The checkpoints are a joke. They aren't there to protect us. They're there to make us THINK we're being protected. And while they make little old ladies get out of their wheelchairs to be frisked (they did that to my 95-year-old great aunt once), investigators sneak bomb components past them all the time. I agree with Bill Maher - we need a "Fly At Your Own Risk" airline. Anything would be preferable to the mess our airports are in now.

Posted By MertWarson on December 7, 2007, 11:02 AM

I wish people would stop trying to take all of their luggage through the checkpoint loaded to the gills with all sorts of electronics and slowing down the rest of us. They fill the overheads and take forever to get off the plane. It would make security so much faster. I love the job they are doing, you never hear about the things they catch which I have personally seen working airport ops. Give them a break, they are treated worse than McDonald employees and put up with a lot of crap just following the rules and doing their job. You may want to fly on an unscreened plane but I don't.

Posted By Sue Berry on December 13, 2007, 12:19 PM

While I just took a small knapsack to a prep school reunion, and carried it on the flight Denver-Boston, I prefer to just carry on a book with my passport, ticket or boarding pass and anything else I must have on the flight or for immigration in it. One flight attendant (Lufthansa, I think) complimented me for having no carryon except this. I just have to be sure to remember to remove it from the seatback on arrival.

Posted By Roger AC Williams on December 13, 2007, 12:52 PM

Every time I go through security I'm reminded that it's just America's poor attempt at making everyone feel like we're making ourselves safe. Security is carried out by underpaid, under-trained staff and is just totally eratic. In the last month, I've gone through at four different airports. Three never made me remove my little bag of liquids and then bam, the fourth just tore my bag apart and made me "choose" which I wanted to keep. Meanwhile, my purse, which had three or four over-4-ounce bottles of sunscreen in it, went through without a hitch. Ridiculous.

Posted By Kate Beck on December 13, 2007, 1:13 PM

I agree with the fly at your own risk policy, it is a joke to think that we are safe on the plane.

Posted By Susan L on December 13, 2007, 1:21 PM

I agree, the process as we know it now is unnecessary and a joke! It is overkill and toooooooooo much. Typical government bureaucracy. Bring back some common sense, stop the repeated requests for ID, forget the liquid restrictions, forget shoe removal etc. Return to simple screening with X-ray machines, random more extentive searches and call it good. Life has risk! Millions and millions of traveler dollars and hours are wasted. Nearly everyone I know is disgusted with the current system.

Posted By Karen Wilson on December 13, 2007, 1:27 PM

Just following the rules... Well, I for one think many of the rules are quite silly, or at least the way the are enforced is at least inane and time and resource wasting. I agree for the most part that we are being LED to believe we are safer. Why can't I drink the little bit of water and then reuse the bottle instead of having to throw away the water bottle and buy a new one? My 83 year old mother was made to go through extra searches and security measures - sure made her day!

Posted By GardenJack on December 13, 2007, 1:45 PM

After my bilateral hip replacements set off the alarm and are identified by the "magic wand" why the "feel and pat" routine? I have never seen anyone who didn't set off the alarm subjected to "feel and pat".

Posted By Carl Ondry on December 13, 2007, 1:51 PM

I flew two years ago. The TSA line was out the door of the Oakland airport. Do the airlines realize this is hurting their business?

If the airlines locked the cabin doors and allowed the pilots to carry pistols, 9-11 never would have happened.

Posted By stewart on December 13, 2007, 1:54 PM

Are people really annoyed by the checkpoints in general, or are they just annoyed when the checkpoints delay _their_ trip?

I bet it's the latter. Everyone is onboard with additional security measures following a tragedy, until they are the ones who are inconvenienced. "Hey, don't those pesky security agents get that I'm ME and therefore subject to special treatment?"

Yeah, it's annoying, much like those pesky speeding tickets are...till someone you love is killed by someone doing 80 in a 50. Then you're all about slowing down, right?

Posted By Amanda on December 13, 2007, 2:01 PM

I wish the TSA would focus on weapons and bombs and stop being so nitpicky about the mascara and lip gloss. All the news reports point to them being so distracted by the search for liquids that have never been proven to be viable bombs, while real bomb components are getting through.

