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Home Front: WoT
TSA may let non-fliers go to gates
2006-12-09
The Transportation Security Administration is testing whether it can ease a post-9/11 policy that bars people from meeting relatives and friends at airports as they come off flights.
Guess the WoT is over: who won?
A test program at Dallas/Fort Worth and Detroit airports could pave the way for other airports to allow non-travelers through checkpoints to meet passengers or shop at stores and restaurants. "There are a lot of airports that would like people without boarding passes to have access to concessions," said Michael Conway, a spokesman for Detroit Metro Airport, which starts its test next week. Dallas' test started last week.

The TSA began requiring boarding passes at checkpoints after it took over airport security in 2002 — largely to reduce the number of people getting screened and ease lines, said Steve Martin of the Airports Council International. Letting non-travelers back in security lines "adds to the congestion and the difficulty of screening," said aviation security consultant Billie Vincent.
Posted by:Steve White

#8  It sounded awfully good until cold reality intruded.

The scientific corollary of this being:

"Every theory looks better on paper than it actually is."

The inverse corollary being:

"Every person has a theory that will not work."
Posted by: Zenster   2006-12-09 23:14  

#7  Darn it, Zenster, another area of knowledge as yet untouched, to be mastered in a limited lifetime! It sounded awfully good until cold reality intruded. Rantburg U rules!
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-12-09 23:08  

#6   Just move the security gates beyond the major concessions, and don't allow non-passengers beyond that point. What's the big deal?

Remember that 80 meter square footprint (second row, right-hand illustration) required by passenger jets? From what I remember of airport design, this forces significant branching to stagger the pull-ups at individual jetway gates, which creates a lot of unused real estate within those passageways. Airports rent that space to duty-free retailers. Additionally, freeing up access to those stores by installing security checkpoints at the terminus of each branch would be prohibitively expensive.

I'm sure the in-airport vendors are feeling the pinch and making it known.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-12-09 17:40  

#5  Just move the security gates beyond the major concessions, and don't allow non-passengers beyond that point. What's the big deal?
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-12-09 15:10  

#4  Screw security when there's money to be made.

That was the view of the airlines who were in charge of security before 9/11. Then after, no one flew and they had to be bailed out. Some of the airlines should have been allowed to die quickly as an example to others to see the penalty for the bean counting trading off costs mentality. So we ended up with TSA to 'instill' a sense of security, not necessarily install real security. The airlines want to go back to business as usual? No bail outs next time.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2006-12-09 09:40  

#3  This is not an unreasonable plan *IF* they start profiling their screening. Then the majority of Americans can go unhindered about their normal business or family lives.

As someone who has spent a lot of time at airports both as a business traveler and meeting or seeing off relatives, not to mention actually being an airport screener back in my college days, I have always chaffed at the draconian measures instituted after flight 900 that were increased further after 9/11.

If you take a realistic profile of who is likely to be a hijacker/bomber and screen for that you reduce the workload to reasonable levels. That would not compromise security.
Posted by: DanNY   2006-12-09 07:54  

#2  Why would these f**kups do this now ??? It's hard enuff getting thru these lines as is. This would only quadruple the mess. Don't do this...pulleese.
Posted by: SpecOp35   2006-12-09 00:49  

#1  Do you get to keep your shoes on if you spend a certain amount at participating merchants?

I mean, we always knew TSA was a joke. This just makes it official.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie   2006-12-09 00:31  

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