Vnunet.com reports that scientists at University College London are developing a system called Optag, that combines RFID tags and closed-caption tv cameras to track passenger movements in busy airports. The system will work by placing these tags on boarding passes. While the possible benefits are many…passengers who are late for their flights can be located,…
CBC News reports that on Friday, a passenger on an Air Canada flight from Montreal to New York City was removed from a flight for prayer. Some fellow passengers wonder why the man, an Orthodox Jew, was removed. He was moving back and forth and his prayers were not audible, but apparently they received more…
The TSA fired one employee and indefinitely suspended two others, the Orlando Sentinel reports, on Friday after an internal investigation into alleged theft from luggage at Orlando International Airport. We’ve questioned the wisdom of the TSA a great deal since we started commenting on the current security situation. Despite the fact that they have a…
The Mercury News reports that about 100 people were evacuated from a terminal at Mineta Airport in San Jose Saturday morning after screeners found two flashlights hooked through wiring. They found it suspicious enough to evacuate, although ultimately it was found to be harmless. In Little Rock, two passengers were removed from a flight from…
WQAD of Moline, IL reports here that on the biggest travel weekend since the new restrictions went into effect, people are still not used to wait they cannot have in their carryons. In Moline alone, they are still throwing away over 200 items a day. The New York Times reports here that drinking water, dehydration,…
We came across this column from the Orlando Sentinel by Steven Cole Smith. We have to agree with him. Flying isn’t as fun as it used to be. You have to wait on a line for a disinterested government employee to rifle through your possessions. If you try to bring a bottle of water, then…
The Travel Security Blog reports on the training given to air marshals. Given reports of what has caused these highly trained individuals to break cover and take charge of a situation, ie passengers who don’t obey the fasten seatbelt sign…we are curious about how the recent news that the marshals will now be allowed to…
As reported by the Seattle Times, Seattle-Tacoma Airport has decided not to apply for the government’s Registered Travel Program. The TSA’s Registered Traveler Program is set to provide expedited security screening for passengers who volunteer biometric and biographic information and successfully complete a security-threat assessment. The information is collected by private organizations licensed by the…
CNN reports that the pilot on an Air Canada Jazz flight from Ottawa to Winnipeg on Saturday returned from the airplane lavatory to discover he was locked out of the cockpit. With 30 minutes to go, the pilot went to the bathroom, leaving the first officer in charge. When he tried to return, the door…
It is reported that on August 12, Raed Jarrar was about to board a Jetblue flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Oakland, CA. Allegedly, four officials, either from the airline or security stopped him and informed him he could not board with the shirt on. One apparently told him, “Going to an airport with…
Our colleagues at our sister blog, opening this week, Gadget Wisdom sent us this link from Slashdot A passenger lost his Ipod in the airplane lavatory, and despite advising the flight crew some minutes later, the plane is diverted to Ottawa and a bomb squad is brought in, prompting an investigation. Once again, the most…
Last week’s entry on Candidates for an Award for Travel Stupidity referenced a 21 year old man, one Howard McFarland Fish, who had a stick of dynamite in his checked luggage. on a flight from Buenos Aires to Houston and onward to Newark. Further information, provided by the Sun Journal, indicates Fish bought it at…
A USAirways flight from Philadelphia to Houston was diverted to Tri-Cities Airport in Tennesee after a bomb threat was found in a note on board. Reuters reports that although all 52 passengers were offloaded, it turned out to be another hoax. Meanwhile, this woman, Janet Gregory, Age 66, was arrested in Charlotte, after she refused…
The Darwin Awards are ones given to those who contribute to the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who remove themselves from it…essentially people whose stupidity gets them killed. Here at Flight Wisdom, we honor those whose stupidity or lack of forethought in the current security environment impacts us all. Today, we salute…
A 29-year-old man in Chicago opted to face arrest rather than face the disappointment of his mother. We must commend Madin Azad Amin for not wanting to disappoint her, although we question his intelligence. He was stopped on August 16th on his way to Turkey when an item resembling a grenade was found in his…
We reported yesterday that the Dutch were holding twelve passengers from a Northwest Airlines flight to Mumbai. No evidence could be found that they were anything but difficult passengers. It appears they were merely rowdy. It is a lesson to us all…stay in your seat when the fasten seatbelt sign is on, remain quiet, keep…
The Boston Globe comments on the lessons of security for El Al, the National Airline of Israel. El Al security focuses on intercepting bad people, as opposed to bad things(bottles of water, shoes, etc). They monitor behavior, and profilers interview travellers at length. Only when the profiler is satsified with you are you allowed to…
We here at Flight Wisdom tend to address the security situation with a degree of skepticism. It is not that we are unconcerned about the threat of aviation terrorism, or that we do not believe it should be taken seriously…but some of these incidents cause us to question the approach. For example, today’s incident in…
To allow passengers to adjust to new security restrictions, many carriers relaxed their luggage restrictions. Today, it was reported that Northwest Airlines resumed its charge of $80 for passengers who wish to check a third bag. American and United have resumed charging as well. For restrictions on your carriers, please consult their website. The average…
In a recent post, Staying in Touch In Flight, we commented on the loss of Boeing Connexion. As Airwise news reports here, part of the problem was that the Boeing equipment, which was satellite based, was large, heavy, and expensive. Aircell, which purchased part of Verizon Airfone’s bandwidth, plans to start service by the end…
The Detroit News reports here that screeners are handling 30 percent more checked luggage at Detroit Metropolitan Airport since the increased security began. To some degree, as we’ve previously mentioned, the media has confused people or failed to educate them about the new security measures. Watching the news, we saw story after story about people…
After we reported on a Jetblue flight to Austin which was under intense scrutiny for bathroom graffiti, and an Excel Airways Flight that was under scrutiny for words on a barf bag, in our recent post, Safety First, Saturday night, a man on a flight from Atlanta to San Antonio was detained and the FBI…
MSNBC reports here on what happens to items confiscated by the TSA. As reported, Pennsylvania is even listing the items on Ebay, although generally they are sold at public auction in bulk. To view these items on Ebay, the Pennsylvania State Surplus list can be viewed here. The sheer volume of the items shown in…
The JonBenet Ramsey case has been in the news a great deal lately, and the suspect is on a Thai Airways plane en route to the United States. According to the Houston Chronicle. The article reports that, “Before takeoff, Karr took a glass of champagne from a flight attendant and clinked glasses with Spray[An investigator…
With all the recent security scares, it is important to keep in mind what security is actually doing to keep us safe. Airportbusiness.com reports here on the details of United flight 923, from London to Washington-Dulles Airport, which was diverted to Boston’s Logan Airport yesterday. Two F-15s were scrambled to escort this plane in. The…