into your eyes … and that’s how you figure out the bad guys from the good guys.”

Yes, this is profiling, but I think it is the good kind of profiling. Racial profiling = wrong, behavior profiling = right. Sela said, “To us, it doesn’t matter if he’s black, white, young or old. It’s just his behaviour. So what kind of privacy am I really stepping on when I’m doing this?”

Do the Israelis have a good security system? I think so, but I don’t think it could easily be used the exact same way in America. We definitely don’t do well with seeing people with large guns walking around and this system would be vulnerable to racial profiling. I do think looking at behavior profiling would be a better use of resources than spending money on machines that people can skip all together.

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From the beginning I have been against airport body scanners. Not only because of the privacy aspect, but they just don’t work effectively. I have been watching closely the development of the body scanners, which are starting to be used around the world, and problems are already popping up.

A man tried to use an in-flight knife to hijack EgyptAir flight 736 from Istanbul Turkey to Cairo. 30 minutes into the flight the man used his knife to threaten a flight attendant. The hijacker demanded the flight be diverted to Jerusalem. Luckily there were air marshals aboard who were [...]]]>

An EgyptAir Boeing 737

A man tried to use an in-flight knife to hijack EgyptAir flight 736 from Istanbul Turkey to Cairo. 30 minutes into the flight the man used his knife to threaten a flight attendant. The hijacker demanded the flight be diverted to Jerusalem. Luckily there were air marshals aboard who were able to detain the man. The 26-year-old said he wanted to “liberate” Jerusalem, a security official at Cairo airport told AFP.

The Boeing 737 landed on-time and all 87 passengers and 8 crew safely landed unharmed in Cairo.

Often, it has been joked about how airline security can be so tight, yet airlines provide knives on board. However, I doubt the people on the flight would have been in any real danger against a plastic knife.   However, this is a great reminder on how Air Marshals can come in very handy.

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Rep Dan Lipinski from Illinois feels it is a good idea for the TSA to have a uniform carry-on size regulation. He wants to limit the maximum size of a carry-on to 22″ x 18″ x 10″. It is not the size that is as disconcerting, as not allowing the airlines to [...]]]>

It fits!

Rep Dan Lipinski from Illinois feels it is a good idea for the TSA to have a uniform carry-on size regulation. He wants to limit the maximum size of a carry-on to 22″ x 18″ x 10″. It is not the size that is as disconcerting, as not allowing the airlines to make their own decisions and the total lack of need for this legislation

Each airline flies different aircraft, have different configurations and clientele with different baggage needs. The bill would require the TSA to enforce the rules (presumably during the security check process). Although TSA has made leaps and bounds with speeding up the security process, this could greatly slow it down. People would be having to take stuff out, trying to cram their bags through and of course having to leave the line to check in their bags and come back through.

CrankFlier points out that many low cost airlines have their “minimum size” larger than what Rep Lipinski is asking for, and legacy carriers are already meeting the requirements. The low cost carriers would have to cut what they already offer.

What is the real reason for this? I don’t see a safety issue here, I would like to see someone try to make a valid one. In fact this would decrease safety. The TSA would have to police bag-size instead of doing what they are trained and look for illegal items taken through security.

This seems like a waste of time and legislation that will really hold no benefit. If airlines want to get together to create their own standard carry-on size, that is one thing, but for the government to come in and require standardization seems unnecessary.

UPDATE: FlyWithFish.com has a great chart showing all the airlines and their bag size requirements.

Have you ever flown in first class and felt bad about having to look at the people sitting in the back of the plane? Ever been in the back of the plane and hated seeing the treatment that the front of the plane received?

Worry no longer, the class divider [...]]]>

A nice mesh-type curtain.

Have you ever flown in first class and felt bad about having to look at the people sitting in the back of the plane? Ever been in the back of the plane and hated seeing the treatment that the front of the plane received?

Worry no longer, the class divider (aka cabin curtains) is making a comeback.

After the September 11th attacks, the TSA mandated airlines lose their curtains, allowing easy plane visibility. Passengers (presumably from the front of the plane) have complained and want to have more privacy and airlines are responding.

