The TSA Blog

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

TSA Pre✓™ Pilot to Expand to 28 of the Busiest US Airports

Earlier today, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator John S. Pistole announced the expansion of TSA Pre✓™ to 28 additional airports across the country following the success at seven pilot locations. Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Atlanta, Detroit, Miami, and New York JFK.

As part of the initiative’s expansion, TSA Pre✓™ will be rolling out at the following 28 airport locations this year:

Considering all the great feedback we’ve received, I imagine this will be very welcome news to many of the frequent flyers out there, including the 336,000 passengers who have already been screened through a TSA Pre✓™ lane. TSA will continue expanding TSA Pre✓™ to additional airlines and airports once they’re ready to go.

If you want to learn how to sign up for TSA Pre✓™, click here. Eligible participants include certain frequent flyers from participating airlines as well as members of Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Trusted Traveler programs (Global Entry, SENTRI, and NEXUS) who are U.S. citizens and fly on a participating airline. Individuals interested in participating in the pilot can apply via Global Entry at http://www.globalentry.gov/.

For those who might not be familiar with TSA Pre✓™, there’s lots of info on our blog and on TSA.gov. This screening concept enhances security by enabling TSA to focus its efforts on passengers the agency knows less about while providing expedited screening for travelers who volunteer information about themselves prior to flying.

If TSA determines a passenger is eligible for expedited screening following the TSA Pre✓™ vetting process, information will be embedded in the barcode of the passenger’s boarding pass. TSA will read the barcode at the security checkpoint and then may refer the passenger to a TSA Pre✓™ lane, where they will undergo expedited screening, which could include no longer removing the following items:

TSA will always incorporate random and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport and no individual will be guaranteed expedited screening.

TSA Pre✓™ will join other elements of risk-based security currently under way including:

All of these initiatives are designed to improve our security approach while enhancing the passenger’s security experience. We thank U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the airlines, and passengers for their partnership as we work to provide the most effective transportation security in the most efficient way.

BloggerBob Burns

TSA Blog Team

Friday, February 3, 2012

TSA Week in Review: Coral Covered Explosively Viable Cannonball

Cannonball: A cannonball was discovered in checked baggage at Ft Lauderdale (FLL). Nothing malicious here, just a diver who found the old projectile near a 1750-1800 era shipwreck. It was determined that the coral covered cannonball was explosively viable which triggered an evacuation of the checked baggage area and a visit from a TSA explosives specialist and a Broward County bomb tech. Cannonballs found on the ocean floor can retain their explosives and have been known to detonate on their own. The bomb tech took possession of the item for further identification, diagnostics, and safe disposal. Three flights were delayed affecting 290 passengers. Cannonballs are created to damage and destroy things, but I doubt its creators had any clue that it would destroy people’s schedules hundreds of years later.

“Beefed” up Stun Gun: Holy cow!!! A cattle prod was discovered during the search of a carry-on bag at Baltimore (BWI) Moooving right along…

Cutting Edge Cosmetics: A lipstick knife was found in a passenger’s carry-on bag at Denver (DEN).

Grenades Again?: This time they were inert practice grenades packed along with seven M16 magazines and other gear at San Diego (SAN). I know, you’re probably wondering what harm an inert grenade could do. Actually, no harm at all to your well being, but it can put a kink in your scheduled due to closed checkpoints and baggage areas. Read here and here for more information on grenades.

Miscellaneous Prohibited Items: In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, our officers also found stun guns, brass knuckles, knives, knives, and more knives, firearm components, ammunition, and expandable batons.

Firearms: Our officers found 14 loaded firearms and 5 unloaded firearms in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday. Here’s a rundown of the 19 firearms our officers kept off of airplanes this week:

1/27: TUL – Loaded .38 – TUL – Loaded .380

1/28: BWI – Unloaded firearm

1/29: DFW – Loaded .380 – ATL – Unloaded .22

1/30: LAS – Loaded 9mm w/ round chambered – COS – Unloaded .22 – AUS – Loaded .25 – DTW – Loaded .380 w/ round chambered – TOL – Loaded .380 – IAH – Loaded .32

1/31: MSP – Loaded 9mm

2/1: JAX – Loaded 9mm – PHX – Loaded .40 w/ round chambered

2/2: AUS – Unloaded .22 – IND – Loaded .380 – BNA – Loaded .357 – MCO – Loaded .25 – IAH – Unloaded .40

You can travel with your firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be declared to the airline. You can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms. We also look for explosives and bomb components, but thankfully those are extremely rare and we're happy to keep it that way.

Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items in their bag. That’s why it’s important to double check your luggage before you get to the airport.

Including checkpoint and checked baggage screening, TSA has 20 layers of security both visible and invisible to the public. Each one of these layers alone is capable of stopping a terrorist attack. In combination their security value is multiplied, creating a much stronger, formidable system. A terrorist who has to overcome multiple security layers in order to carry out an attack is more likely to be pre-empted, deterred, or to fail during the attempt.

Blogger Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Travel Tips for Fans Traveling to Super Bowl XLVI

40,000 or more additional passengers are expected at Indianapolis International Airport (IND) during game week, more than 70 additional commercial flights and 30 charter flights. Arrivals will increase the entire week before game day. We thought it might be helpful to put together a little list with some helpful hints related to things football fans might want to know.

Super Bowl Information: For extended airport operating hours, Super Bowl travel accommodations, special airport amenities, etc., please visit the Host Committee’s website.

Body Scanners: Contrary to what you may have heard, TSA is not using body scanners (Advanced Imaging Technology) at the stadium for the Super Bowl. To keep passengers flying out of Indianapolis International Airport (IND) safe, we do have our new millimeter wave machines that show a generic image for each passenger at the IND airport.

TSA's Traveler Site: Go to the TSA Traveler’s Site for more information on permitted and prohibited items, travel tips, etc.

MyTSA App: Use TSA’s MyTSA app for crowd-sourced wait times, and other useful information and tools.

Heightened Security: You can expect to see TSA assets working with law enforcement to help with the heightened security at the stadium. Read here for more information…

Items you may WANT to bring; but CAN’T…

Loose fitting jerseys: These are great, but if they’re being worn as outerwear, you may be asked to remove them.

Food Items: Here is a list of items that should be placed in your checked bags instead of your carry-on bags to comply with our 3-1-1 policy: Creamy dips and spreads, cheeses, peanut butter, salsa, jams, salad dressings, jellies, maple syrup, sauces, soups, wine, liquor and beer.

NE Patriots fans: You should be prepared to remove your tricorn hats during the screening process. (We make the Cheeseheads do it too.) Also, if you want to bring your life-sized Tom Brady cutout, you may have to check with the airline about buying another seat.

NY Giants fans: You should be prepared to duck when going through the walkthrough metal detector and body scanners. Get it? Duck? Giants? Oh well…

Heading home: Obviously, the busiest travel day will be the day after the game, so be sure to allow extra time to get to the airport. To help keep things speedy, TSA will have every lane at every checkpoint at IND fully staffed and operational. There will also be two extra screening lanes at each concourse entrance to speed security processing.

For all of you who are traveling to Indianapolis for the big game, safe travels and have a great time! I’ll be at home with the family (and my Tom Brady cutout) kicked back in a recliner with some Cincinnati chili dip.

Blogger Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team

Friday, January 27, 2012

TSA Week in Review: Leave Your Throwing Stars at Home, Grasshopper

Concealed Razorblades: Two razorblades were found concealed in the frame of a carry-on bag at Sacramento (SMF)

Leave Them at Home: A throwing star was found in a carry-on bag at Baltimore (BWI) and another found in a passenger’s bag traveling out of Lexington (LEX). Either leave these at home or pack them in your checked baggage, but be sure to check state laws before packing them, Grasshopper.

$22,373: A passenger at Jackson (JAX) turned in an abandoned bag to a TSA supervisor. The bag made its way back to its owner along with the $22,373.00 that was inside it!

West Side Story?: Four switchblades were found in carry-on baggage. One at Baltimore (BWI), two at Los Angeles (LAX) and one at LaGuardia (LGA). I wonder if they were snapping their fingers?

“Thwak – Thwak”: <-- Throwing knife sound effects: Two throwing knives were found in a carry-on bag at Denver (DEN). Throwing knives are usually in sets of three, so that leaves me wondering what the third knife is stuck in? Throwing knives were also found this week at Newark (EWR) and Lexington (LEX).

Pretzels?: A knife was found at Burlington (BTV) concealed in a bag of… pretzels? Some cereals occasionally have a free toy inside. Do pretzels now come with knives?

