The TSA Blog

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

TSA Pre✓™ Pilot Expanding To Three More Airports

*** Update 12/6/2011 - Just announced! United Airlines will be the third airline participating in the program in the near future. ***

Today, TSA Administrator John S. Pistole announced that three airports will be added to the TSA Pre✓™ pilot. This limited pilot will help TSA evaluate measures designed to enhance security by placing more focus on pre-screening individuals prior to flying in order to expedite their travel experience.

Those airports are: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Las Vegas - McCarran International Airport (LAS), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP).

· LAS will come on board in December for pilot participants traveling on both Delta and American Airlines
· LAX will also come on board in early 2012 for pilot participants traveling on American Airlines
· MSP will come on board in early 2012 for pilot participants traveling on Delta Air Lines

This will be very welcome news not only to travelers at these airports, but to the many TSA Pre✓™ fans and supporters we’ve gained through the pilot programs at ATL, DFW, DTW, and MIA.

The support for the program has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve received over 600 comments so far with 99% of the comments being supportive of this pilot. Here are just a few of the many:

“Holy Cow! I have signed up for the pilot program, as I travel every week and am blown away by the speed of the expedited lane! No shoe removal, no liquid removal, no computer removal, no one in line! For those few who were in line, we were laughing and so happy to have such a smooth process! Thank you!”

“The test process for Premium passengers is outstanding. The service, professionalism and communication could not have been better. I only hope the results have been as favorable as mine and the test expands. Thank you for its implementation.”

“What a joy pre-check was today. I travel frequently and at times wish a bathrobe would be offered to passengers at the door. I not only did NOT have to remove either shoes nor laptop, The pre-check reduces stress not only on passengers but your TSA employees as well. Smiles abounded. Thank you.”

In case you’re curious, you can read more here on how to sign up to participate in TSA Pre✓™. Click here to learn more about TSA Pre✓™.

For those who will participate in the initial pilot, it is important to note that nothing will ever guarantee that an eligible passenger receives expedited security screening. We have built random and unpredictable factors throughout the aviation security system to guard against terrorists gaming the system and this program is no exception.

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.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

In Case You Were Wondering, Our Backscatter Imaging Technology Is Still Safe

The safety of our Backscatter Advanced Imaging Technology is being called in to question again. As I’ve done before on this topic, I’m going to simply provide a bulleted list of facts and links. Also, if you haven’t heard yet, TSA Administrator John S. Pistole told Congress last week that we’re going to have another independent safety study on our Backscatter imaging technology.

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (APL) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center of Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) both verified that the advanced imaging technology (AIT) equipment TSA purchased and deployed emits radiation at rates much lower than the limits set in the national radiation safety standard for all members of the traveling public and all TSA employees.
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab assessment included several recommendations to continue to ensure the highest standard of safety and health. TSA has successfully completed each recommendation.
A backscatter scan is equivalent to amount of naturally occurring radiation received during two minutes of flying at altitude.
In addition to these independent studies validating the safety of imaging technology, TSA also conducts site acceptance testing of AIT units upon installation in airports to ensure each individual AIT unit meets safety standards. Once installed, preventive maintenance is regularly performed by qualified personnel.
Certified health physicists from the U.S. Army Public Health Command are also performing additional radiation safety surveys to ensure continued compliance with radiation safety standards.
In early 2011, TSA posted radiation surveys for every backscatter imaging technology unit deployed in U.S. airports. The reports confirm that every backscatter unit currently used for passenger screening in U.S. airports is operating well within applicable national safety standards.
TSAposts reports for all radiation tests, including the annual TSA-mandated testof every X-ray based technology, on TSA’s website as they are completed.
Accordingto CBS News, MIT’s leading radiation safety experts and experts from the HealthPhysics Society, drinking three glasses of water a day for a year might giveyou a cumulative exposure of about 0.045 millirems, that's at least five timesmore than the dose from an airport scanner and well beneath the 10,000 milliremline where there is danger. According to Francis Marre, former director ofradiation safety at MIT, “There is no known risk” from being scanned.
SanFrancisco Weekly story on backscatter technology.
HealthPhysics Society’s FAQ: “ Safety for Security Screening Using Devices ThatExpose Individuals to Ionizing Radiation.
FDA FAQ page: “Products for Security Screening of People”.
SFWeekly article featuring leading radiologists refuting safety claims by UCSFprofessors.
National standard for one backscatter scan: 0.025 millirem (two and a half one-hundreths of a millirem) per scan.
TSA’s backscatter systems maximum possible radiation emission: 0.005 millirem (five one-thousandths of a millirem) scan.
TSA’s backscatter systems actual emission: generally less than 0.0025 millirem (two and a half one-thousandths of a millirem) per scan.
Advanced imaging technology screening is safe for passengers, including pregnant women and children. One backscatter technology scan produces the same exposure as approximately two minutes of flying on an airplane. Advanced imaging technology is optional for all passengers.

