Category: TSA

Why Has Flying Become So Miserable?

Commentary Those of us who have returned to frequent air travel appreciate just how unpleasant the processhas become. Perhaps this simply reflects an overly sentimental view of what the experience was like pre-pandemic, but surely it has become much worse since. Outrageously expensive tickets, long lines at security (even premium lanes like “Clear”), no room…


Woman Accused of Assaulting TSA Officers at Phoenix Airport

PHOENIX—A woman has been arrested for allegedly assaulting three Transportation Security Administration officers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, according to authorities. TSA officials said Makiah Coleman, 19, allegedly attacked the officers as she was going through airport security just before 6 a.m. Tuesday. TSA spokesperson Lorie Dankers called it an “unprovoked and brazen physical…


Mobile Manners

Regardless of the reason for traveling by air, be it business or pleasure, spending time in close proximity to throngs of strangers calls for a specific set of manners. Show Appreciation When the agent at the counter has to deal with rude customers ahead of you in line, treating them to a warm smile and…


TSA Issues New Requirements to Bolster Aviation Cybersecurity

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) this week issued a new set of cybersecurity requirements for certain TSA-regulated airports, airlines, and aircraft operators. Referred to by the TSA as an “emergency” cybersecurity amendment, the new requirements are aimed at bolstering aviation security amid “persistent cybersecurity threats against U.S. critical infrastructure, including the aviation sector,” the agency said. Similar cybersecurity requirements were also…


Chicago Dad Who Spoke Out Against Porn in Schools Faces Extra Security Screening En Route to CPAC

A Chicago dad who found himself on a watchlist after opposing pornographic content in his kids’ school says he faced further harassment this weekend from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on the way to and from the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference in Maryland. Terry Newsome of Chicago, found out in December 2022 that…


TSA Intercepted 6,542 Guns at US Airport Security in 2022

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) intercepted a record 6,542 guns last year at airport checkpoints across the country. The number—roughly 18 per day—is an all-time high for gun interceptions at U.S. airports. That’s a nearly 10 percent increase from the 2021 record level of 5,972 guns detected at airport checkouts. Eighty-eight percent of the weapons…


US No-Fly List Exposed Again by Hacker, TSA Investigating

U.S. authorities are investigating after a hacker claimed to have found a version of the country’s no-fly list on an unsecured server linked to a commercial airline company. The Swiss hacker, who goes by the name maia arson crimew, said in a blog post that she recently discovered the list on an unsecured Jenkins server belonging…


12,000 Fentanyl Pills Stuffed in Candy Smuggled Through LA Airport No. 1 on TSA List

When an airline passenger allegedly attempted to smuggle 12,000 suspected fentanyl pills inside candy wrappers onboard at the Los Angeles International Airport last October, it put the incident at the top of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Top 10 Catches List of 2022. The list, compiled by TSA Dec. 30, included other alarming finds, like…


New Transgender Friendly Security Going Into Effect at US Airports

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is ushering in a new policy that makes U.S. airport security screening transgender-friendly. The federal agency is implementing the policy backed by what it calls a new “gender-neutral algorithm.” According to the agency, it has invested $18 million into the new screening system, which it has dubbed Advanced Imaging Technology…


Ex-TSA Officer Gets Nearly 6 Years in Prison in LAX Drug Case

LOS ANGELES—A former Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer was sentenced Dec. 9 to 70 months in federal prison for smuggling what he believed was meth through Los Angeles International Airport in exchange for $8,000. Michael Williams, 39, of Hawthorne, pleaded guilty in June to one federal count of attempting to distribute methamphetamine. Williams was arrested…