tuesdaysgone
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,832 
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Post by tuesdaysgone on May 18, 2016 19:53:25 GMT
Bottom line: government doesn't do big jobs like this well. Fire TSA and allow airports to hire private companies to handle the process. I'm in Atlanta where the lines have been long for years. Our mayor threatens to do away with TSA and hire out to a private group. I hope he does, but I suspect it's political posturing on his part.
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Post by snappinsami on May 18, 2016 19:58:47 GMT
I flew from San Diego to Chicago and back in February. The line in San Diego (which is usually really quick) still took me over 30 minutes - at 5am! Coming back, a coworker and I stood in line in Chicago for over an hour before we finally crept up to the promised land of the TSA.
I have two trips on the horizon for June and July - to Chicago and Philadelphia. I'm not looking forward to dealing with airport security in either city. I'm seriously considering doing the TSA Pre-check program, in the hopes that it'll save me time on these trips and the others I take in the next few years.
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,722
Location: Houston, TX
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Post by smartypants71 on May 18, 2016 20:01:45 GMT
I haven't had too many problems fortunately. The only time I've had delays is due to TSAs confusion on what to do with my insulin pump. They try to make me go through the body scanner every time with my pump on. A discussion ensues, a supervisor is called over, and then I'm allowed to proceed. It's so frustrating.
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Post by 950nancy on May 18, 2016 20:08:45 GMT
One thing I have noticed is that oftentimes people do not allow themselves enough time to get through security. I know this isn't causing longer lines, but I haven't been on a flight in several years where there aren't people coming up from behind in the security line who are going to miss their flight. People think if they have their luggage checked in enough time (45 min to an hour) that it will be enough time to get to where they need to go. I love to go through my little local airport. I can usually get through everything in less than thirty minutes, however when you go to Denver, yes, it can take a good 90 minutes plus just to get to your gate. I usually don't mind the wait if I have enough time, so I just leave earlier than I want to and that causes much less stress.
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Post by 950nancy on May 18, 2016 20:09:59 GMT
The worst lines I have ever had are definitely not in the US. Our security is much quicker than the Caribbean airports.
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Post by gmcwife1 on May 18, 2016 20:17:47 GMT
It's all about the TSA pre-check program, IMHO. They rolled this out a few years ago and figured people would jump right in and give their personal info and pay a fee to join this program so avoid lines. This would save the government money by lowering amount of TSA agents on their payroll AND they get to collect their membership fees that I think are good for 5 years. Win-win for them, right? Except for not as many people signed up for it as they anticipated. My guess is that this is a ploy to essentially force people to "see" why they need to pay this fee and get pre-checked. I would guess their enrollment is soaring now. This was my first thought too. |
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Post by bc2ca on May 18, 2016 20:25:35 GMT
I was heartbroken when United stop flying from our local commuter airport to LAX because that was my favorite way to avoid TSA lines. The last time we flew out of LAX as a family the security line was snaked back and forth so tightly that the Precheck line was choked off. As I started to squeeze through, security stopped me and directed me to the main line. He overheard me saying to DH that I didn't understand why the Precheck was closed and went over to talk to another agent, came back to us and directed us through the Precheck ropes where we were quickly joined by a few dozen other travelers and waited for them to open up the screening area. This is an interesting read on the problem: But this is the essential logic of bureaucracy. The TSA will suffer terribly if a terrorist slips through with a bomb -- or even if the auditors make it through with a fake bomb. On the other hand, what happens to them if there are long lines? Not much. They've got to be there for eight hours, so why should they care if we are too? This is why government agencies tend to be much more attuned to remote risks than the real and persistent costs they impose on the rest of us.
and The easiest way to keep the lines moving is to screen less carefully. All screening faces an inherent tradeoff between false positives and false negatives; you eliminate one by accepting more of the other. When the TSA decides to crack down on the false negatives (the threats they missed), that means they get more false positives, as every person with an oddly bulging body, a forgotten bottle of water, or a penchant for impromptu dance performances, has to go through the checkpoint again. And that takes up a lot of time, during which the lines grow and grow.and It's pretty much inevitable that the TSA, having flunked its audit, is going to choose to impose huge burdens on airline passengers, rather than admit that it's not actually doing all that much to keep us safe.
ETA None of my family applied or paid for the Pre-check program - I have no idea why we have been given that status. |
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Deleted
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Jun 18, 2024 13:47:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2016 20:30:39 GMT
The last few times I flew, I once had TSA Precheck in Houston Terminal B, but that line was closed so I didn't get to avail myself of the opportunity. Other than that, I haven't had many problems, but I see so many TSA agents at the checkpoints pretty much standing around and only 1 body machine out of 4 open. It's not been there haven't been enough employees by any means! There have been at least enough employees to have two or 3 lines open. Or there might be two baggage scanners but only one body scanner open so we all feed back into one line after splitting into two. Then I see them randomly wandering about the airport. I guess they are looking for unattended luggage or taking a smoking/bathroom break? But I don't ever see them moving fast. I have to say I too think it is all theater .....
