Slashdot Mirror
Pay the TSA $100 and Bypass Airport Security
An anonymous reader writes "Catching a flight in the U.S. isn't a great experience anymore due to the security checks involved. You have to remove your shoes, your belt, get your laptop out, be scanned and subjected to radiation in the process. Hundreds of other people are doing the same thing, meaning it takes 40 minutes instead of four. Now, the TSA has come up with a clever, money-making alternative. Instead of scaling back security or speeding it up, you can instead pay $100 and bypass it completely!"
The TSA's new program, Precheck, is free (right now it's by invitation only though). The $100 is for Global Entry, the program that lets you skip the lines for immigration. If you have Global Entry you automatically get Precheck, but Global Entry is not necessary for Precheck.
I hate the TSA as much as the next guy (probably more than most since I'm an international student and have to put up with their stupid security theater often), but get your facts straight.
From TFA:
Enrolling [in Precheck] requires a $100 application fee for a background check, plus a brief interview with a Customs officer.
Once in Precheck, TSA still checks names against terrorism watch lists before every flight, just as it does for other travelers. If a passenger is cleared for Precheck screening, a code is embedded in a traveler's boarding pass.
Precheck members usually get to use security lines set up for first-class and elite-level frequent fliers. But Precheck travelers actually don't know if they will get to use the easy screening until the TSA officer checking IDs actually scans the boarding pass. If the pass has the code, a Precheck passenger is steered to a separate screening lane for what amounts to old-style airport screening.
TSA says Precheck members are selected randomly for regular screening to enhance security. But that unpredictability irks frequent travelers. The agency doesn't make travelers go to the end of the regular screening line, however, but instead slips them into the front of the regular queue.
So it's a bit more complicated than waving a Benjamin in front of your friendly TSA employee. Though that probably works, too.
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
It's not exactly like that, and it's not exactly new. First you have to pass a rigorous background check, the same one I passed to work for an airline.
FTA:
I hate it when people thoughtlessly mention large numbers in conversation when they clearly have no concept whatsoever of scale.
There are approximately 7 billion people in the world... so by the above gentleman's assessment, there would be only 7 terrorists, worldwide.
Seriously?
Sorry... pet peeve of mine.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
To do this, you go through a background check and TSA interview, plus pay $100. It's an outgrowth of the SENTRI and Global Entry programs, which let you avoid the long immigration lines when returning to the US. And yes, it's worth every penny if you fly a lot.
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
People who have already been screened and approved for the Global Entry ($100) or NEXUS ($50) program are automatically eligible for pre-check. The TSA isn't making (or receiving) any money on this. The money is to pay for the background check and screening done to get into the trusted traveler programs run by customs and immigration.
The TSA is actually being *smart* here. If you've already been checked and interviewed for expedited entry into the country, why *wouldn't* you be trusted for expedited security screening at an airport?
Neil
and always been at war with Iran. The ministry of truth keeps all the old newspapers updated so that I can verify that fact.
Did you hear that the chocolate rations are going up again?
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
You don't seem to be too new here. He is leeching off the fame of the first troll. You know the phrase "Too Long Didn't Read"? And also how you can carried away in the links of wikipedia far from where you started? Well the same thing happens on Slashdot. People are more likely to read comments near the beginning. So you if reply to the first post, your post will stay near the top. I figured everyone knew that. I used to get the first post quite often with something witty because I'm a subscriber and see posts as much as 45 minutes before they hit the site, but I've gotten lazy and don't care about Slashdot as much anymore. But when I would get first post, people would "leech" of my post with different subjects, hoping to get a bit of fame. Its really all quite silly, not sure why we don't spend more time doing something more useful. (Oh no, someone is wrong on the internet, now I have to stay up and debate them til the wee hours of the morning)
Don't be ridiculous.
For one thing, if people stopped flying as much and the airlines were in financial trouble, the government would bail them out just like they did the auto industry and banks. "Too big to fail", "national importance", etc.
