The
Transportation Security Administration
(http://www.tsa.gov/public/)
will allow small scissors and tools onboard flights starting Dec. 22 in an
effort to focus more time and resources on more serious security threats
like explosives, TSA Assistant Secretary Kip Hawley said during a press
conference in Washington Dec. 2.
Scissors not longer than four inches and tools, such as screwdrivers,
wrenches and pliers less than seven inches long, will be permitted
on-board. The administration is still prohibiting knives or box cutters
onboard flights.
The
TSA also will implement random additional screening measures at airport
security checkpoints. Pat-downs will be extended to include legs, but now
security officers do not have to pat down areas of a person’s skin that
are exposed. Passengers still will not be searched by hand in the chest
area—a practice that was halted in December 2004 after numerous
complaints, primarily from female passengers.
Caleb Tiller, spokesman for the National Business Travel Association, said
the business travel community has had a generally positive reaction to
TSA’s new procedures.
“There’s concern, but there’s also trust that TSA knows what it’s
doing. If it turns out in two or three months that there have been adverse
effects, then I think we will sit down with TSA and discuss that,”
Tiller said.
The TSA said the new policy would result in shorter security lines.
Scissors and tools make up 25 percent of the prohibited items found in
passengers’ carry-on bags.
“We found that a disproportionate amount of our resources go to
line-slowing bag searches directed at objects that do not pose a real
threat of taking control of an aircraft,” Hawley said.
Other security measures—like additional testing for people who refuse to
remove shoes and mandatory removal of laptops from bags—will remain in
place.
Travel Security Tips
Now that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) controls all airport security checkpoints.
Interpretation of the requirements often varies, and there is inconsistency
of checkpoint operations.
VIP
Staus -- Call your carrier to see if there are special entrances or
procedures for their best customers to get through the security
checkpoints. If there are, make sure you take your frequent flyer
identification card with you.
Knowing the procedures and what to expect will help getting on the plane
easier. The Federally mandated and managed screening process includes these
steps:
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If the x-ray machine
operator
sees an object that can not be
identified or may be the size or shape of items that are no longer allowed
to be carried on, the bag must be further screened by examining the bag
with a special wand used to identify explosive residue. Bags might also be
physically searched.
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Any person who has a
bag selected for additional search
must have his or her footwear
inspected. Comfortable shoes that slip on and off easily might be a
good choice.
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Also, randomly selected passengers will have their
footwear inspected.
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Once you have reached
your departure gate, randomly selected passengers will be re-screened
throughout the boarding process.
The FAA has also mandated random
checks of carry-on luggage at the gate, and random personal searches with
hand-held metal detectors during the boarding process. |