Firearms: Our officers found 18 loaded firearms and 2 unloaded firearms in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday. Here’s a rundown of the 20 firearms our officers kept off of airplanes this week:

1/20: AMA – Loaded .44 – ATL – Loaded .22 – FLL – Loaded .380

1/21: HRL – Loaded .38 – DAL – Loaded .45

1/22: SFB – Loaded .380 w/ round chambered – LEX – Loaded .38

1/23: TUL – Loaded .22 – ABQ – Unloaded .22 – BIL – Loaded .380 w/ round chambered – ATL – Unloaded .45 Black Powder Derringer – SLC – Loaded .380

1/24: MEM – Loaded .380 w/ round chambered – FLL – Loaded .380 – COS – Loaded .357

1/25: PDX – Loaded .25 – DFW – Loaded .45

1/26: BHM – Loaded .380 w/ round chambered – PIT – Loaded 9mm – GNV – Loaded 9mm – PIE – Loaded 9mm

You can travel with your firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be declared to the airline. You can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms. We also look for explosives and bomb components as well, but thankfully those are extremely rare and we're happy to keep it that way.

Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items in their bag. That’s why it’s important to double check your luggage before you get to the airport.

Including checkpoint and checked baggage screening, TSA has 20 layers of security both visible and invisible to the public. Each one of these layers alone is capable of stopping a terrorist attack. In combination their security value is multiplied, creating a much stronger, formidable system. A terrorist who has to overcome multiple security layers in order to carry out an attack is more likely to be pre-empted, deterred, or to fail during the attempt.

Blogger Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team

Monday, January 23, 2012

Passengers who Refuse Screening are Denied Access to the Secure Area

Earlier today, Senator Rand Paul raised some questions about the screening process after going through one of TSA’s millimeter wave body scanners that use automated target recognition (ATR) technology. The ATR software displays the same generic image for all passengers to further protect passenger's privacy.

The benefit of automated target recognition is that when a passenger alarms, the officer can look at the generic image to see where the alarm is and then do a targeted pat down to clear the area. For example, if the alarm shows that something might be in your cargo pocket, the officer will pat down the area around your pocket to determine what caused the alarm.

When a passenger or bag alarms in screening technology at a TSA checkpoint, the alarm has to be resolved before the passenger can enter the secure area past the checkpoint. Passengers who refuse to complete the screening process can’t be granted access to the secure area. TSA notifies law enforcement when this happens, and law enforcement officers can escort them out of the checkpoint. This isn’t done to punish the passenger– it’s done to ensure that every person who gets on a plane is screened appropriately.

Blogger Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team

Friday, January 20, 2012

TSA Week In Review: “Brush” With Death?

“Brush” with Death?: A nonmetallic brush-dagger was found at Lynchburg (LYH) in carry-on bag. This brush would not only tease your hair, it would frighten it! A hair raising experience if you will…

Not Just One, But Eight: You can imagine the officer’s surprise when a man walked up to them at the travel document checking area and stated “I have eight bombs on me.” The police report stated that the passenger “may” have been intoxicated.

Another Grenade: Last week was grenade-free, but alas, an inert grenade was discovered during checked baggage screening at Tucson (TUS) resulting in an evacuated baggage area.

Attempt To “Game” Checked Baggage: 1.5 lbs. of methamphetamines were discovered concealed in a game console and a DVR during checked baggage screening at Los Angeles (LAX). We’re not looking for drugs, but 1.5 lbs of anything other than electronics stuffed in an electronic item will raise some red flags.

Everything Is Bigger in Texas: The toast and the knives… A 12” Bowie knife was discovered in a carry-on bag along with four other knives in Austin (AUS).

Close Shave?: A 3” straight razor was found concealed in the lining of a backpack in Buffalo (BUF).

Miscellaneous Prohibited Items: In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, our officers also found stun guns, kubatons, brass knuckles, knives, knives, and more knives, firearm components, ammunition, and a blackjack.