I also dont get why some people have such an issue with the carry on luggage. In my experience of traveling frequently, its usually the road warrior men and their coins who hold up the line. I've been hearing this complaint about carry on luggage for some strange reason ever since the airlines started restricting amount of carry on. Meanwhile, more checked luggage means longer delays at the carousel and more lost baggage. And, its always the person who is taking up 1/3 to 1/2 of my seat with their extra girth who tends to complain about the rollaboard I have that doesnt touch them and takes 2 seconds to put in the overhead compartment.

Posted By Eva Gee on December 13, 2007, 2:10 PM

Nov 24 coming back from Frankfort we landed at OHare...big mistake...before we could get on our connecting flight to Minneapolis we were in for a surprise. First: spend time in long lines going through passport control - they didn't seem to have it together, Second: spend 45 minutes waiting for luggage to come down from United Flight, Third: hand suitcases to Flight personnel of United and hope that is who they say they are, Fourth: Customs randomly go through one of our bags in a hurry obviously and break a holder of a small eyeglass screwdriver --very small as we still can't figure out how they took a chunk of glass out of the holder; oh well, holder is now broken and chunk of glass is no where to be seen, yet they do leave a piece of paper saying they were in our suitcase, Fifth: now we must go through the same procedure as in Nice, France where we started our trip which was to take off our shoes, put our carry-on bags in the containers and be examined all over again. At least the Germans are polite and friendly. You can't really say that about the TSA personnel at OHare. They were rude, not very friendly and a little on the scary side. No wonder the Europeans complain about coming into America and being rudely treated. Well, it happened to us too and we are Americans. Finally, after all of this we get to our connecting flight and just make it before they are taking off, no wonder the United personnel were so nervous about getting our bags. They knew, even if we didn't what a hassle it was all going to be. We had a two hour layover which turned out to be two hours of madness.

Posted By Karen Boblett on December 13, 2007, 3:18 PM

Try getting on a flight with an Artificial Hip. One is a pain but I really feel for those with multiple replacements joints.

Posted By DAVID BURRELL on December 13, 2007, 3:22 PM

I accidentally carried a half full liter bottle of juice through the checkpoint (thought I left it in the car). So, I don't feel safer at all. I just feel inconvenienced. Now checkpoints in Israel, that feels secure.

Posted By Michelle on December 13, 2007, 3:36 PM

All in all, TSA does a good job, but it really gets me when my wife tries to go thru the line. She is 65 years old, in a wheel chair and always informs them that she has a metal plate in her back. This seems to set off a panic. She has never gone thru the line without being subjected to an inch by inch wanding. There is too much concern in this country about the fear of profiling. If there was no profiling at all, crime would skyrocket.
And, the shoe bit. I hope they never have someone try to smuggle something in their underwear!! I can see it now. "please remove your shoes and your underwear".

Posted By Dick Spiess on December 13, 2007, 3:49 PM

Sorry, but I think people just want to gripe about any inconvenience. Personally, I think the curbisde folks, and the airline folks have gotten cranky and less friendly. At the same time, I think the TSA staff have been doing a great job. Now, I am one of those people who arrives 2 full hours early, so I am not stressed about the lines, etc. And if the slightest perception of heightened security makes it the tiniest bit safer for me and my loves ones to travel, I say HOORAY. To the TSA I say, keep up the good work. To everyone else, quit whining.

Posted By PTFLynn on December 13, 2007, 3:53 PM

Just back from Italy. We flew out of Rome, which, other than armed guards at the entry doors, had almost no noticable security. I did have my little baggy of lip stick, hand cream, etc. But noticed after take off that I had forgotten to put another cream into the bag and it wasn't noticed. Also did not set off the bells when I went through the metal detector with my artificial knee. Everyone was very nice, but I can't say I felt very secure.

Next stop, Philadelphia where we had to change planes. It took a long time to get through passport control, customs, recheck the bags and then security. (And the bells did ring for the knee.) I admit I was glad we had such a long layover, but none of this was unpleasant. All the agents were friendly and helpful. Even the lady who had to do the "feel and pat routine".

Bottom line I believe is, if you are courteous to the agents, they will probably be surprised into being nice right back!

