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I prefer to have more security than risk having my plane blown up in mid air... times have changed, there are many people around the world that now hate us and the airport security systems have a lot of holes to close. However, the rules should accomplish something, the new TSA guidelines seem arbitrary and accomplish nothing...rather than telling people not to keep anything in their laps they should ramp up on survellience, intelligence and screening before people get on the aircraft.
I don't like full body scanners due to privacy abuse potential, but they are needed and can be a big help, infact I think full body scanners will make screening much more effective and at the same time faster.
I could care less if anyone see's my naked ass in the name of security, either.
However, it does present many privacy issues and violates child porn laws. On top of that, nobody seems to understand that the inverted or negative image of these full body scans is basically a perfectly colored nude picture of your body. The resolution and detail is very similar to seeing a naked person right in front of your face. Nipples, belly button, genetals, you name it, it is perfectly visible.
Are these images being stored? Idk. But I do know the very same software used to create these images, is the very same software which can reverse the image and show the actual skin tones.
Technically, the original image is the flesh colored nude picture, however, I'm guessing it's been converted to its negative (blue image) because I'm not sure the general public would approve.
I came on here to post on this very issue. I have no issue with the need for ramped up security. It is, unfortunately, a product of the cold world we now live in. However, what does concern me, is what I experienced today. I got home today from traveling to find that my suitcase had been inspected by TSA. Ok, sounds simple so far,right? Only I find in my bag a CD that I've never seen before in my life. Presumably this CD was placed in there by a TSA agent.
The problem I have? I was traveling home from the states (I am not American), and suppose this CD had been a gun (illegal in my country), or drugs? Exactly how would I explain this to my local Customs inspectors? All you get is a generic 'TSA' card stating that your bag has been inspected. No inspector's names, no way to trace who searched your bag.
'Fortunately' it was 'only' a CD, which I have disposed of. But this does bring up a point that your personal luggage is now subjected to scrutiny of which you are not present, and leaves the possibility that some wayward inspector may place something 'undesirable' among your possessions without your knowledge.
Oh, and my bag's contents were in a total state of disarray from how I packed it, but that's a non-issue
I don't understand what the complaining is all about. Would you rather be sitting next to somebody with a bomb strapped too his tookas As the last incident showed, security isn't tight enough
I came to this thread late, but a post like yours is exactly the problem. You seem to suggest that because there is the very most remote possibility that someone somewhere is carrying a bomb that virtually any security measures are justifiable.
I don't share your views. I think what we have failed to do is to conduct what I will call "cost benefit analysis" on the security measures we are attempting to impose. Let me give you an example: Let's assume there are 10,000 top business executives traveling by airplane to a destination in the USA. Let's also assume that each executive earns an average salary of $300 a hour. Now, let's say going through the security that TSA has imposed adds an additional one hour to the travel time of these executives (its probably more than this if they fly roundtrip in a day). The daily cost of the security measures is $300 X 10,000 or $3 million per day. In a calendar year, this cost will be $3 million X 365 days or $1.03 billion dollars. Of course this is an indirect cost of the security measures imposed. It doesn't begin to take into the cost of salaries for TSA employees, screening equipment, buildings to house TSA officials, etc. Its safe to assume that the cost of maintaining the current system is in the billions of the dollars every year.
I am 50 years old. I remember what I will call the "earlier days" of commercial jet aviation. Many young people today don't even know that it was an expected occurrence for a couple of planes to crash every year. When that happened usually everyone on board was killed. We'd have approximately 200 to 500 deaths in commercial jet crashes annually.
There was no hue and cry to abolish jet transportation or severely restrict it. Rather, this was simply seen as part of the cost of having this kind of air transportation available to millions of people.
As a society we can't afford to spend billions of dollars because there is a chance of one terrorist incident on an airplane somewhere. I'm sorry that more can't see this situation for what it is.