Firearms: Our officers found 24 loaded firearms and 2 unloaded firearms in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday. Here’s a rundown of the 26 firearms our officers kept off of airplanes this week:

1/13: STL – Unloaded .380 – BFL – Loaded .40 w/ Round Chambered – DFW – Loaded 9mm – OMA – Loaded 9mm – BNA – Loaded .380
1/14: SFB – Loaded .40
1/16: IAD – Loaded 9mm w/ Round Chambered – PIT – Loaded .380 w/ Round Chambered – TUL – Loaded .22 w/ Round Chambered – SMF – Loaded .380 - EWN – Loaded .40 w/ Round Chambered – DEN – Unloaded .357 – FLL – Loaded .357 – ATL – Loaded 9mm
1/17: BNA – Loaded .380 – STL – Loaded .357 – IND – Loaded 9mm w/ Round Chambered – IAH – Loaded 9mm – DAL – Loaded .40 w/ Round Chambered
1/18: BHM – Loaded .22 w/ Round Chambered – Loaded .380 – DFW – Loaded .38 inside a carry-on bag was taken too soon by a passenger and made its way past security. The passenger and the bag containing the gun were located prior to takeoff.
1/19: CLT – Loaded .380 w/ Round Chambered – RDU – Loaded .22 – BWI – Loaded .380 – ATL – Loaded 9mm

You can travel with your firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be declared to the airline. You can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms. We also look for explosives and bomb components as well, but thankfully those are extremely rare and we're happy to keep it that way.

Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items in their bag. That’s why it’s important to double check your luggage before you get to the airport.

Including checkpoint and checked baggage screening, TSA has 20 layers of security both visible and invisible to the public. Each one of these layers alone is capable of stopping a terrorist attack. In combination their security value is multiplied, creating a much stronger, formidable system. A terrorist who has to overcome multiple security layers in order to carry out an attack is more likely to be pre-empted, deterred, or to fail during the attempt.

Blogger Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team

TSA Pre✓™ Checkup

North, to Alaska! Select Alaska Airlines travelers at soon-to-be announced airports may be able to experience expedited screening as part of the TSA Pre✓™ pilot. So get your mukluks ready and keep an eye out here on the blog or @TSA / @TSABlogTeam for future info.

Also, TSA Pre✓™ operations started on Tuesday of this week at LAX for American Airline passengers.

Blogger Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Truth About TSA Testing Technology for Radiation

Unfortunately, yesterday’s LA Times story missed the mark and you may have seen a few additional inaccurate stories in the news claiming that TSA was buying equipment to test for radiation exposure. Truth is, we continuously test all of the technology we use and post the results to our website for all to see.

Why the confusion you might ask? TSA routinely puts out Requests for Information (RFI) that are basically market research, asking industry to tell us what else is out there. In this case, TSA put out an RFI to gather information on available tools to continue to monitor our technologies. This is simply designed to ask industry what new technology might be available.

Testing our equipment and exposure to employees is not new. TSA routinely monitors radiation levels to ensure the safety of both passengers and our workforce. We've never found any radiation concerns and the safety reports can be accessed publicly at TSA.gov. TSA made a commitment to post new reports as they're completed to our website so passengers can see for themselves that the machines are meeting safety standards.

Based on all of our previous testing, as well as monitoring from independent sources, we’re confident that all of our equipment meets national safety standards, and is safe for all passengers and our workforce.

As far as another backscatter (body scanner) test is concerned, TSA is committed to working with Congress to explore options for an additional study to further prove these machines are safe. All tests so far, have shown they are well within the national safety standards and each scan is equivalent to the exposure one receives during approximately 2 min of flight.

Blogger Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

Friday, January 13, 2012

TSA Week In Review: Gassed Up Chainsaw & Deadly Lipstick

Gassed Up Chainsaw: Believe it or not, the chainsaw found at Elmira (ELM) was not the problem here. You can travel with your chainsaw as checked luggage, however, gassing it up is the problem. You know… Gas? Highly flammable liquid...

Lipstick Stun Gun: A 350,000 volt stun gun designed to look like lipstick was found in a passenger’s carry-on bag at Burlington (BTV). This particular lipstick is known to leave your lips looking stunning.

Lipstick Knife: A 4-ounce canister of mace along with a lipstick knife were found in a carry-on bag at Akron (CAK). I guess if you’re going for blood red lips, this is for you.

11” Machete: An 11” machete was discovered in a carry-on bag at San Diego (SAN).

More Throwing Knives: Once again, throwing knives were found (in the usual set of three) at Salt Lake City (SLC).

False Bottle Marked “Lotion”: Three bottles alarmed the Explosive Detection System in checked baggage at Philadelphia (PHL). After searching them, two bottles were shampoo and the other was a bottle marked “lotion” which had been cut in half and taped back together. Inside the bottle were two clear bags containing a green leafy substance. Green leafy lotion?

