The Vette Barn - Reason #396 I hate flying

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Reason #396 I hate flying

Coming home from PA this AM. Flying out of BWI. Get there and they have 2 out of three TSA “Pre” lines closed. The only open line is so long it extends beyond the rope maze out into the lobby. The regular lines are just as long so we go ahead and get in the TSA line. Soon I notice that the line is barely moving. Turns out they have ONE guy checking ID and boarding pass for the only TSA Precheck line in the entire GD airport! For those of you not familiar, BWI is not as big as DFW, ATL or ORD but it certainly is not some smal regional airport. Thirty five minutes later we finally clear TSA and start walking briskly to the concourse our flight is leaving from. Of course it is at the last gate at the far end. Half way down the concourse, I hear Southwest paging us telling us the door is about to close. Run down the rest of the way and get there to tel them my wife is right behind me. We were last ones on the plane and they closed the door 15 minutes before scheduled.

One TSA guy for checking ID for the whole airport. There were plenty of others standing around with their thumbs up their asses as usual. Typical government operation

Rant off. :banghead:

Only 35 minutes? You got lucky.

Never had one near that long before. Been at Midway where the line was longer than this but moved a lot quicker.
I sometimes wonder if it’s a contest between TSA and the airlines to see which can make the flying experience as bad as possible

I'm always to the airport early, so 35 minutes would be nothing. Annoying, yes, but not an issue.

What pisses me off is a flight that leaves 11 hours after the scheduled departure time due to mechanical issues. I guess the more you fly, the more BS delays you see. It gets old for sure. Yay, 5 more weeks of flying starting this Sunday.

TSA didn't hire America's best and brightest..

Quote:

Originally Posted by 69camfrk (Post 1673190)

TSA didn't hire America's best and brightest..

You got that right, MickyD's is a tad higher......

Quote:

Originally Posted by 69camfrk (Post 1673190)

TSA didn't hire America's best and brightest..

:iagree:

All the TSA is a placebo for the American traveling public.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VITE1 (Post 1673199)

:iagree:

All the TSA is a placebo for the American traveling public.

:yesnod: Pure Security Theater.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 69camfrk (Post 1673190)

TSA didn't hire America's best and brightest..

TSA hires two types of people. Diversity hires who can't get a decent job anywhere in the private sector, and people who actually probably give a crap about security, who want to do their jobs well. The latter group leaves for other government jobs, out of frustration, leaving the less competent diversity hires to run the asylum.

Flying used to be a fun experience, it was exciting, going places. Now you have to decide if wherever you want to go is worth the humiliation and inconvenience. There's a project in Texas to get a high speed train from Houston to Dallas. It seemed reasonable, right up until the part where they came out and said TSA style security would be at the train stations. Uh, OK, so what's the point? Flying is faster, unless you get to save the hassle and humiliation of getting sexually assaulted by the TSA.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 69camfrk (Post 1673190)

TSA didn't hire America's best and brightest..

TSA should hire Chick-fil-A managers, if they actually want to improve safety and the traveling experience. Let the Chick-fil-A folks do the hiring and training.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 99 pewtercoupe (Post 1673180)

:seasix: This is why I have Clear. I fly out of BWI all the time. The pre-lines are useless now.:confused5:

Quote:

Originally Posted by snide (Post 1673184)

Only 35 minutes? You got lucky.

:seasix:

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill_daniels (Post 1673207)

TSA should hire Chick-fil-A managers, if they actually want to improve safety and the traveling experience. Let the Chick-fil-A folks do the hiring and training.

:seasix: true. Plus they can get people through a line like a champ.:D:cert:

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill_daniels (Post 1673206)

:iagree:

https://www.heritage.org/transportat...-privatization

Quote:

This year, the Department of Homeland Security carried out covert tests on TSA security, and the results weren’t pretty.

The results of the tests showed that the TSA screeners failed to detect weapons, drugs, and explosives almost 80 percent of the time. While the exact failure rate is classified, multiple sources indicate it is greater than 70 percent.

The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General carries out “Red Team” tests periodically to check the competence of the TSA’s ability to detect and stop fake weapons from getting through airport security.

In 2015, the TSA failed these tests by an even larger margin—95 percent.

Sadly, these results are not surprising. The TSA has a history of failing to uphold basic security standards.

So why is the TSA failing 80 percent of the time, and why is Congress not demanding serious changes be made? Congress cannot stand idly by and watch as the TSA continually fails to uphold basic standards and loses the faith of the American people.

In any other business, 95 percent and 80 percent failure rates over the course of several years would not be acceptable. Any vendor who failed to deliver on his promises, or any employee that failed to show up to work that often, would be fired.

And so it is time to fire the TSA from front-line screening. The best solution to our broken airport security system is to privatize TSA screeners.

The U.S. could mirror the Canadian public-private partnership, or switch to the Screening Partnership Program already in place, which currently allows airports to opt out of TSA screenings and use private screeners instead.

Either of these options would replace government employees with private screeners who would be responsible for monitoring the screening process.

The TSA would still be responsible for setting and overseeing aviation for security rules—in fact, rather than running a large screening workforce, it could focus exclusively on setting standards and figuring out how to improve security.

Private screeners would increase productivity, security, provide better accountability, and be more cost-effective.

Reports have found Canada spends 40 percent less per capita on aviation security, which frees up money that could be used in other areas to secure the homeland. That could be true for the U.S. as well.

The TSA has struggled to manage its workforce, but allowing private security companies to manage their workforces would strengthen screeners’ capabilities and allow the TSA to improve its oversight role.

Additionally, if the private workers did not meet safety standards, they could promptly be fired and replaced, unlike in the current system.

We cannot afford to wait for the next terror attack to become serious about reforming our airport security system. Congress needs to privatize the TSA to protect travelers from the very real threats our nation faces.

This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal

I was in the security line at Salt Lake City in around 2005 or so, took me two hours. That's the worst wait I've had so far. Luckily didn't miss my flight but just barely.