I will say the only ones I really see doing a good job at what they are supposed to be doing are the front ones that check your ID against your ticket/boarding pass...past that, I think the rest of the process is useless.
I do think the increase in luggage fees and gate checking are huge. But for $25 each way, I'll cart my own luggage, especially when it takes forever to stand in line for the one available airline clerk to check it and forever for baggage to go from the plane to baggage claim once landed. Charlotte seems the worst for how long it takes to get baggage. In Houston one morning the Kids and I waited over an hour to check the bags before we even got into the security line!
But I do think TSA is playing this up.
Honestly I have the whole process (take off any sweater, shoes, take out laptop and sample sizes of toiletries, etc) pretty down pat and it is still very annoying.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 18, 2024 13:47:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2016 20:34:56 GMT
ETA None of my family applied or paid for the Pre-check program - I have no idea why we have been given that status.
We have found that if we buy tickets together as a family we generally get prechecked. However in October when I bought the kids and my tickets and DH bought his ticket with a different return date, we didn't get precheck but he did. He has paid to get it since he travels a lot. In the past if one of us has it, they would let the whole group go through. But in October, they made the kids and I go through the regular line and told DH if he wanted to go with us, he could also go to the regular line.
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Post by cade387 on May 18, 2016 20:56:27 GMT
I travel a lot for work.
I refuse to go through the scanners and it drives me nuts when the words "female assist" come out and there are no less than 4 females wandering around aimlessly or talking and laughing in the back part of the security area and it takes 10+ minutes for them to come over. I'm pre-check now (due to status) so it isn't so bad unless I'm traveling with my family.
They used to have the frequent traveler lane than didn't have less screening but was just for those who knew what the heck they were doing. I loved those lanes, I also loved the family and medical liquids lanes. Not sure why they got rid of those.
I just waited through a long line in Orlando and I thought we would miss our flight. We were coming back from Disney and we couldn't get on an earlier bus. We were dropped at the airport and got to the gate as they were boarding. With the little ones I like to be able to board early so it is frustrating, but we didn't miss the flight.
I will fly next week international. I'm interested to see how it is for this trip. I'm not checking bags and should have my pre-check. Always an adventure. I'm one to be at the airport 3 hours early though, just in case. I just hate it when I have to fly on a weekend and give up more of my personal time to do so though.
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Post by mirabelleswalker on May 18, 2016 20:56:37 GMT
I took my niece to Disneyland for spring break. At our local airport, which is small and usually quick to get through, we had to wait nearly an hour to get through screening. The only airline in that terminal is Southwest. It was ridiculous, but prepared us for the lines in the Magic Kingdom.
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Post by bc2ca on May 18, 2016 20:59:16 GMT
ETA None of my family applied or paid for the Pre-check program - I have no idea why we have been given that status.
We have found that if we buy tickets together as a family we generally get prechecked. However in October when I bought the kids and my tickets and DH bought his ticket with a different return date, we didn't get precheck but he did. He has paid to get it since he travels a lot. In the past if one of us has it, they would let the whole group go through. But in October, they made the kids and I go through the regular line and told DH if he wanted to go with us, he could also go to the regular line.
I've been Prechecked on my own and when I've traveled just with the kids. It is more unusual for DH to fly with us and I'm not sure if he is Prechecked when he flies on his own. I always wondered of if it somehow got tied into our green cards because both programs are run by Homeland Security, but we had the green cards long before given the Prechecked status. Having the green cards made us eligible to apply, but we still should have gone through the application process according to what I read at the time. I know a friend with a Nexus card is also always Prechecked and she didn't apply for that status either. |
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pridemom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,843
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Post by pridemom on May 18, 2016 21:23:28 GMT
I travel a lot for work. I refuse to go through the scanners and it drives me nuts when the words "female assist" come out and there are no less than 4 females wandering around aimlessly or talking and laughing in the back part of the security area and it takes 10+ minutes for them to come over. I'm pre-check now (due to status) so it isn't so bad unless I'm traveling with my family. They used to have the frequent traveler lane than didn't have less screening but was just for those who knew what the heck they were doing. I loved those lanes, I also loved the family and medical liquids lanes. Not sure why they got rid of those. I just waited through a long line in Orlando and I thought we would miss our flight. We were coming back from Disney and we couldn't get on an earlier bus. We were dropped at the airport and got to the gate as they were boarding. With the little ones I like to be able to board early so it is frustrating, but we didn't miss the flight. I will fly next week international. I'm interested to see how it is for this trip. I'm not checking bags and should have my pre-check. Always an adventure. I'm one to be at the airport 3 hours early though, just in case. I just hate it when I have to fly on a weekend and give up more of my personal time to do so though. I have heard Orlando is bad for this lately, but thought they went private, so it shouldn't be TSA responsible for delays. ETA: Sanford has private screeners, Not Orlando International. |
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Post by annaintx on May 18, 2016 21:40:54 GMT
I flew out of Seattle last Saturday. I had seen on the national news how it was taking more than 3 hours to get through security there. My mom flew out of Seattle, had given herself 2.5 hours, and just barely made her flight as she walked straight to the plane from security.