Blogger Bob Burns

Friday, November 4, 2011

TSA Week In Review: Do Not Let Your Grandson Pack Your Bags

The Gift of Grenade (BHM)

Grandma's Grenade (SLC)

An inert grenade was found in a passenger’s bag at Salt Lake City (SLC). It turns out that the passenger’s grandson had packed her bag. I’m sure you can imagine grandma’s surprise! Moral of the story: Do not let your grandson pack your bags! Another inert grenade was detected at Birmingham (BHM) and in this case, it was a gift for the passenger’s father. Read here and here why even inert grenades at the airport are a problem.

Stun Gun (CRW)

A stun gun resembling a smart phone was discovered at Charleston (CRW).

A passenger traveling through LaGuardia (LGA) reported his wallet missing to a TSA Supervisor. After searching around the checkpoint and double checking his bags, the wallet containing approximately $1,000.00 and 5 credit cards did not turn up. But wait! A call came in from the Airport Police Department... After reviewing the camera footage, it was determined that the passenger dropped his wallet and another passenger picked it up and kept it. Airport police met the culprit at the gate and placed him under arrest returning the wallet to its rightful owner.

Notable News This Week: Senator Lieberman took to Twitter to defend TSA! Also, take a look at Lisa’s post from earlier this week about some interesting items we found on Halloween. Some people have been really vocal as to how they believe TSA should profile. Well… while this wasn’t aviation related, I don’t think these gentleman would fit any of the suggested profiles we’ve been given as the type of person we need to look out for.

Stun guns, firearm components, ammunition, an asp, brass knuckles, a switchblade, butterfly knives, a belt buckle knife, a brass knuckle belt buckle, a 4” belt buckle knife, and other knives with blades up to 6 ½” were among some of the dangerous items found around the nation by our officers in passenger’s carry-on bags this past 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. On the other hand, there are artfully concealed items.

Artfully Concealed Items: Artfully concealed means that the item was intentionally concealed with the intention of sneaking it through security:

Knife Found In Bag Handle (EWR)

Something didn’t look right about a bag that was screened at Milwaukee (MKE). After rescreening a jar of peanut butter in the bag, it was determined that there was a mass in the center of the jar. The mass turned out to be a lighter, glass pipe, and marijuana. We’re not looking for drugs, but you can probably imagine how this might look dangerous to us and why we took a closer look.
A passenger at Santa Barbara (SBA) alarmed the walk through metal detector and an anomaly was detected in her groin area during a pat-down. The passenger eventually admitted she had a tube of toothpaste concealed in her groin area. While we’re not looking for toothpaste, it was concealed in an area where explosives can be hidden and we had no idea what it was until we resolved the alarm. We should have known what it was though, right? Isn’t that where all the cool kids are keeping their toothpaste nowadays?
As I stated last week, contrary to popular belief, the lining of a bag is not X-ray proof. A passenger at Milwaukee (MKE) had their knife concealed under the bag lining. We found it.
“I always keep them in my shoes” is what a passenger at Philadelphia (PHL) stated after two razorblades were found under the insole of his shoes.
A knife was found concealed in the handle of a bag at Newark (EWR). I guess you could say our officers “handled” it.

Our officers found 12 loaded firearms in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday. (Not counting the unloaded and replica ones we found). Here’s a rundown of the loaded weapons we kept off of airplanes this week:

10-28: TSA Officer at SAT detects a loaded .40 pistol.
10-28: TSA Officer at ATL detects a loaded 9mm pistol.
10-28: TSA Officer at IAH detects a loaded 9mm pistol.
10-29: TSA Officer at ICT detects a loaded .25 pistol.
10-30: TSA Officer at RNO detects a loaded 9mm pistol with a round in the chamber.
10-31: TSA Officer at MSY detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.
11-1: TSA Officer at BNA detects a loaded .380 pistol.
11-1: TSA Officer at CVG detects a loaded .380 pistol.
11-1: TSA Officer at DFW detects a loaded pistol of unknown caliber with a round in the chamber.
11-1: TSA Officer at BDL detects a loaded .38 pistol.
11-2: TSA Officer at JAN detects a loaded .25 pistol.
11-3: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .32 pistol.

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.

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 check your bags before you leave.

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.

Blogger Bob Burns

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

TSA Checkpoints This Halloween: Trick Or Treat?

Boots with gun barrel heel and bullets Photo courtesy of TSA-JFK

Halloween. Dress up in a scary costume, visit some neighbors, shout, “Trick or treat!” and race home to see what’s inside the bag. That’s the normal spiel, but passengers at airports this Halloween put their own spin on the holiday, and believe me when I say that several had some tricks up their sleeves and in their bags.

Let’s see, there was the passenger in Boston who had a steak knife in his carry-on bag; the El Paso passenger with a 6 ½-inch hunting knife in his carry-on bag; the LaGuardia Airport passenger who had eight rounds of 9 mm ammunition in his bag; the JFK Airport passenger who had a 6-inch butterfly knife in his bag; and the New Orleans passenger who had a loaded .380 caliber firearm--with a bullet in the chamber--in his carry-on bag.

Unlike trick or treat, these passengers didn’t get to go home with their goodies. All of those items were confiscated. And due to jurisdictional laws, the passengers in the New York airports were cited for violating the local laws.