Posted By Leslie on December 13, 2007, 3:57 PM

Because I do work at an airport maybe I can shed some light. We live in a pc world, if we just checked young muslim men then they would be filing lawsuits so old ladies and innocent looking people all have to go through the same stuff. The pat and feel is because you can't believe that it is just a hip replacement. You pat and feel to make sure there is nothing hidden. Wish we could trust everyone.Those test you hear about that are constanly run on TSA that they don't catch. Well you guessed it. They hide small parts of bombs in their clothes, shoes, etc. Small items like mascara and lip gloss are not a problem, it is the items over 3.4 oz. that are. Just put them in a baggie and put them outside of your suitcase not in your suicase. Some items they can tell and some items they can't see if they are over the limit. Doing bag checks on every bag to check is a pain. The xrays can only see so much. I have seen shoes that have enough explosives in them to blow a plane up. The xray can detect the explosive or tampering. This is quicker than doing explosive testing on everyones shoes. The swab that you see tsa wiping on certain items and then putting into a machine to test the swab. I work in a small airport and we still catch guns, box cutters, big knifes etc. I have see the reports. I wish we could live in a simpler world but do not think we will every see it again. It is part of life and I still hate seeing all of the huge amounts of carry ons. Don't get me started on the people that need two seats...

Posted By Sue Berry on December 13, 2007, 6:51 PM

As a veteran of 31 years in law enforcement, I can state first-hand that airport checkpoints are NOT for our protection, but rather control, They only belittle and intimidate law-abiding citizens. Whatever happened to the 4th Amendment? Recently in Singapore I was in Transit Area D, inside the "safe" area, awaiting flight checkin for a continuing flight. Gurkha mercenaries were fanning out routinely, machine guns at the ready. Inside the Transit D waiting area several police officers came in and started demanding our passports, questioning us, writing down passport info. One of the officers told me "It's only routine." However, I notised 3 Gurhkas facing us, blocking off any possible escape with their machine guns. What escape? We'd already been through security or come in awaiting connecting flights. I've never been in a Communist country that treated travelers with the open hostility shown by Singapore. Security? God help us!

Posted By Daniel J. Vandeberg on December 13, 2007, 8:28 PM

As far as the TSA security checks go? I don't feel particularly safe. A few years ago I flew out of New Orleans. The security personnel took note of a manicure set in my carry on luggage. The scissors in the set where deemed too dangerous to carry on the plane. The blades were approximately 1/2 inch long. They passed right over the nail file in the set. It was metal with a 3 inch long pointed end. Which of these seems most dangerous to you?

Posted By Jen H on December 14, 2007, 12:40 AM

Yes, airline checkpoints are getting worse. I don't blame the airline security folks. They're simply following orders and doing their job. Most of them don't even have the power to make a decision. However, I do take issue with the federal government for two reasons.

First of all, lose the PC crap! Muslim men, not 85-year-old grandmothers, have been the instigators of hijackings, Flight 103, 9/11, etc. So, they should be singled out for closer inspection. If they're offended, then that's too bad! Peoples' lives are at stake. Try flying El Al (i.e. Israeli national airline). They search EVERYONE who's not an Israeli citizen and make no apologies. They're also known as the safest airline in the world. 'Nuff said!

Secondly, get rid of the regulations about liquids! The "bad guys" have long since moved on to other techniques. So, all the government is with all these silly rules about liquids is inconveniencing honest people. If they spent half as much time screening people who should be screened as they do obsessing over whether a toothpaste tube holds 4 oz instead of 3.4 oz, and whether lip stick is or isn't considered a liquid, we'd have an airport security systems that worked!

Posted By Marni Patterson on December 14, 2007, 1:05 AM

I almost missed my flight. The line to get to counter to check in one baggage was long; the line to get into th e line to drop off checked backage for screening ans subsequent transfer to airplane was even longer; then the line from the prev line to finally drop off checked baggage longer, then the line to get into the line for ID check for security long, long and the actual line for security clearance, long and so forth with ONLY 5 minutes to boot to catch the plane. For a 6 AM flt leaving Ontario, CA and leaving at 3 AM from home with half hr drive to the airport. I thought I won't make it and brought me special thoughts that perhaps, travel is not meant to be pleasant and is just a waste of money.
What do you think?

Posted By hari on December 14, 2007, 2:02 AM

In October 2007, I was leaving from Atlanta International Airport. A person in uniform was standing near the belt (he turned out to be a crew member of an airliner, and not a TSA employee)!!
My wife and I placed our carry-ons near the belt and assumed the uniformed person would push our items on the belt where he was standing. With all the rudeness in the world, he said: put your stuff on the belt. We did. When I passed through with a cell phone in my pocket, the bell rang. Before the TSA employee could talk, the same rude individual screamed: Sir, come on here.
During all this, I thought this was a TSA employee. But I was completely amazed to find out that he was waiting to check his carry-on, and he has no TSA sign. His uniform tells he was a crew member.
Now, we have a rude employee that has nothing to do with TSA, but actually doing the job of a TSA staff.
Call this professionalism?!

