We have to wonder how secure our airport security is if a nine year old kid can bypass it. Nine year old Semaj Booker ran away from home last week, the News-Tribune reports, hopping a Southwest Airlines flight from Seattle to Phoenix, then a flight to San Antonio, where he was taken into custody. The…
Hundreds of travelers today at Orlando’s McCoy International Airport were screened by machines designed to let passengers keep their shoes on their airport checkpoints. We are very much in favor of this…as no TSA agent has ever been able to tell us the last time anyone cleaned the floors. Of fifty travellers, however, who used…
Two New Startup Airlines Seek to Capitalize on the Myrtle Beach vacation market Myrtle Beach Direct Air will start flying March 7 with non-stop flights from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Pittsburgh, Newark, and Niagara Falls. It will not be daily service, but two to five flights per week on its routes, operated with Boeing…
The holiday season is always full of craziness. We thought we’d update you on the security insanity of the holiday season. A US Airways passenger was charged with interfering with a flight crew after he unknowingly slapped a federal air marshal on a flight from Washington to Ft. Myers. The man threw a temper tantrum…
The Associated Press reports that a woman has filed a wrongful death suit against Jetblue, claiming that an in-flight crew ignored her husband after he suffered a fatal heart attack during a flight nearly two years ago. The timing of the claim seems rather suspicious to us, as the incident occurred on Febuary 16, 2005,…
The BBC reports that a Pakistani judge has ruled there is not enough evidence to try a key suspect in an alleged airline bomb plot. The arrest of Rashid Rauf in Pakistan triggered the arrests of subjects in the United Kingdom and set off the liquid terror scare this past August. His lawyer says police…
A passenger at Los Angeles International Airport sent her month-old grandson through the X-ray machine. We are unsure of what the woman was thinking…she apparently didn’t understand English. The TSA commented that they do not have enough workers to coach passengers on what to do at security checkpoints. The baby was not exposed to dangerous…
The Human Rights Commission of New Zealand, the New Zealand Herald reported, highlighted recently a case of a Muslim religious leader known only as Mr. Adam who was removed from a flight. Mr. Adam was dressed in religious attire and had planned to read religious texts on the plane, and gone to the toilet to…
USAToday reports that an American flight from Washington National to Dallas Fort Worth Airports was diverted Monday after passengers reported smelling struck matches. The plane landed safely and the FBI, TSA, and airport authority responded and everyone and their luggage was offloaded. A woman admitted she struck the matches in an attempt to conceal flatulence.…
Yesterday, British Airways announced an eight daily roundtrip flight between JFK Airport in New York and London Heathrow. Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic announced their April inauguration of service from O’Hare Airport in Chicago to London Heathrow. O’Hare is the tenth US gateway for Virgin and the 17th daily flight from London.
Effective February 15, Delta is increasing its service between Chicago and New York. Delta’s domestic routes of late seem to be paralleling their competition. Jetblue expands to Chicago, Delta follows. US Airways makes a bid for Delta, they announce first New York to Phoenix service and then Salt Lake City to Charlotte service. Delta will…
If you thought, the TSA was only interested in confiscating your hairspray or other little seemingly innocuous things, have a look at the picture above, courtesy of Gridskipper.com. The Louisville Slugger factory gives out these foot-long mini-bats as a free gift if you take their factory tour. It seems many people forget that carrying a…
We opted not to report on the Fake Boarding Pass Website created by Indiana University student Christopher Soghoian. Soghoian’s website could generate Northwest Boarding Passes close enough to pass a visual inspection, but not a machine inspection. While Soghoian created the site to call attention to security issues originally raised by Bruce Schneier and other…
The following updates are courtesy of Schneier on Security’s TSA Security Round-Up… An Alaska Airlines employee was apparently arrested on suspicion of being under the influence after a disagreement over a giant ball of rubber bands that he volunteered to surrender. The employee in question was subjected to random drug screenings and a ten year…
Earlier today, we commented on a story involving the confiscation of pie on Wednesday at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Looking for more information on the danger of pies, we happened across this entry from the Consumerist, from the day before. Apparently, in some airports…pies are safe for travel…
As the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, Cleveland’s Hopkins Airport had a forty percent increase in passenger travel Wednesday as opposed to a normal weekday. As part of this Thanksgiving rush, the TSA confiscated a dozen baked pies, as pie filling is apparently, unknown to these passengers, a banned substance. While we are sure many passengers…
A couple were indicted on charges of interfering with the flight crew on a Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Raleigh-Durham Airport via Phoenix. The full details on their indictment and relevant documents can be found here. According to the FBI report, while on the ground in Phoenix, the couple moved from the back,…
Effective today, for all flights originating in airports in the European Union, liquids will be allo wed in limited quantities. The rules match very closely the the US rules. To reiterate the new rules and best practiceseffective both there and in the US: Liquids and gels are permitted in 3oz/100mL bottles. No more will be…
As Upgrade: Travel Better reported last week, the TSA reserves the rights to fine you in the event you have prohibited stuff in your carry-on luggage. The agency collected over 1.5 million dollars in fines last year, and considering the increasing security measures implemented at airports and proposed, they may opt to levy more fines.…
We are always hunting around the net looking for blogs with interesting articles to bring to our readership. Six Kids and a Full Time Job provided the below TSA Statement of Guidance, sent from the TSA about a recent Jewish religious observance. “STATEMENT OF GUIDANCE: Succot is a significant religious holiday for Jews. It is…
The other day, Seth Stein, an architect who is no stranger to travelling for his business, was mistaken for an Islamic terrorist and pinned to his seat onboard his American Airlines flight. He was pounced on as the crew and other passengers watched. Mr. Stein, who was sitting down with a book and ginger-ale, was…
As Upgrade Travel reports, a Turkish hijacker took over a Turkish Airlines flight from Tirana, Albania to Istanbul. The flight was diverted to Brindisi, Italy. The hijacker was apparently attempting to communicate with the Pope and was later identified as Hakan Ekinci, a convert to Christianity who wanted the Pope’s help to avoid compulsory military…
Reuters reported today that transatlantic air travel could be halted if European and U.S. Officials fail to replace a deal on sharing passenger information. The current deal is set to expire, and needs to be replaced by tomorrow. The United States will deny landing authorization to airlines that refuse to send that data. Without a…
We commented on the Security of Aircraft in the Future European Environment in a post not long ago. The Travel Security blog had some interesting things to add in their post on the subject earlier this week. The most important thing the article they referenced had to say is this: “Our concern is that almost…
In addition to issues of liquid and gel bans, free speech apparently ends at the security checkpoint. As Upgradetravel reports, an individual seeking to make a statement wrote an inflammatory statement, “Kip Hawley is an idiot” on his clear plastic ziploc bag that he placed his toiletries in. The statement led to questioning by the…