Faster checks of fliers to start (paid background checks to bypass)

[Sgent]

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Air travelers who pass extensive background checks will soon be able to avoid security hassles such as removing suit jackets and shoes at checkpoints, the nation's aviation-security chief said Thursday.

Three years in the works, the Registered Traveler program is finally set to begin June 20, Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley told USA TODAY. It could signify the greatest change in aviation security since 9/11 by shifting millions of passengers into expedited lanes at airports.

Hawley's announcement marks the TSA's firmest commitment to a program that airports and airlines have eagerly been seeking as a way to shorten security lines for "trusted travelers." He also provided new details on how the program could operate.

Hawley said travelers will undergo "a significantly speedier process" at airport checkpoints if they clear both a government check for terror ties and another background check to help verify they pose no security threat.

USA Today

[arachide]

1. But...

you'll have to stand in a really long line to prove that you're the person who actually OWN's the expedited security pass.

I'm skeptical...

[Sgent]

2. In the original article it states

that the test program in Orlando had reduced the average wait to 4 seconds...

[rodeodance]

7. a 4 second speed up!!

[TechBear_Seattle]

16. TO 4 seconds, not BY 4 seconds. There's a difference n/t

[Warren Stupidity]

3. Two tiers of travelers.

Businessmen and suspects. Great. Oh the bits and pieces of the fascist state they are constructing are a marvel to behold.

[yellowcanine]

6. Yep. First class passangers already get priority on check in and boarding

even though it would make more sense to have them board LAST as they sit in the front of the plane. But what makes sense is not the issue here. This is a sneaky way to force everyone to get a national ID. Soon it will be such a hassle to travel without it that anyone who wants to fly will have to get one or risk missing their flights. And no one will be any safer, as it is only a matter of time before the terrorists get their own "foolproof" ID cards.

[rodeodance]

8. another category of the "other' has come into being.

[rodeodance]

9. plays itself out as good/bad guys. Ones who have background checks

are the good guys, no suspician. Those who do not are the suspicious people. Sad.

[rodeodance]

12. a new 'suspicious' group of people is being created.

[SpiralHawk]

11. "Proles to the rear, Proles to the rear." - Ministry of Prole Control

Please don't breathe near, or let your gaze fall upon, the Elite Republican Ruling Class.

And remember: Big BushCo loves you. Big BushCo protects you. War is peace.

[FloridaPat]

But they started this in December. I know some people that went

for it and they love it.

[HereSince1628]

4. Hey, it's a way to turn an ineffective program into a money maker

The TSA program focused on passengers and did little to secure other access to airplanes and airport facilities. It is has always been mostly for show, to give the public a sense of security.

But passenger fear has turned to impatience to get around the impediments of what they percieve as worthless security checks. DEMAND drives retailng. Anything people REALLY want can be sold. And in America that really means ANYTHING.

So now you pay $100 and you get to keep your shoes on. Isn't that Great? It's the free market in action, capitalism at it's best.

[rodeodance]

5. $80-100/per year--It is the Two America's playing itself out.

this was discussed on cspan this am.

[SpiralHawk]

10. "Alll your background checks are belong to us." - BushCo neoCON Fascists

Inc.

[ewoden]

13. Apparently even Iraquis understand what we have forgotten . . .

"Freedom means to travel, to get the job I want, to study in the college I want."
Ahmed al-Samarai, a citizen of Iraq, Associated Press, 5/29/03

[Coventina]

14. Um, excuse me but...won't the terrorists just get the background checks

and then they can just waltz onto the plane?

This system makes me feel a lot LESS safe.

You can't tell me that a sophisticated network like Al-Quaida doesn't have people who are "clean" that could easily do this.

[Lochloosa]

15. They don't have my fingerprints now and there is no

way I would voluntarily give them mine just to fly on a plane. Strip search away!

[Missy Vixen]

17. Oh, boy, another hoop to jump through!

>Hawley said travelers will undergo "a significantly speedier process" at airport checkpoints if they clear both a government check for terror ties and another background check to help verify they pose no security threat.<

I agree with those thinking this is a slippery slope to a national ID card.

In the meantime, how much more will it take before people just decide to stop flying voluntarily?

Julie

[colonel odis]

18. sounds like they're levying a tax to travel the country.

unless you want to be harrassed and slowed down, pay $100 a year.

fuck them.

