@ps61318 & Monty. Part of the problem may be Monty's misuse of "The horse left the barn" (or stable) saying. It doesn't mean that there's no more threat, it means that there's nothing you can do any longer because the threat is out there already.

For example, if some company invented a microbe that turned out to be deadly, it accidentally got released and then the company tried to put security in place to prevent the release, that would be the time to say the horse had already left the barn.

In this case, you could argue that the security measures are keeping the horse in the barn. If you need a metaphor, Monty probably meant that the hijacking fat lady had already sung.

Personally, I think the best way to prevent hijacking is to give everybody knives. Of course, that would probably just make air rage worse....

Regarding shipping bags ahead of time, I saw a news report last year (I think) about services that specialize in doing just that.

Pony99CA

@Monty: I guess I just don't understand your original assertion. There was a ca. 20-year lull between the peak of skyjacking and 9/11. That doesn't mean that scheming and attempting and planning etc. all went away. I state only that "the horse has left the stable" is too dismissive - we need to continue to be vigilant because the horse will otherwise reappear.

Furthermore, it is because we are vigilant that more incidences haven't occurred. This is reminiscent of Y2K - there was no major upheaval because of the prevention that took place. That doesn't mean there wasn't an issue.

If we let our guard down and ascribe to the belief that "no one will try THAT again; that would be crazy!" then we are gonna get burned.

ps61318

@ps61318:

Yeah, the horse has SO left the stables. I'm pretty sure that the incidence of skyjackings between about 1980 and 2001 was, like, really low

I clearly am out of touch with reality, so help fill me in:
How many airline hijackings have happened since 9/11 in the world? Since the 'terrorists' discovered you can use an airplane as a bomb, how many times has that been done since in the world? Based on the sarcasm, I assume this is happening all of the time and I just never read about it in the papers.

Monty

Not to start a flame war, but give it a rest guys... I work for TSA and it is not that bad. I know some of the procedures in place seem strange..but believe me, they are there for a reason. Every time some new rule comes down the pike it's because some idiot has tried to do something stupid, was caught, and procedures were changed or adapted because of it.
It's funny, because when foreign travelers come through US checkpoints they are (mostly) VERY compliant and understanding, they are used to much worse screening at home and appreciate that someone is looking out for their safety.
It's a hard job, the stress level is high (how would you like to know you missed a bomb that killed 100's of people) and public appreciation is low. Everyone I have met in TSA has been a professional and cares about what they do. Walk a mile in their shoes before you judge.

And yes, I do read the TSA blog...some complaints are valid, a lot are not.

nogoodnamesleft

Can anybody tell me what's so bad about having the laptop in the bag? Everything else is in the bag or my suitcase, so why the concern about a fabric bag?

bandit

@Shai: Man, I'm sorry to hear about that. I fly with firearms occasionally and I've always felt good about the notion that my bags get extra attention. Every time I hear about lost guns, I cringe.

benenglish

@regexp: I love how in Mexico, you press a magic button and if it randomly goes off, you get checked.

berribrand

Not everyone has this down, like that women in front of me at the Boston airport who packed away her laptop away in her suitcase, buried under her skid-marked panties trying to take it out with her left hand while tripping over herself trying to take off her shoes with her right hand leaving a 2 minute gap between her and the next person because all her flailing around would injury anyone attempting to go in front of her...

berribrand

I've gotten my luggage delayed so many times that I'm seriously considering carrying it all on. On one trip they lost 3 firearms for about 4 days.

Shai

Half of TSA's job is to make you FEEL safe. By having the pointless security procedures (some are pointless, some are not) they hope to make you THINK that you are safe.

szrimaging

@jpitsch:
1. You're suppose to put your shoes through the xray machine.