I have to agree with the original poster, it used to be so much easier. But unfortunately, the security measures are a necessity, anymore. And on some occasions, as we hear of in the news, sometimes its not always failsafe, someone gets through. I miss the days of walking as far as the stairs that take up up to the plane with your family member, and thats as far as you went. Now you cant even get into the waiting area. My last trip to Chicago (with my friend from WI) I had to check in, wait downstairs with my friend as long as possible, because he wouldnt have even been allowed to go upstairs through security with me. But we played 'caption the people' for nearly a half hour before I had to go.
I have to wonder how a moron like Limbaugh ends up being mentioned in a travel forum. Doesn't he belong in the "I talk like an a** because I am an a**" forum?
If this thread is going to be turned into a platform for a raving lunatic we might as well all join in...
The issue I have is that sometimes I feel like you're considered guilty until its been established that you're innocent. I've met some surly, power-happy TSA guards who just looooove the adrenaline rush that comes from making you do whatever they wish to do to you, under the guise of 'National security'. And if you even show a hint of displeasure, that's just grounds for harsher search techniques, ransacking your luggage, and the like. All in the name of 'National Security'. The whole thing has made airplane travel a very unpleasant experience. The times we live in...
For the record, I'm a former Customs Officer, so I'm not completely oblivious to this kind of work, what's involved, or the plight of TSA agents who deal with thousands of passengers everyday.
The issue I have is that sometimes I feel like you're considered guilty until its been established that you're innocent. I've met some surly, power-happy TSA guards who just looooove the adrenaline rush that comes from making you do whatever they wish to do to you, under the guise of 'National security'. And if you even show a hint of displeasure, that's just grounds for harsher search techniques, ransacking your luggage, and the like. All in the name of 'National Security'. The whole thing has made airplane travel a very unpleasant experience. The times we live in...
For the record, I'm a former Customs Officer, so I'm not completely oblivious to this kind of work, what's involved, or the plight of TSA agents who deal with thousands of passengers everyday.
At this time, I do feel the need to step in and remind everyone to mind City-Data's ToS (Terms of Service) you agreed to, when first signing up.
For the most part, most members on here have been exceptional in their conduct, making it pleasant and enjoyable for the rest of the forum members.
But, however, as it always seem to be, are there some with intentions very much in question.
I refrain from closing this thread at this point in time, due to many members actively participating and posting in mentioned thread.
Keep up the good work, mind CD ToS (Terms of Service) and conduct, and keep it enjoyable for others to participate and get the answers and info they are looking for.
Flying is still the fastest, most direct method of getting from point A to point B.
Yep, and as a matter of a fact, airline travel has gone up this year. The fact remains that you can put as many fancy trains on rails, give everyone a nice car to travel in, etc, but for most (even with the added hassle), it's still far better to sit in an airplane and fly for 5 hours across the country than sit in a car or train for 5 days.
The days of glamorous travel are over. Even in Europe, the airlines doing the best are those like Ryan Air who is one very small step up from a cattle car. Plastic boarding cards, free-for-all boarding, nothing served on the plane that is free, etc. BUT, they get you to your destination faster than a train and usually cheaper too, so in the end, it's the cost and convenience that wins out.
BTW, I used to be a flight attendant (before 9-11 so I didn't have to deal with the hassle every day that the employees do now) and when it comes to airline food and pillows and blankets, I can give you stories that will give you nightmares. If I were desperate for a blanket and pillow, I would gladly pay for one that was wrapped up (and only opened by me) rather than grabbing one from the bin and not knowing where it's been (and trust me, it's not pretty). Same for food. I'd rather bring my own than take what the airline gives me. Most of my flights are less than a few hours anyway and I don't need to eat in 2 hours.
I flew a lot before 9-11, and back in the day it was fun. Usually got upgraded, one airline served the hometown market so flew it all the time, I'm now up to about 800K miles total with them - but today with the TSA "officers" and the crowded, dirty (to the point of making me ask how well it's taken care of mechanically) planes, the nickel and dime charges for whatever I want, a blanket, some sort of meal - I avoid it like the plague.
Maybe if I had never known how it was before, I wouldn't resent what it has come down to. But that genie is out of the bottle.
If I *have* to travel big distances, it's still quick and cost-effective, but anymore I work at avoiding air travel.
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As the last incident showed, security isn't tight enough
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