I was there 3 hours before my flight, I got at the airport at 8:30 AM. Security took 45 minutes. I got to the actual screening area, and I said out loud, "No wonder it's taking so long, they're only running two machines!" To which a young TSA agent snottily said to me, "NO, we're running FOUR." Technically, yes they were running four. Two of those stupid body scan machines and two metal detectors. But the metal detectors were only being used for young children and moms/dads with young children. Or with people who couldn't stand in the body scanner. So in my opinion, they were screening half the people they could have been if they had consistently used four machines. And if the metal detectors are good enough for some instances, why not use them ALL THE TIME???
The other issue I noticed is that each airport has different requirements for screening. For example, at my origin airport, they wanted all liquids/gels 4 oz and smaller in a quart sized ziploc and put into the bin. In Seattle, they were telling people to put them away. That took time, because I had to grab it and put it back, which does take only a few seconds, but if multiple people have to do it, then that time adds up.
TSA makes me so incredibly mad, the whole security theater of it is insane. I put up with it because I have to fly sometimes. But if Congress needs to cut the budget, starting with TSA would be a great idea.
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Post by brina on May 18, 2016 21:43:51 GMT
They also need to have a list of the procedures for those that aren't regulars. I had forgotten to have my teen DS take out his laptop so that held things up considerably. I don't fly often at all so that would be helpful. At O'Hare, in my experience at least, they do have MANY signs along the way with all of the rules and procedures, as well as a screen playing them and people yelling them as you get closer to the place to put your bags through. And I've seen people walk along totally oblivious to all of that until the second they get up to the belt...."huh? I need to take my shoes off? What about phones?" On and on and on..... I have said for years they need to have two lines, "with a clue" and "without a clue" |
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paget
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,781
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on May 18, 2016 21:58:39 GMT
I had a flight this morning from Seattle (on plane in Boston right now waiting to de plane!). We had a message that lines were horrible and be at least 2 hours early etc and we breezed through - no wait at all.
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Post by lovetodigi on May 18, 2016 22:47:52 GMT
It is a mess. DH has to go out of town on business next week and is supposed to return on Friday, the Friday before Memorial Day. I just hope that he gets home eventually.
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Post by georgiabeachbum on May 18, 2016 23:05:54 GMT
I live in Atlanta and we have the biggest, busiest of all airports. My sister was flying Atlanta to Miami Monday morning on a 8:30 am flight and it took almost 2 hours to get through security. She sent me a picture of the madness. We are flying to DC in a couple weeks and are planning to get to airport at least 3 hours before flight. Ugh!
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Deleted
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Jun 18, 2024 13:47:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2016 23:20:00 GMT
I fly a good bit and I started noticing it a year ago. I was on Southwests A list so I got priority security but the regular lines were bad in Baltimore. What kills me is that BWI only ever has two sets of security scanners going and the other ones sit idle.
I've also noticed my last few flights that my ticket is marked as TSA-pre check however I'm not registered in the program. I wonder if they are marking frequent flyers to help cut the lines.
It's a government agency..of course it's going to be slow and clunky. I'm all for airlines hiring their own security firms.
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Post by CarolT on May 18, 2016 23:32:30 GMT
I flew from Orlando to DC at the end of February. We arrived at the airport more than 2 hours before our flight, checked our bags, then headed to security... and we stopped. The lines went nearly all the way back to the ticketing area. This was at 6AM on a Wednesday!
We barely made our flight, and this was after they opened the recheck line and started directing folks through that lane.
I'm not planning to fly again until the fall - I have 3 tentative trips on my calendar in September and November... I hope things are better by then.
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Deleted
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Jun 18, 2024 13:47:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2016 0:19:41 GMT
I've also noticed my last few flights that my ticket is marked as TSA-pre check however I'm not registered in the program. I wonder if they are marking frequent flyers to help cut the lines. I'm not registered for pre check either, but usually my ticket is marked pre check. I only fly a few times a year. They must be profiling me as not a risk. Maybe they went by my credit report? I have great credit. Who the heck knows? |
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Post by txdancermom on May 19, 2016 1:28:30 GMT
DH and I flew last week, the line was brutal. I am not sure what the issues are, why the lines all of a sudden have gotten so long. people are not going to go for arriving at the airport 2 or 3 hours early - I know I won't.
my ds did say that getting tsa pre-check is worth it, so I am in the process of renewing my passport so that I can apply. I randomly get it for many flights, but would be nice to have it all the time.
