A few things brought to my attention from the TSA blog, Evolution of Security. What, those uptight jerks have a blog?!?! Yes they do, and as I have been reading more and more of their blog I think of these guys less and less of them being jerks. Don’t get me wrong I understand they have a huge and critical job keeping air travel safe, but some things about them make them seem like jerks.
One misconception is items that can and cannot be carried onto a plane. Such as nail clippers, knitting needles, and corkscrews. I would bet most people have the idea that they could not bring these onto a plane, in fact you can! From the TSA blog:
Knitting needles, carried by grandma, Mrs. Claus or Jeremy down the street are permitted. Plastic, metal, clay, titanium… Whatever… Permitted. . .
Fancy schmancy corkscrews with knives, no. Cheap corkscrews with no knife, yes. . .
Trim those nails, in flight if you want, just be sure the passenger sitting next to you doesn’t mind a flying hang nail…. Oh yeah, no blades on nail clippers either. Nail files on the other hand are OK.
So to sum up, if you are the kind of person who likes to drink wine, knit and clip your nails, you are free to do all three in flight… So long as you don’t have any blades.
Also, new this week TSA officers will begin having passengers place their shoes directly onto the X-ray belt rather than in the bins. This is supposed to help reduce items in bins and it gives the officers viewing the X-ray screen a better image. Awesome, I never understood why they wanted them in the bin in the first place.
Once again from the TSA blog:
If you don’t hear the directions or put your shoes in the bin by accident, fear not – you won’t be sent back to the end of the line for a do-over.
Are you getting the idea here? These TSA people may actually have a little bit of a sense of humor.
Now to the more major news, the TSA is now requiring passengers to list their full names as they appear on government IDs for reservations with airlines. This is part of the “Secure Flight” program launched by the TSA to help improve passenger regulation. In August, the TSA will also enforce passengers to provide their birth date and gender when making airline reservations.
“By enhancing and streamlining the watch list matching process, the Secure Flight program makes travel safer and easier for millions of Americans,” said TSA Acting Administrator Gale Rossides. “During this phase of the Secure Flight program, passengers are encouraged to book their reservations using their name as it appears on the government-issued ID they will use while traveling.”
In the near future, small differences between the passenger’s ID and the passenger’s reservation information, such as the use of a middle initial instead of a full middle name or no middle name/initial at all, will not be an issue for passengers. Over time, passengers should strive to obtain consistency between the name on their government issued ID and the travel information they use for booking flights.
This is also the passing the pre-departure watch list responsibilities from the airlines to the TSA. Hopefully by adding this new requirement the process actually at the airport because much more smooth and easier to travel.
