Full Body Scanners - I'm Ready for the Pat Down

The Stupidity of TSA procedures for passing into an airport has pushed me to the brink of asking for pat downs.    When you get through check in, you feel like a criminal.  Shoes off, belts off, stick your hands up, stand on the mat where the footprints are; wait for an ok from the TSA reader.  This week in Richmond, I wore my belt just to see what would happen -- I had to remove it after the scanner, have the belt checked by hand, and then I was partially patted down.



Bit let's talk consistency for a moment.  Again in Richmond, all passengers went through the full body, naked scanner except flight personnel and military.  I thoroughly respect the military and the sacrifices they make for us, but for TSA to have a different procedure [no boots off, no full body scanner] makes little sense to me from a security standpoint.  

So next trip, I'm building in enough time for a pat down.

Emotional Baggage

The title of this entry is compliments of my younger son, Steve.  I'm just back from a week of pre-holiday travel.  Every flight but one was fully booked.  And every airline seems to be adding new restrictions weekly.  It reminds me of the cult movie, Office Space, where someone needed to justify their job.  "But I'm a people person, dammit."

On USAir, you must remove your headphone plug from the electronic device before the plane can take off or land.  On Delta, computers can no longer be stored in the seat back pocket for takeoff or landing, and coats and jackets can not go into the overhead bins until all luggage has been put stored..  In RIC {Richmond, VA] Airport, TSA is apparently still searching for the Belt Bomber, so you still have an airport full of old men whose trousers keep falling down as they go through security.  Aren't suspenders inherently more dangerous?.  Remember David and Goliath!!!

So we have the perfect elements for little dictators to take over the friendly skies.  An emotional time of year with too many travelers; new regulations that can be arbitrarily enforced; more delays in checking in and boarding.  Today a flight attendant went through the plane systematically pulling down all the coats and jackets, making everyone wait until the luggage was stowed.   Then all the passengers had to get up from their window, middle and aisle seats and put their coats and jackets back in the exact spots the attendant had removed them from.  Departure delayed.  You all need to take your seats before the plane can depart the gate.

She then proceeded to tell me I had to turn off my iPod for takeoff.  When I told her it was off, she blurted' "I can still hear the music", even as I showed her that the headphones were unplugged!

EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE -- please check it curbside with the SkyCap.

It Won't Fit in the Overhead!!

On a flight last week to Richmond, a woman came aboard and attempted to put her bag in the overhead compartment.  A gentleman offered to help but she demurred.  She proceeded to make three attempts to jam the suitcase in, but failed all three times.  A fight attendant approached and offered to help.  She watched as the passenger made her third attempt and then stated the obvious, "It isn't going to fit."  The attendant then suggested that the passenger remove some of her effects and flatten the bag enough to allow it to fit.

What happened next even took me, the seasoned traveler by surprise.  The passenger opened her bag and took out .... another carry on bag!!  She removed some of the contents of the bag, stuffed it into the second bag, and parked it right next to the first bag, which now fit in the overhead compartment.

Bottom line, she turned out to be an airline employee commuting from her home base in Atlanta to her job in another city.  So that's how you get around the one bag rule!!!!!