2. If you haven't notice everyone else in front of you in the line removing their shoes, then I suggest you put down that PSP or DS and pay more attention to what's going on. Trust me, it might even save you from being crushed by a helicopter.

ripfire4

@regexp: true that all in all TSA isn't that bad....I think the need to bump up their job requirements, and get some of these brain dead scanners outta there I am tired of them throwing my damn laptop around like its just a file folder or something jeez......

That_Eagle_Scout!

They tell me to take off my shoes every time I walk through the metal detector and I have shoes with no metal in them. TSA workers for the most part are a bunch of "roundmouths".

jpitsch

@xint:
Sure. No lost baggage. Lost packages. There's always lost packages.

Purple Dave

Usually the people that say the airports are worse are usually the people that are bad travelers anyways. All you need is to properly prepare. That's all. Ignoring some of the idiotic rules I think flying within the US has actually gotten better in the last decade. I have had -0- issues traveling the last few years. Spend a few trips flying through asia or europe and you will come begging for TSA.

regexp

@spectator101 and @ripfire4: It's the principality of the situation, my brothers!

xint

There is more than enough to see here in these great united states that foregoing airline travel isn't much of a sacrifice.

Windhawk

The security theatre is ridiculous. Notice how they never release any information about their internal audits: it's because the TSA almost always fails them. They're not actually keeping anything or anyone safe, they're just fucking up your trip to the airport. The TSA blog constantly gets hammered for their shit, it's hilarious.

mullingitover

@xint: Oh hell no. The laptop stays with me. :)

ripfire4

@spectator101: Yeah but how is a dog gonna sniff out a box cutter?

Joseph

@xint: So, don't put your REAL HDD in the system, swap it out for a disk with just an OS on it. Works every time.

Or, ever hear of TruCrypt?? look it up.

spectator101

I now travel via airplane only when absolutely necessary, as dictated by my work requirements of the distance being travelled. Yes, I have become a professional traveler (as long as my flight is AFTER 6 AM, otherwise I'm still a zombie), but no, it's just not worth it anymore. I tried to con my job into paying for a Clear card, but that's hardly worth it for the amount of personal information they will then have on file for you.

ncc74656m

Screw the whole X-Ray scanning crap, just put a row of K9s and let everyone pass them. Dogs can find drugs, explosives and firearms better than these morons doing scanning EVER will.

spectator101

@ripfire4: True, very true... but... I would never send my laptop with the airport, and carrying the laptop with me would be even worse now-a-days... I don't want "sticky-finger-security-guy" going through my personal files.

xint

@Monty: Yeah, now that all of our tall buildings have been airplane-proofed, and all of our airplanes have been protected definitively from the creativity of bomb throwing terrorists, and that airplanes now run on Perrier so that they AREN'T football-field sized flying bombs in the wrong hands...

Yeah, the horse has SO left the stables. I'm pretty sure that the incidence of skyjackings between about 1980 and 2001 was, like, really low - guess the horse came back to the stable for a bit, eh?

It may be harder to hijack a plane now, but a determined lunatic still will try, and maybe even succeed, G-d forbid.

ps61318

@Monty: "This is even funnier when you consider the fact that the airline hijacking horse has long-since left the stable."

Are you implying that our tiger repellent isn't effective? Well, you don't see any tigers around, do you?

Toshie

And when they say "security-friendly laptop bags", do they mean "laptop thongs"?

@xint: Why not just check everything in? Lost luggages rarely occur on direct flights as opposed to having connecting flights. As a frequent flyer myself, I've pretty much gotten used to all the security details at the airport, having all loose stuff in my carry-on. Sure it's a hassle, but it's not like I don't know what's to be expected.

ripfire4

We should just pay the airline by the pound.

When you pick up your ticket you stand on the scale with ALL your luggage and your ticket price is adjusted accordingly.