Posted By Dr. S. W. Bishara on December 14, 2007, 10:44 AM

If you want to see tight security, go visit the Statue of Liberty. They do a standard airport type screening when boarding the ferry in NJ or NY, but if you actually take the tour inside the statue, then you have to endure another screening, even though there is no way you could get there without having ridden the ferry out. It was almost the "strip to your underwear" idea stated in another post. If this is the precursor to what the airports will be doing, we might have to come to the airport the day before and spend the night at a "secure" hotel, in order to withstand the long lines that will be in place.

What I don't understand is that people will spend two hours standing in line, carrying ridiculous amounts of carry-on luggage, having it searched, which slows all of us down, then they slow the boarding process and exit process on the plane by having stow and retrieve all that luggage, yet say that waiting 10 minutes at baggage claim is too long. Imagine the trade-off in time if we all could just board the plane and sit down in our seat, then stand & exit, and only have to wait the 10 minutes at baggage, rather than the extra 15 minutes waiting to get through security, and waiting for people to collect all their carry-on and drag it slowly off the plane. Think about it!!!

Finally, how many of us really believe that the terrorists are planning their next target doing the same thing they did 10 years ago? We are trying to stop them from doing the same thing, but they will apply their terrorist attack doing something very new and different, and we will again be shocked and horrified, and the government will say that they could not see it coming.

Good luck in your slow air travels!

Posted By Mike Woods on December 15, 2007, 11:45 AM

TSA is just an excuse for people with bad attitudes and police want-to-be's, to be rude, use authority to threaten and treat people like criminals.

Posted By Lynn on May 8, 2008, 1:47 PM

Having had both a hip and knee replacement in the past year, I can only say that trying to get on an airplane is almost as bad as the surgery and WAY more degrading. First time, they got me out of the wheelchair, took away my cane and told me to walk through the security without touching anything. I could barely do it without falling, held up everyone else in line and then they actually LOOKED INSIDE my underwear. Then they told me to walk a few feet to a side area. I basically was unable to move and no one was allowed to even give me a hand to hold to keep from falling. Then they felt me up and down and told me to leave. Again, I couldn't walk without my cane. The last time I flew I refused to get out of the wheelchair, so they "just" patted me all over. This is definitely sexual harrassment. They also discarded my face lotion which was in a 3.5 oz tube, but only had about 1 oz in it. Now my husband says we're drving anywhere it's possible, regardless of gas cost. This is so gross! By the way, so sorry to anyone who got held up in line behind me.

Posted By karen on May 12, 2008, 9:41 PM

Yes, some airports have gotten ridiculous with the security. On a recent trip to Hawaii, my husband and I had to go through two checkpoints. The first one was manned by TSA agents to get into the airport waiting area. The second checkpoint was manned by one of the flight attendants to get to the gate waiting area. Talk about double duty.

Posted By Laurie Blackwood on May 14, 2008, 10:46 AM

I SUPPOSE YOU GOOD CITIZENS WOULD RATHER JUST BREEZE ALONG YOUR BUSY DAY..UNTIL SOME TERRORIST SLITS YOUR DAUGHTER'S THROAT, OR HOLDS A PIN-LOOSENED GRENADE TO YOUR TESTICLES..IS THAT RIGHT? TALK TO ISRAELI SECURITY AND MOSSAD ABOUT"WHAT IS TO MUCH SECURITY".....THEY WILL TELL YOU THERE IS "NEVER ENOUGH"! I MIGHT SUGGEST MY ISRAELI FRIENDS ARE CORRECT..AMERICANS ARE SO VERY UNINFORMED AND JUST WANT TO BRUSH BY EVERYTHING IN LIFE AS IF IT DOESN'T CONCERN A RATS'-ASS! WELL, MAYBE THE "RATS'-ASS" YOU JUST BRUSHED BY IS GONNA "MAKE YOUR DAY"..VERY DIFFICULT! THEN THEY SEND US TO BAIL OUT YOU, ON YOUR VERY BREEZY DAY..JUST CONSIDER IT FOR WHAT IT IS..IT IS, WHAT IT IS...

Posted By HARRY CALAHAN on July 21, 2009, 6:12 AM