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twinsmomfla99
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,000
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Post by twinsmomfla99 on May 19, 2016 2:00:27 GMT
DH and I flew last week, the line was brutal. I am not sure what the issues are, why the lines all of a sudden have gotten so long. people are not going to go for arriving at the airport 2 or 3 hours early - I know I won't. my ds did say that getting tsa pre-check is worth it, so I am in the process of renewing my passport so that I can apply. I randomly get it for many flights, but would be nice to have it all the time. So maybe they are making it seem worse than it has to be to encourage people to pay for pre-check? |
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Post by annaintx on May 19, 2016 12:51:58 GMT
DH and I flew last week, the line was brutal. I am not sure what the issues are, why the lines all of a sudden have gotten so long. people are not going to go for arriving at the airport 2 or 3 hours early - I know I won't. my ds did say that getting tsa pre-check is worth it, so I am in the process of renewing my passport so that I can apply. I randomly get it for many flights, but would be nice to have it all the time. So maybe they are making it seem worse than it has to be to encourage people to pay for pre-check? This was my thought, too. Is the Pre-Check government run, too? I also thought about the Global Check if that's what it's called. |
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Post by annaintx on May 19, 2016 13:10:48 GMT
I thought this was interesting, given this discussion. Sea-Tac debuts private screeners at TSA checkpointsI think it's interesting that the article says TSA funding is down when I've seen stats that say it's up or at equal levels, rather than having been cut. |
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Dalai Mama
Drama Llama
La Pea Boheme
Posts: 6,985
Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
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Post by Dalai Mama on May 19, 2016 13:12:36 GMT
The worst lines I have ever had are definitely not in the US. Our security is much quicker than the Caribbean airports. Odd, because I've never had any issues at any of the Caribbean airports I've flown through. Maybe it's a combination of timing and luck.
I'm another one who refuses to go through the scanner. The first time we flew through Miami, the line was huge! We asked one of the TSA agents who was walking through the line what the procedure was for getting the pat-down (at our home airport, people who are asked to go through the scanner are chosen at random while, in Miami everyone goes through) and she pulled us to the front of the line. We've been doing that ever since and we're bumped up probably 50% of the time.
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Post by cade387 on May 19, 2016 14:29:17 GMT
The worst lines I have ever had are definitely not in the US. Our security is much quicker than the Caribbean airports. Odd, because I've never had any issues at any of the Caribbean airports I've flown through. Maybe it's a combination of timing and luck.
I'm another one who refuses to go through the scanner. The first time we flew through Miami, the line was huge! We asked one of the TSA agents who was walking through the line what the procedure was for getting the pat-down (at our home airport, people who are asked to go through the scanner are chosen at random while, in Miami everyone goes through) and she pulled us to the front of the line. We've been doing that ever since and we're bumped up probably 50% of the time.
I wish that was my experience. They typically tell me that I have to wait until I'm right in front of the scanner, hold my belongings and THEN they will call someone. drives me nuts. If it takes 10 minutes for a female assist to come over why not call them early? 
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Post by annabella on May 19, 2016 15:45:38 GMT
I think the problem has been created by TSA problems, a ridiculous airline baggage fees which has led to huge amounts of carryon luggage. After all these years people still forget to empty pockets or take electronics out of cases and this in turn delays the lines also. Everybody shares in these delays. I went to an embassy last week and with nothing in my pockets, no watch or jewelry and the metal detector went off. Either it was my bra or bobby pins in my hair.
I think the airlines not charging for luggage is the answer. Too many people are taking their bags to the plane now and that causes delays.
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Post by annabella on May 19, 2016 15:47:06 GMT
I refuse to go through the scanners and it drives me nuts when the words "female assist" come out and there are no less than 4 females wandering around aimlessly or talking and laughing in the back part of the security area and it takes 10+ minutes for them to come over. I'm pre-check now (due to status) so it isn't so bad unless I'm traveling with my family. Why do you refuse to go through the scanners? I loathe just the idea of a woman patting me down. |
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Post by scrapcat on May 19, 2016 15:47:47 GMT
I travel for work thru many of the airports that have been widely reported with delays. Honestly, I have not had a problem and I do not do the pre-check thing. Maybe i've just been lucky?! I try to fly really early or at odd times to avoid crowds.
I've actually seen more raucous with that pre-check thing, like usually there isn't a line for it and the people are always pissed that have it!
I will say the carry-on bag thing has become ridiculous, but I blame the airlines for charging for checked luggage. Just raise the ticket price $25, then people won't drag their whole life in carry-ons.
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