American Airlines is in process of adding new curtains to recreate the class separation. United Airlines started earlier, installing mesh-type curtains over three years ago.

As time goes on, more and more airlines will most likely follow. Even being in the back of the plane, this can be a good thing, since I don’t enjoy seeing what I am missing.

Two vacationing off-duty San Jose police officers, Luan Nguyen and Manny Vasquez, were on an Eva Air flight from Taipei to San Francisco, when the captain came on the intercom, “I have a situation on board. If there are any law [...]]]>

San Jose Police Department’s Officer Manny Vasquez, left, and Sergeant Luan Nguyen

Two vacationing off-duty San Jose police officers, Luan Nguyen and Manny Vasquez, were on an Eva Air flight from Taipei to San Francisco, when the captain came on the intercom, “I have a situation on board. If there are any law enforcement officers on board, please identify yourselves to a flight attendant.”

 The unarmed officers went to give their assistance and found a mentally ill passenger where they had to use force, straps, seat belts, and belts to restrain the man.

The passenger had attacked a sleeping women, choking her until others were able to get him off her. The flight attendants cleared the last few rows, which left the unstable man by himself and also near the galley — which had knives among other items that could be used as a weapon.

When the officers approached the man he started fighting violently, kicking everything around him, including the cabin window. The officers were able to take control of the man and worked with passengers restraining him for the remainder of the 4.5 hours to San Francisco. After landing the man was placed into police custody and the officers received a round of applause.

Although the men didn’t have any of their standard equipment an officer on the ground would have, they did have their training and that was all they needed to resolve a messy and potentially deadly situation.

There are a lot of TSA stories out there recently. MMV “underwear” looking technology, have to put your shoes directly on the belt, and now you must use all three of your names when making airline reservations.

Some security measures I understand, but others leave me wondering if they provide [...]]]>

Oakland Airport Security Line

There are a lot of TSA stories out there recently. MMV “underwear” looking technology, have to put your shoes directly on the belt, and now you must use all three of your names when making airline reservations.

Some security measures I understand, but others leave me wondering if they provide real security or just a false sense of security? Ok, is it that much work for me to write out my middle name on my reservations? Or is it that hard for me to put my shoes directly on the xray belt? No, probably not, but I am a frequent traveller and try to pay attention to the newest rules.

Even though the “laptop in a bin”, your “3oz of liquids in a ziploc” and “have your boarding pass out so 2 people can check it” rules have been around a long time, many people still have a hard time understanding the rules. Are changing them frequently going to speed up the security lines? What happens for people that don’t have middle names? Are they going to be security checked?

The government contends these changes will increase security and will reduce mistakes. The three names will limit the mistakes of people being on the “Do Not Fly” list. Opponents worry that fliers will just be losing more privacy and not gaining any new security.

Hopefully this is the last TSA security changes until at least August when I get to blog about them requiring your birth date and gender when booking a flight too.

Remember those scanners from Total Recall? The kind that could see through your clothes and detect if someone is carrying something they shouldn’t? The future is [...]]]>

Millimeter wave technology produces whole body images (woman at left, man at right) that reveal what's under your clothes, including Metallic or non-metallic devices and objects are displayed.

Remember those scanners from Total Recall? The kind that could see through your clothes and detect if someone is carrying something they shouldn’t? The future is getting closer and that has a few people worried about privacy.

L3 Communications is testing new Millimeter Wave (MMW) technology scanners at six airports around the country, with up to twenty airports planning to start using MMW technology later this year. Unlike the Total Recall’s “just walk right through” scanners, passengers still must remove jackets, metal items, and shoes and step into a small glass chamber. Sensors take about 3min to read the energy coming off the human body and can detect if there is anything that shouldn’t be on the person.

Even though the faces of passengers are blurred out and the technology does not allow printing or storing in anyway, the American Civil Liberties Union is arguing that this technology is too intrusive, showing catheters, underwear, and other non-natural items under a person’s cloths. Not to mention that it quite easily shows the curves of the person’s body which can be seen on the image with this blog.