[Straight Shooter]

19. Guess who will end up paying the ultimate cost for business travelers?

That's right. We will, the consumers of the products/services provided by those businesses.

It's all such a nice little profitable circle-jerk, isn't it?

[rinsd]

21. I don't think so...

Do you really think a company is going to raise prices based on their business travelers air costs going up maybe $20 a flight? And that's assuming a conservative 6 roundtrips per year. I fly 3 or 4 times a year roundtrip for personal travel. If you fly 10 times a year, its an extra $10 or so.

Have companies raised their based on their business travelers paying more for airline tickets in the last two years?

Or does it have more to with labor and material costs(at least in the manufacturing field)?

On edit: I will also add that work hours saved by shorter lines will likely pay for the fee especially if you fly more than 5 times a year. So the business would not bother raising costs for this particular issue.

On Edit 2: I will also add that things like increasing taxes for business, increasing taxes on fuel and such raise the cost of business that is passed onto the consumer far more than a small fee for the frequent business traveler. And I have no issue with that.

[Straight Shooter]

27. I do think so.

:)

Companies recoup costs wherever and whenever they can. When I worked in Houston, I flew 2 to 3 times a week. That adds up to a lot of extra $20 here and $20 there.

Whether companies have raised their rates based on flying costs the last few years, I don't know because I don't fly anymore.

Whichever side of this debate has the most weight, the companies can always use this as a rationale for passing along costs, whether it's a legitimate reason or not.

[rinsd]

28. What I am saying...

Is that the cost incurred is minimal even on small companies. And time saved basically pays for this (ie: the time your employee spends working vs. on line).

A company that makes a rationale for raising prices for this item is ridiculous.

Also this came up before and several people brought up the fact that the business traveler themselves are likely to pick up the tab with companies being a bit more stingy than we even give them credit for ;-).

[Straight Shooter]

30. I appreciate your logic.

I just don't trust corporations. ;)

[rinsd]

20. I have no problem with that.

If you wish to undergo an extensive background check and will pay for it to avoid lines because you fly more than 5 times a years, its worth it.

If you feel this is a separation between have and have nots, well so is flight travel.

If you fly once a year, this is just not worth the money vs. time saved.

[Psephos]

23. Sensible post

The "have/have not" trope doesn't fit very well here. Almost anyone on a plane is already a "have" in my book.

If people want some convenience and are willing to pay extra for it, then whose business is it but theirs? I personally won't pay a dime for the privilege of giving more info to government, but each person should be able to decide that for him/herself.

Let's keep our powder dry for the stuff that does matter.

Peace.

[rinsd]

24. Neither would I go through something like that....

even if I did travel more extensively.

Sorry government, you can make me take of my shoes but you're not bothering my family.

[Psephos]

26. Amen n/t

[henslee]

22. And wouldn't a terra-ist be able to fake a background check, thus

ensuring easy boarding? I would think so.

[rinsd]

25. Why would a terrorist be worried about line length?

It's not like they don't still go through metal detectors and x-ray machines just because they have had a background check.

[henslee]

31. Not worried about time length.... but according to that article, they

would be able to avoid "removing suit jackets and shoes at checkpoints".

[rinsd]

32. That is stated to be a possbility.

Even then, its not much different than security now in terms of if you want to sneak something through.

[northzax]

29. I also have no problem with this

people pay to save time all the time, it becomes a question of how much that time is worth to you.

The thing I hate right now is the new puffer machines, I got in line at Dulles last week that had one and it was at least three times as slow as any other line. You still have the metal detector (so you still take off your shoes and everything, but it takes 7-10 seconds extra for every passenger to get screened. doesn't sound like a lot, until there are a hundred people in front of you and you wait another 20 minutes in line.

so what's the problem? well, it's the only machine they have at Dulles, if you've been playing with Nitrates, why not go through one of the other three lines that doesn't do that?

[54anickel]

33. Has this made it to the pre-requisit list to an Al Q job application yet?

;-)

[Gormy Cuss]

34. Maybe I should print up a tee shirt for air travel

Emblazoned front and back with "TRUSTED TRAVELERS LET THE TERRORISTS WIN"

It strikes me as funny that for a major invasion of privacy and a hundred bucks people will be allowed to go through security wearing their shoes and coats. America. What a country!