Instead of rolling back the ineffective and draconian security measures to pre-2001, they simply decided to monetize it. That tracks for this administration.
> Who is Eligible
> TSA PreCheck members and those with Known Traveler Numbers (KTNs).
And to be clear, I think that Precheck is a stupid-ass program. If the security measures are truly necessary, then you shouldn't exempt anyone from them. And if they aren't necessary, then they should be abolished. Precheck always struck me as a tacit admission that the TSA is security theater while trying to make some extra money for the government. But again, that isn't some kind of sin unique to the Trump admin the way you implied.
> they simply decided to monetize it. That tracks for this administration.
But this administration didn't cause the monetization. I am fine with criticizing them for not ending the TSA - I too think they should end it. But your post implied some kind of corruption angle, one that is specifically due to this administration. And I don't think that criticism holds true. One must criticize them for only the things they've actually done, imo.
- securing the cockpit
- training staff to resist hijacking
- ensuring checked bags have boarded passengers
Are worthless theater.
But, if you don’t accept that, and believe that more physical passenger screening is important, adjusting the level of screening based on a per-passenger threat assessment seems reasonable.
It’s the reason TSA Precheck is a thing at all.
My point is that many of those security measures are largely invisible to passengers, but for the introduction of things like “Trusted Traveler #”’s
You mean you used to be able to just send a bag without flying yourself, and have someone else pick it up at the destination airport? Was this something that people did intentionally or did it happen accidentally?
This is false.
If you check into the airport early (4+ hours) your bag may go on an earlier flight without you.
And you can decide not to board your original flight.
But I could be wrong. Maybe it's just rare enough that I haven't run into it. I would expect it would delay the flight by a noticeable amount. And it would be fairly obvious that they're unloading luggage and then reloading it. It's not like they can just send someone in to climb around and find it. They pack them in tight.
Someone told me they'd done that in the 70s. In their case, they were planning to travel and bring along stuff that belonged to a friend at their destination. At the last minute, they couldn't make the trip and they decided the easiest solution was to check the bags and scurry out of the airport. They were worried the airline would deny a refund, but they got their money back just fine.
Baggage claim was no problem. Anybody could (and mostly still can) access it. I remember a time where they kind of corralled it all in and checked your bag tag and stub to make sure you weren't wandering off with someone else's luggage. That was a chaotic, ineffective, and short-lived effort.
You also can't buy a plane ticket for an anonymous person. It has to be for a legal person, which the government is informed of before the flight takes place. That ID is attached to the luggage when it's checked, which is how they can implement bag retrieval when the passenger doesn't board. I'm sure there's an airline somewhere out there accepting checked bags without tickets or ID, but it's not supposed to be allowed.
For air cargo, someone provides an ID, but it's usually the shipper or some other person with no real involvement beyond working in the supply chain. There's a chain of check boxes that says "I received this from an entity I have a legitimate business relationship with" and that's good enough in practice.
- seriously, you need to follow the instructions of the staff on board
- don't get (very) drunk before or after boarding, don't bring and drink your own alcohol
Turbulence is probably the leading cause of injuries and deaths from modern air travel, but taxiing incidents at extremely rare and pretty much never result in injuries.
Yeah, passengers without TSA Precheck are paying for it.
Your flight ticket already includes the TSA and airport fees.