Now that the fall season is arriving, it’s likely that many of you are camping, hunting, hiking, etc. There’s a good chance the last time you wore your fall coat or used your knapsack was on a hunting or fishing trip, and maybe you left a knife or some ammunition tucked away in one of those handy-dandy compartments. Truth is, we’d rather you keep your guns, knives, and ammunition--just keep them at home, that’s all. So be sure to take the time to do a quick check of your personal items to be sure you’re not forgetting about the weapon you tucked away during your last trip.

And it doesn’t hurt to think about what you’re wearing when heading to the airport. Your favorite belt with the brass-knuckles buckle? Leave it at home. The cool western belt with bullets decorating the side, leave it in the drawer. Hand grenade belt buckle? Yep…. We see it all. And the boots pictured below that were worn to JFK Airport—the ones with the shiny bullets and handgun barrel heel--please leave them in the closet instead of wearing them to the airport, even on Halloween.

Lisa Farbstein - Guest Blogger/TSA Spokesperson New York/New Jersey

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, October 28, 2011

TSA Week In Review: Loaded Guns & A Knife In A Nut Can

Can Shown Not Actual Can (Courtesy of Eric Kilby)

A lot of passengers simply forget that they have certain items in their bags, but when a prohibited item is intentionally concealed, it’s called an artfully concealed item. We had several of these this past week and here are a few of the more interesting ones:

During Advance Imaging Technology (AIT) screening at Salt Lake City (SLC), a bottle of vodka was found taped to the inside of a passenger’s lower calf area. The interesting thing here is that the passenger could have put the vodka in 3.4 oz. bottles in a baggie (not a brown bag) and that would have been just fine. For all we know, this could have been liquid explosives.
A passenger at Las Vegas (LAS) hid an unloaded .25 caliber handgun under the flap of their duffle bag. It turns out that flaps aren’t X-ray proof…
It also turns out that chewing tobacco isn’t X-ray proof either. That’s where TSOs at Chicago Midway (MDW) found a passenger’s knife. I’m going out on a limb here, but I suppose they were “spittin’ mad?”
“Aw nuts!” is probably what a passenger was thinking when TSOs at Albuquerque (ABQ) found their knife hidden in a can of peanuts.

After being told that some of the toiletries in her bag were too large, (read about TSA liquid rules) a passenger at Charlotte (CLT) took the next logical step and told our officers she had a bomb in her bag. Not only did that make her day a little longer, the entire checkpoint was closed until the situation was resolved. Her fellow passengers weren’t too happy.

A loaded .40 caliber handgun with 15 rounds and one chambered was found at Indian Wells Valley Airport (IYK) on Wednesday. This time was a little different though. It wasn’t found at the checkpoint, it was found in an unattended bag near the rental car counters. Ooops.

Yet another inert grenade was found in a carry-on bag at Birmingham. This time, it was a gift for the passenger’s son. While it was an inert grenade and posed no threat, we don’t know that when it’s on the X-ray monitor. We have to treat it like it’s real. Read here and here about all the grenades we find.

Stun guns, firearm components, ammunition, brass knuckles, knives with blades up to 5 ½”, and switchblades were among some of the dangerous items found around the nation by our officers in passenger’s carry-on bags this past week.

Our officers found 25 loaded firearms in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday. (Not counting the unloaded and replica ones we found). Here’s a rundown of the loaded weapons we kept off of airplanes this week:

10-21: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .40 pistol with a round in the chamber
10-21: TSA Officer at RNO detects a loaded 9mm
10-21: TSA Officer at BOS detects a loaded .40 pistol with a round in the chamber
10-21: TSA Officer at DEN detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber
10-21: TSA Officer at TPA detects a loaded .380 pistol
10-22: TSA Officer at GNV detects a loaded 9mm pistol
10-22: TSA Officer at ATL detects a loaded .40 pistol with a round in the chamber
10-23: TSA Officer at ABQ detects a loaded 9mm pistol
10-23: TSA Officer at DFW detects a loaded .380 pistol
10-23: TSA Officer at AUS detects a loaded .380 pistol
10-24: TSA Officer at LEX detects a loaded .357 pistol
10-24: TSA Officer at AEX detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber
10-24: TSA Officer at PDX detects a loaded 9mm pistol
10-24: TSA Officer at AUS detects a loaded .380 pistol
10-25: TSA Officer at MCO detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber
10-25: TSA Officer at TUS detects a loaded .32 pistol
10-25: TSA Officer at CMH detects a loaded .45 pistol with a round in the chamber
10-25: TSA Officer at DRO detects a loaded .45 pistol with a round in the chamber
10-25: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .357 pistol
10-25: TSA Officer at LIT detects a loaded .357 pistol
10-25: TSA Officer at SLC detects a loaded .45 pistol with a round in the chamber
10-26: TSA Officer at AUS detects a loaded 9mm pistol with a round in the chamber
10-26: TSA Officer at BOI detects a loaded .44 pistol
10-27: TSA Officer at OKC detects a loaded .380 pistol
10-27: TSA Officer at CMH detects a loaded .38 pistol

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.

Blogger Bob