Walking On A Knife’s Edge?: A passenger at Miami (MIA) was concealing a steak knife with a 4” blade in their shoe. We found it…

Odd Turducken-Like Concealment Method: Officers at Charlotte (CLT) discovered a green leafy substance in a plastic bag, artfully concealed inside of a bag of sand and another plastic baggy containing a green leafy substance pushed down inside a piece of bread, stuffed inside a shoe. We’re not looking for drugs, but when something is packed like this and stuffed in a shoe, it’s going to look ominously odd.

Pepper Spray: A passenger at Boston (BOS) had two canisters of pepper spray in their carry-on bag. Pepper spray drifts after it’s been sprayed and if you happen to be close to it, you’ll get to experience the sting. Imagine this stuff going off in a close quarters pressurized cabin.

O Happy Dagger!: A 3” double-edged dagger was discovered in a carry-on bag at Chicago O’Hare (ORD).

Miscellaneous Prohibited Items: In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, our officers also found firearm components, ammunition, switchblades, batons, stun guns, knives, knives, and more knives, a realistic replica firearm, brass knuckles, a kubaton, and a baton.

Firearms: Our officers found 13 loaded firearms and 7 unloaded firearms in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday. Here’s a rundown of the 20 firearms our officers kept off of airplanes this week:

Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items in their bag. That’s why it’s important to double check your luggage before you get to the airport.

Including checkpoint and checked baggage screening, TSA has 20 layers of security both visible and invisible to the public. Each one of these layers alone is capable of stopping a terrorist attack. In combination their security value is multiplied, creating a much stronger, formidable system. A terrorist who has to overcome multiple security layers in order to carry out an attack is more likely to be pre-empted, deterred, or to fail during the attempt.

Blogger Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team

Monday, January 9, 2012

Cupcakegate

This will be short and “sweet.” Like many of you, when I think of a cupcake, I don’t think of it being in a jar. However, the photo below shows the “cupcake” that was prohibited from being taken into the cabin of a plane last month.

Cupcake Jar Photo Courtesy of Consumertraveler.com

I wanted to make it clear that this wasn’t your everyday, run-of-the-mill cupcake. If you’re not familiar with it, we have a policy directly related to the UK liquid bomb plot of 2006 called 3-1-1 that limits the amount of liquids, gels and aerosols you can bring in your carry-on luggage. Icing falls under the “gel” category. As you can see from the picture, unlike a thin layer of icing that resides on the top of most cupcakes, this cupcake had a thick layer of icing inside a jar.

In general, cakes and pies are allowed in carry-on luggage, however, the officer in this case used their discretion on whether or not to allow the newfangled modern take on a cupcake per 3-1-1 guidelines. They chose not to let it go.

Every officer wants to finish their shift and go home with the peace of mind that they kept potential threats off of airplanes. They’re not thinking about whether their decisions will go viral on the internet – they’re thinking about keeping bombs off of planes. This incident may seem like a silly move to many of our critics, but when we can’t be exactly sure of what something is, every officer has the discretion to not allow it on the plane. This is done purely for the safety of everyone traveling.

Here are two very real liquid related incidents from the past. This is why we have limitations on liquids, gels and aerosols.

1995 “Bojinka Plot” in Asia where Ramzi Yousef planned to use liquid explosives to bomb 12 passenger carrying aircraft bound for the United States. This was one month after his test on Philippine Airlines Flight 434 where a smaller “liquid” container killed one person.

The 2006 foiled liquid explosives plot in the U.K. This plot demonstrated a real threat and is the catalyst for TSA's liquids restrictions.

What the two plots above and intelligence gathered from all over the world tells us is that unless Wile E. Coyote is involved, the days of the three sticks of dynamite with a giant alarm clock strapped to them are long gone. Terrorists have moved to novel explosives disguised as common, everyday items. Our officers are regularly briefed and trained by TSA explosives specialists on how just about any common appliance, toy or doohickey can be turned into a dangerous explosive. When you think about it, do you think an explosive would be concealed in an ominous item that would draw attention, or something as simple as a cute cupcake jar?

The bottom line is that you can bring cakes, pies and cupcakes through the security checkpoint, but you should expect that they might get some additional screening, and if something doesn’t seem right, there is always the potential you won’t be able to take it through.

Blogger Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team