I just don't want to be seated next to the guy that brought nothing but a speedo.

nospamsam

I just went through security at DFW on Friday. I went through a line where they told me to leave my laptop in my bag. It wasn't lazy security or long lines either. The x-ray machine was easily twice the size of the ones in the other lines (where you had to take your laptop out). I'm not sure what this comment will do for anyone, but it seemed relevant... I guess you can take away that there is technology out there that doesn't require inconvenience or a fancy and (more-than-likely) overprices clamshell laptop bag.

Uberdude328i

I've just stopped flying all together.

Driving does take longer but its far less hassle.

axiomatic

@Kaiser-Machead: hmmm total recall styles, eh? 3 boobie vacations would be a blast!

killarclown

@leonard71: how is that wasting money? Isn't everyone bitching and complaining about airport crap? It sounds like a solution to me. Your comment is exaggerating the situation. Overnighting your stuff is not a waste of money when you know what crap you have to go through at the airport... to me, it is a wise investment.

xint

@xint: Or to be even more wasteful of money, we could buy everything new when we get there!

leonard71

@P3nnst8r: Yes it will turn out to be a bit more expensive. And insurance for some delicate things, like the laptop might be a bit out of the budget. You can't just send the lappy in a box... the point is to have it in one piece when you get to the hotel or where ever.

But if I'm a frequent flyer (for example), and I know I have to be somewhere at a specific time, and I know the airports are becoming a pain in the ass... I will make sure I have enough money in the traveling expenses... if not, I will make it clear to my employer, and if I was self employed I'd send a complaint to myself to have a bigger budget for traveling expenses. LOLOLOLoLOLo!!

xint

@P3nnst8r: yeah, ditto

digidt

Well, I guess I'll just become a flightless America-clinging land lubber that can just watch our own whale-free seas from the comfort of the shoreline.

This, coupled with the $15/first bag-$20/second bag-$25/third bag American Airlines shenanigans and I may have to look to chemically induced travel instead of the real thing.

Kaiser-Machead

And they wonder why foreigners laugh about our airport security process. "Take off your shoes! You might have dynamite toe-jam! Bwah-ha-ha-ha!"

This is even funnier when you consider the fact that the airline hijacking horse has long-since left the stable.

Monty

Flying sucks. Why would I want to cram myself into a tube hurtling through the air at 700 mph next to some fat dude who went drinking the night before, didn't shower in the morning and is sweating like he's got a fever of 400?

Oh, that's right, because gas is a billion dollars a gallon.

I'm staying home this summer.

PollockRoc

Wait...what was the issue with my current laptop bag?

UofITom

@xint: I wish i had money, too.

P3nnst8r

Airport travel has gotten steadily more fascist over the years. It wasn't fun before, but now it's just a complete clusterfvck. Strip naked and bend over because they probe everything. Eat it.

liveinvt

God Bless America....

I love how you tell us about living on the sea in the previous article. Then you give us another good reason to leave dry land!!

st.bao.luo

Overnight everything a day ahead to the hotel or where ever I'm staying... and I mean eeeeverything. Walk in through that airport with just a shoulder bag with some snacks and a media player for the trip.

No lost baggage, not stuck at the check points, no going through my personal things... nothing, zero, zip, naaaada. Watch a flick during the flight on the media player, and don't even have to ask for snacks, already brought me own.

xint

@nogoodnamesleft: Could you do us a favor and describe the reasons for your annoying procedures, as well as showing how they are not only effective, but superior to less intrusive options? No? Sorry, but "trust me" doesn't cut it in the case of an organization with a $7 billion budget that pays TSOs to stand around while insisting that everyone devote two hours of time to pre-flight harassment.

The TSA is parasitic, and due to the nature of its mission can never succeed. All the good intentions in the world don't give you the right to order the terms of private agreements. All the screening in the world won't stop a real terrorist from doing damage in front of the checkpoints.

P.S. I have never seen a stressed-out TSO. In my experience, 90% were lazy and apathetic; the remaining 10% were merely people doing a job. And every one of them is welcome at any time to quit their low-appreciation position in favor of productive employment.

gibson042