 At this point it is being offerred by the TSA as an alternative to a traditional pat-down search. The TSA states that more than 99% of passengers given the choice are choosing the MMW technology, but I wonder if they know what the scan is doing. Passengers might think it is like the “sniffing scanner” which is mostly harmless.

Although the concept of this seems like a smart idea, actually seeing the images produced would make me feel uncomfortable being scanned with a MMW scanner. If you get a pat-down you can see the person and know they are being professional. How does one know what a TSA agent is doing with the images they are seeing via MMW in their “remote location.” Although images cannot be recorded, what stops someone from taking photos of the screen? I love technology and would hate to hinder the evolution of Total Recall type scanners. I think if people are informed what the scan fully entails (ie maybe have an example picture next to the scanners) and are given this as a choice, then I think this technology can work and keep people safe.

Thanks Jessica for the tip!

Source & Image: LiveScience.com

When you are flying in an airliner, you don’t really want to look out and see some military jets escorting your flight.

American Airlines Flight 535′s pilot from San Juan accidentally turned his transponder to a frequency that let’s traffic controllers [...]]]>

American Airlines flight 535 in the 'penalty box' area at Miami International Airport.

When you are flying in an airliner, you don’t really want to look out and see some military jets escorting your flight.

American Airlines Flight 535′s pilot from San Juan accidentally turned his transponder to a frequency that let’s traffic controllers know the flight is being hijacked.

The flight got a nice escort to Miami where it was met by Fire and Police. The plane was held at a holding point and inspected before being released.

Even though this was probably quite scary and kind of annoying for those involved, it is nice to see that there was a quick and mighty reaction — in case next time it is was not an accident.

Source: Miami Herald via AirlineBizBlog Image: CBS4

Sometimes I come across stories that are somewhat interesting, but don’t know how to approach the subject and I end up moving on. This is one of those that I almost did, but I can’t help but making a post about it.

Imagine for a moment you are on a [...]]]>

Continental Airlines in Hawaii

Sometimes I come across stories that are somewhat interesting, but don’t know how to approach the subject and I end up moving on. This is one of those that I almost did, but I can’t help but making a post about it.

Imagine for a moment you are on a flight from LA to Honolulu for a nice little scuba diving vacation. You are in the middle of your in-flight movie wasting the time away. Then your seatmate stands up next to you and…well…starts to urinate on you. Then you push him to get him to stop, but he keeps going.

I wish this was a crazy fictional story, but this happened to a 66-year old woman on Continental flight 3. A 28-year old, well intoxicated gentlemen (well I guess not so much of a gentlemen) either couldn’t make it to the bathroom or didn’t care. Some-what luckily there was an Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms agent behind this incident and was able to restrain the man.

He has now been sentenced to 3 weeks in prison and six months of probation after wards. This kind of story makes sitting next to a snoring person not too hard to handle!

THANKS FOR THE TIP CHRISTINA!

An 8 hour stand off with police and a hijacker is now over. A 20 year old Jamaican took over the CanJet plane after using force to get past security. He released all the passengers and two crew members, but held another six hostage.

It appears [...]]]>

CanJet Boeing 737 That was hijacked this Sunday

An 8 hour stand off with police and a hijacker is now over. A 20 year old Jamaican took over the CanJet plane after using force to get past security. He released all the passengers and two crew members, but held another six hostage.

It appears the young man had some mental issues (obviously) and was upset over a recently distraught relationship.

The CanJet Airlines flight 918 was a Boeing 737 enroute to Cuba.

Source: AP Image: AP

A cargo handler working for JetBlue decided to take a little nap at a bad time. He fell asleep in the planes cargo bin and didn’t realize what was going on until in the air. Lucky for him, the cargo hold was heated which allowed him to live [...]]]>

Cargo Door open on jetBlue A320

A cargo handler working for JetBlue decided to take a little nap at a bad time. He fell asleep in the planes cargo bin and didn’t realize what was going on until in the air. Lucky for him, the cargo hold was heated which allowed him to live to tell his tale.

He took the short flight from New York to Boston and after be determined it was all an honest mistake, he was allowed to return to New York. No word if he will be one of many people newly unemployed.

Source: KOMO Image: gTarded