A pilot friendlier TSA?

[Erlanger]

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-05-19-pilots_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

 

[densoo]

WASHINGTON — The nation's 75,000 airline pilots could avoid being screened for weapons before they board airplanes if a test starting shortly succeeds.
But critics including flight attendants fear that an armed terrorist posing as a pilot could get on an airplane if pilots don't have to walk through metal detectors and have their bags scanned by X-ray machines.
At three test airports, pilots will skip passenger screening and go through separate checkpoints where a screener will check only their airline ID. The test, run by the Transportation Security Administration, will begin in early summer and could be copied around the country at a later date, TSA assistant administrator John Sammon said.
Pilots' unions have been lobbying to skip airport screening, which they call unnecessary and "demoralizing." The Air Line Pilots Association notes that pilots face extensive background tests, and that pilots wanting to do harm with an airplane would hardly need a weapon because they control airplanes.
Airport screening "has just worn on them," said Pete Janhunen, spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, the largest pilots' union. "You trust them to fly a multimillion dollar airplane, and yet a TSA inspector with little training, little experience has the ability to strip-search them for gels."

What is so misunderstood by those writing about it is this is the way it has always been. The TSA was very reasonable in the rules it set up for pilot screening. Pilots are not required 100% bagcheck. As long as someone verifies their face, to their ID, to a database, they can go through. A type of manual biometric, if you will. LAS has been doing this for years, even before 9/11, and other places (too few) also do it. Some of the smaller airports the crew gets verified in this way by the ticket agent (who is also the gate agent, who is also ops, who also throws bags) and the crew just walks out to the plane.

The reason this isn't going on nationwide is because the airport/airline don't want to pony up the money to have a dedicated person match faces to IDs to database. That's it. LAS pays $5M per year to contract with a transportation company to drive crews straight from the hotel to the plane. The city of LAS thought it was worth the money to keep crews from walking over the kids and elderly at the security checkpoint (plus, it's a long walk to the gate. There were some ontime/crew rest issues). The $5M goes to aircrew-level background checks and security clearances for all their drivers in addition to special mx and overnight parking requirements for the vans.

Any airport or airline could do this. They don't because it doesn't affect their bottom line. Until the USA Today (or better yet, the WSJ) explains this clearly to the traveling public--and the traveling public complains (you mean these guys are cutting in front of me just because this airport is too cheap to provide another allowable method?!) nothing will be done.

 

[mcleach71]

Begining of CrewPass?

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-05-19-pilots_N.htm?csp=34

 

[Beergut]

The AFA spokesman is such a tool. If AFA wants any kind of support from the pilots then they should keep their opinions to themselves.

 

[G2T]

Nice, I look forward to that. Read the comments though: Apparently the passengers think we are elitist and should go through the dog and pony show with everyone else, I think they are just jealous (and ignorant to what happens at smaller airports everywhere).

 

[vetrider]

Tell those flight attendants to shove it, I'm sick of going through security. We finally have a shot to fix this, courtesy of usapa(just kidding), and they are trying to muck it up. That irritates me, just slightly.

 

[JustaNumber]

"The Association of Flight Attendants says it doesn't mind checkpoint screening."

What a load of BS! Does the AFA even speak for ANY of its members?

 

[JustaNumber]

"Sammon said exempting flight attendants from screening could be more difficult because there is no centralized database of their identities like pilots."

This does bring up an aspect of CrewPASS that I wasn't aware of. I don't look forward to having to split up the crew just because of a database problem. Of course, I probably shouldn't complain since the FA's apparently enjoy the screening...

 

[Spicepilots]

I enjoy reading the comments, especially about how we should be screened for mental conditions. Funny how nobody talks about that ramper at MCA smuggling guns and pot to PR. I'd be much more concerned about how those guys don't get screened going into the secure area...

 

[meyers9163]

I enjoy reading the comments, especially about how we should be screened for mental conditions. Funny how nobody talks about that ramper at MCA smuggling guns and pot to PR. I'd be much more concerned about how those guys don't get screened going into the secure area...

Or the TSA people who can come and go as they wish.... And from time to time attempt to checkout your AC.