Secondly, why would a politician be "idiotic" to vote for yet another (no strings) bailout? Who's going to vote against them? Just look at the Obama voters; they're so dumb, they were complaining about Gitmo, the wars, TSA, etc. before Obama was elected, and now that he's continued those policies (or made them worse; the TSA wasn't nearly this bad under Bush), they defend him any time someone criticizes him. Even if Obama isn't re-elected (a very remote possibility at this point it seems), any Republican who gets elected (being Mr. Frothy or Romney, the two front-runners easily) is going to do the exact same thing. The only politicians running who wouldn't do the same thing are Ron Paul, who at this point looks like there's no way he'll get elected (he's lost too many of the primaries so far, though he's doing better than in '08 from what I can tell), and perhaps (I really don't know, since there isn't much info on him) that Richardson guy who's running against Obama on the Democrat ticket but the media hasn't said a single word about.
The public has spoken, and they're clearly in favor of bailouts, TSA, and wars, on both the Democrat and Republican sides.
Also the airlines have been bailed out before under Bush.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
It depends on the level of background check. If the background check is being used for a security clearance it can become extremely expensive. An initial single scope background investigation (SSBI) for a Top Secret-SCI clearance can cost $15k. But this involves investigators interviewing friends, family, coworkers, and business partners in person as well as tracking down every place you have been in the last 10 years or so, what relationships you were involved in, and if anything could be used to bribe or coerce you (being gay was a disqualifier in the past because it could be used against you).
Most background checks aren't as intrusive and only check your credit history, your employment and education records, and criminal history. Most of this is automated and it will only become more expensive if the systems signal red flags.
You know that it's easy to buy ceramic knives now, don't you?
You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
Some do use metal, some don't. I think a lot of them include metal as a security feature, but I'm pretty sure that the cheaper kitchen knives have simple plastic handles. (I've got a ceramic bladed vegetable peeler that doesn't have any metal, but I don't think I'd be able to cause severe damage with that)
You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
No, the 9/11 hijackers were mostly from Saudi Arabia. However, the group that sponsored them had located their base of operation in Afghanistan (after being evicted from Sudan in 1996). That group bragged of being responsible for the 9/11 attack (and numerous other terror attacks). When the Afghan government (run at the time by the Taliban) was asked to arrest and turn over the leaders, or to, at the very least, evict them from the country, their response was, "No, these are our very good friends who are welcome to remain as long as they wish."
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
I have a Nexus pass (expedited crossing at US/Canada borders), which according TFA also qualifies me for Precheck. I got it when I used to cross the border to work in Canada. I wasn't happy about the requirements, but it was pretty much necessary for me to avoid multi-hour waits at the border lines.
Getting the pass required disclosing/documenting all my international travel for a certain number of years (don't remember how many), my work and residence history, list of family members, I think a list of my bank accounts, list of vehicles I own/drive, all 10 fingerprints, and a ~20 min interview with a CBP agent. I also traveled by air frequently enough that I got the air travel option, which required adding my iris scans to their central database (at least I assume they're iris scans - they could've been retina scans). The application fee covers the work needed to process all this and (I assume) run their own background check to verify the info you submit.
In exchange for selling my soul to the government, I got through the border in 5-15 minutes. At the major airports I can skip the regular immigration lines, and take the automated Nexus/Global Entry lanes which typically have no line. You scan your card into a machine, which takes pictures of your eyes and compares to what they have on file, then spits out a card saying you're legit. You then give this card to a Customs agent who typically waves you through. They whole point of the program is to pre-screen you to determine if you're a low-risk traveler, then not have to waste time scrutinizing you as closely every time you cross the border.
It is ridiculously easy to lose this pass. There were horror stories of people losing it for trivial things like failing to declare to Customs that they had an eaten apple core in a bag they were using for garbage in their car. In theory you're allowed to appeal if you lose it, but nobody had ever heard of an appeal succeeding. And once you lose the pass, you are banned from the program for life.
So no, it's not as simple as just paying $100. For the typical slashdotter, I think the fingerprint and iris scans would be dissuasive enough.
The US airlines created this problem. By charging ridiculous baggage fees, they are practically forcing you to carry-on everything but the kitchen sink.
Luckily in Europe, baggage fees are mostly an exception (oversize and extra pieces over the normal limit, excess weight, etc) and this problem does not exist. Even when I fly to/from the US on a codeshare flight booked on a European carrier, I don't have to pay the baggage fees even if some segments are on US carriers.
In the event of an emergency your bag would be an obstacle to other passengers exiting the plane. There are reasons that such rules are in place.