APA takes a stand: no xray, no public pat down

[Jim Smyth]

glad to see someone has a pair of balls in our industry

Right on!

 

[densoo]

Showing an ID to a $8/hr CSR isn't exactly the same level of "security" as going through an X-ray and having your bag go through a scanner...

No it's not, but it is a security check, it is appropriate for a pilot who has been fingerprinted and vetted, and, more importantly, it is one of the alternatives allowed by the TSA. Which makes the theater that pilots are going through at 100% bag check x-ray security all the more absurd.

 

[Av8rPHX]

I completely bypassed the TSA line at both BGM and CRW when I flew for a regional...but that was 3+ years ago.

Yup, right from the ticket counter, through Ops in PSP and SBA and a few others as well....also 3 years or so ago.

 

[Crzipilot]

Lets add on to that list where airports have given based crewmembers sida badges which allows the crew member to swipe such card in parking lot. Walk across the ramp, and directly onto their jet. Never saying hello to anyone.

Walking up to ops. Saying hello, never waving a badge. Maybe they glanced at it dangling from ones neck, but not necessarily "inspecting" it. I can name of 10-15 cities which do this.

Don't give me, Well you went through security. Absolutely not. I could have had a .50 caliber machine gun strapped to my shoulders, and I doubt they would have noticed.

 

[Skybus]

This could have been stopped 25 years ago. DAY 1 when Crews were required to pass through security, NO UNION Pilot should have crossed that line. If then, we would not be having this discussion. The irony is that the guy that shot the USAir crew to this day (if alive) could still do the same thing at almost any airport in the US INCLUDING the airport (LAX) where he worked.

Come on guys, time to grow some here and stop the insanity. Hopefully the box we are haulin below dosn't kill us first.

Bus

 

[densoo]

CNN cites USAPA and APA. Where's ALPA!

C'mon ALPA get on the bandwagon! Your website says you are the largest pilots' union representing 53,000 pilots and 38 airlines. Where are you!! There is public sentiment blowing our way. This may be the only chance to get TSA, Congress, or the airlines, to implement CrewPass. The moment is fleeting. Do it!!

CNN

Pilots' unions for US Airways and American Airlines are urging their members to avoid full-body scanning at airport security checkpoints, citing health risks and concerns about intrusiveness and security officer behavior.

"Pilots should NOT submit to AIT (Advanced Imaging Technology) screening," wrote Capt. Mike Cleary, president of the U.S. Airline Pilots Association, in a letter to members this week. USAPA represents more than 5,000 US Airways pilots.

"Based on currently available medical information, USAPA has determined that frequent exposure to TSA-operated scanner devices may subject pilots to significant health risks," Cleary wrote.

American Airlines pilots have also received guidance from their union, the Allied Pilots Association, to decline full-body scanning. APA represents 11,000 pilots.

"It's safe to say that most of the APA leadership shares my view that no pilot at American Airlines should subject themselves to the needless privacy invasion and potential health risks caused by the AIT body scanners," APA president David Bates said in a letter to members.

Both unions are concerned about the effects of repeated exposure to small doses of radiation emitted by the backscatter technology used in some of the Transportation Security Administration's full-body scanners.
In the course of their daily duties, pilots are routinely exposed to elevated levels of naturally occurring atmospheric radiation, which increases at higher altitudes.

The unions urge members to choose security lines that use standard metal detectors whenever possible. When faced with AIT screening, pilots should opt for enhanced pat-downs, although this security procedure also concerns the unions.

Unions are encouraging pilots to request private pat-downs. USAPA urges members to make sure a witness is present during the procedure.
USAPA refers to incidents where Transportation Security Administration officers may have implemented the screening technique inappropriately.
One pilot described his experience as "sexual molestation," according to Cleary's letter. Bates wrote, "There is absolutely no denying that the enhanced pat-down is a demeaning experience."

Both unions are looking for long-term solutions to airline crew screening.
"Pilots really should never have been subjected to this type of screening, ever. Because when we walk through these machines, within a few hundred yards we get into what potentially could be the biggest weapon on the airport, and that's the airplane," said James Ray, a USAirways captain and spokesman for USAPA.

Pilots are well screened with security background checks and regular medical and mental health checks, he said. The union suggests implementing alternate identity verification technology that would allow pilots to bypass regular passenger screening.

The TSA said it welcomes further discussion with pilots and emphasized the agency's role in addressing security threats.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/11/pilots.body.scanning/index.html?npt=NP1

 

[densoo]

OK, so by Friday ALPA will be onboard

You would think the National Security Committee would have been directed to do this months ago when the machines were being deployed. Oh, well, at least they'll join in on Friday. There is hope! CrewPass by Christmas?

From ALPA

"Also, since many of you have requested more information and direction on the options that working pilots have when they are faced with airport screening by AIT, I have directed our National Security Committee to develop a comprehensive security operations bulletin with information that it has gleaned about AIT screening and pat-downs at an invitation-only TSA conference held earlier this week, at which ALPA was the only union invited to attend. Look for that bulletin not later than Friday as well."

 

[JoeMerchant]

You may have bypassed the "TSA line," but you didn't bypass security.

Did anyone, at any time, check your ID? At the ticket counter, the gate agent? If they did, then you went through security.

Actually, half the time we "by pass", nobody checks our ID....