Dulles (IAD) TSA lines -- How bad are they? (closing, live in)

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by spencgr

WHAT?!?!?!??! I specifically went through Global Entry program to make both the TSA precheck and customs a much faster process. Are you saying I won't benefit when I jump on a red-eye Wednesday night at 10? TSA Precheck is closed then?!??!?!

I too am a member of the Rear Entry Program. FYI, it doesn't even guarantee you'll get PreCheck every time; if the name on your ticket doesn't EXACTLY match what's on your passport (full middle name), you won't get it. Likewise if the airline doesn't participate--one reason I will never fly Spirit Air again. (Also, BWI.)

[lqda4]

I breezed through the TSA PreCheck at IAD this morning. No problem at all. Checking my bag in, however, was a mess.

[Hal Roach]

glad they fired the boss....pretty disgraceful.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by Hal Roach

glad they fired the boss....pretty disgraceful.

Alas, Hoggy wasn't fired--just transferred. After getting bonuses every single month of around $10K. And by the way, he was a Pistole hire--the same buffoon (preceding Adm. Neffenger) who proposed to allow knives on airplanes without running it by anyone.

Congress really needs to reform the SES. If they're supposedly so "results oriented" (part of their cultlike tenets), they should be held accountable.

[Hal Roach]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

I too am a member of the Rear Entry Program.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by Hal Roach

Yeah, I can never resist easy bowlderization. The non-Global Entry (i.e., the regular process, where you're pawed by a TSA meter maid) I call the Grope & Entry Program.

Anyway, this is what happens when airlines raise bag fees so high that people start cramming everything into a carryon, and when they pay their screeners so little and train them so poorly that leave the job in droves.

Solution: Get all the airlines to make carryons much smaller--like in Europe and Asia. And then enforce the size/weight limits with no exceptions. Then recruit more screeners, and increase their pay and training. Pay for this by firing a bunch of dead-weight SES blobs in the TSA HQ. (Why does TSA need an "intelligence division" anyway? Any intel it needs it gets from the FBI or ODNI.)

Or just get rid of carryons altogether. Annoying to wait at the carousel, but to me it's way better than waiting in the security line.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

I too am a member of the Rear Entry Program. FYI, it doesn't even guarantee you'll get PreCheck every time; if the name on your ticket doesn't EXACTLY match what's on your passport (full middle name), you won't get it. Likewise if the airline doesn't participate--one reason I will never fly Spirit Air again. (Also, BWI.)

Global Entry means zero when you are leaving IAD on a foreing carrier for an international flight. Oh well, the lines weren't too bad late at night.

Now, it better work when I come back!!

[RusUs]

I flew from IAD last Wed. morning, before 9am, international flight. Pre-checked online the morning before. Arrived at IAD @ ~ 6am, checked in using kiosk as we had only carry-on bags. Security lines were very short, went through very quickly.

And 2 weeks ago my friend flew from IAD @ ~4pm, international flight, too. She went through security also very quickly.

I am all for efficient security checks, however, my big concern is loss of quality in rushed security checks. I understand that people may miss their flights due to long lines (or maybe due to not always giving enough time before their departure?). There should be a good balance between shorter lines and thorough security to re-assure safety for all passengers.

[The Dissenter]

Just in case anyone is curious about Reagan too. I got through security in 10 minutes though I had to undergo a hand test for I don't know why. I'm work in banking, not explosives.

Arrived at 6:30pm today, no line at baggage check-in in the terminal by 6:50.

[ssa78]

I always found the Dulles setup to be very inefficient. There are really only 2 security entry points for all passengers. That's just too much of a bottleneck for a major international airport.

I switched to Reagan for my domestic flights a while back. The experience is infinitely better.

Night and day really.