Public fed up with TSA’s ‘grope discounts,’ but still let Opt-Out protest fizzle/

By Richard N. Velotta

Friday, Dec. 3, 2010 | 3 a.m.

The holiday season is the time of the year that I get all misty-eyed and nostalgic about the good old days.

You know what I’m talking about — those days when we could go to the airport and walk out to the concourses and gates and greet friends and family when they arrived.

Many airports even had outdoor observation areas where you could watch the planes taxi in.

Now, thanks to well-financed and organized thugs who know of no other way to accomplish their political objectives than to murder innocent people, we have an obtrusive, impersonal, expensive and not completely foolproof security system in place that discourages air travel and irritates those who are committed to flying.

The tension created by the recent Transportation Security Administration announcement that it planned to step up security measures resulted in a failed national protest and a little humor designed to make us feel a little better about being miserable in an airport security line.

A friend sent one of those e-mail messages that you forward to all your friends listing new TSA slogans in the wake of California resident John “Don’t Touch My Junk” Tyner’s gate rape episode in San Diego. Tyner has been elevated to folk hero status for refusing to comply with TSA security directives, telling a pat-down screener that “If you touch my junk, I’m going to have you arrested” — and capturing the whole thing on video.

My favorite new TSA slogans are “Can’t see London, can’t see France unless we see your underpants,” “Grope discounts available,” “Wanna fly? Drop your fly” and “We handle more packages than the Postal Service.”

It’s no wonder that people talked about rising up and staging a protest that was doomed to failure.

It wasn’t the pleadings of the TSA that caused the National Opt-Out Day protest against the use of body scanners to fizzle. The plan to convince travelers to refuse going through the scanners and opt for the time-consuming pat-down process instead was well-intended.

But did organizers really think that on a day when most people are reluctant to fly anyway because of all the crowds that travelers would voluntarily make the misery last even longer? On the day before Thanksgiving, the mission is to just get to your destination and meet up with your family and friends.

The TSA reported that at Los Angeles International Airport, 99 percent of those selected for body-scan screening submitted to it instead of the pat-down.

At McCarran International Airport, there were no big delays in the security line despite the high volume of passengers.

Another reason the protest flopped is that the backscatter scanning technology — the devices that render the subject virtually nude during the process of determining whether he or she is carrying anything dangerous — isn’t used in every airport. But the TSA seems intent on expanding the use of the machines nationwide.

Not unexpectedly, online organizers of the National Opt-Out Day protest considered their efforts a success because of the awareness they raised. The fact that I’m even writing about it apparently proves their point.

“The entire point of the campaign was to raise awareness of the issues of privacy and aviation safety at TSA checkpoints, with the ultimate goal of influencing policy,” said a statement by Opt-Out Day organizers posted on their website.

“It was always about getting attention to the issue, educating the public and putting pressure on to change the current procedures. With near daily headlines on the front page of newspapers and debates on television and radio news, the mission was accomplished — our voice was heard.”

One aspect of the TSA’s plans to increase security measures that irritated some travelers was the decision to allow pilots and then flight attendants to bypass the full-body scans.

Pilot unions at American Airlines and US Airways first raised a concern about pilots being sent through the scanners as a health issue. The unions cited continual exposure to small doses of radiation as a reason for pilots to be exempt.

It wasn’t long before unions for flight attendants followed suit and also got the exemption. Last week, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents nearly 18,000 American Airlines flight attendants, issued this public thank-you note:

“APFA applauds the TSA decision to allow flight attendants to be exempt from the new enhanced security procedures. Flight attendants are required to go through an exhaustive background check and rigorous training before the first day of flying and should not be subjected to these security checks. This decision will allow the entire security process to move more quickly. The TSA made the right call on this.

“APFA will also continue to pressure for all flight attendants to be included in any plans for a systemwide aviation biometric crew pass ID badge program that has recently been tested at a few airports.”

I’m guessing that there’s more than one business “road warrior” out there who passes through enough scanners to be concerned about the health risks associated with using them.

Maybe you’re like me and have thought a little about how al-Qaida and the other bad guys of the world would try to exploit the exemptions announced by the TSA. Would they get their hooks into a flight attendant and somehow find a way to use this new exemption to smuggle a dangerous substance aboard a plane? Would they attempt to infiltrate the flight attendant industry with operatives who could suddenly board a plane much easier?

The Homeland Security Department and TSA would be the first ones to tell you that the bad guys are constantly looking for weaknesses in the security system to bring terror to the skies. Security line exemptions are another hole the bad guys can crawl through.

And, it seems the public has finally gotten to the point that it’s fed up with intrusive security measures. Even though National Opt-Out Day was a flop, it got us talking about it and the good old days of strolling out to airport gates.

The APFA release referenced what could be the best long-term solution: a high-tech pass system that would enable fliers to board planes without scanners and pat-downs.

How about if the TSA sells those millions of dollars worth of scanners (they cost $100,000 apiece) and develop some kind of passport system that would enable all travelers the ease of accessing a flight in the same way as pilots and flight attendants? Incorporate an iris or fingerprint scan into the system to verify that the passport owners are who they say they are.

Maybe travelers would have to pay a one-time fee to cover the cost of a rigorous background check.

Don’t think you’re going to dodge the threat of terrorism by taking a bus or train instead of a plane. With all the interest in developing high-speed rail in this country, the day is coming that similar security checks are ahead for people who use ground transportation.

There undoubtedly would be some people uncomfortable with the gathering of personal information necessary in a background check.

But what’s worse: Your personal information stored in a secured computer somewhere (it’s probably already there!) or the intrusive scans and pat-downs we experience at airports today?

Union votes

A second employee group at Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air, flight dispatchers, filed for union representation with the National Mediation Board.

The filing last week came a day before flight attendants begin voting on a proposal to be represented by the Transport Workers Union.

Flight attendants are scheduled to begin voting by telephone and by Internet on Nov. 30 on union representation. Votes will be tabulated Dec. 22.

Allegiant has about 420 flight attendants based across the country and 13 dispatchers based in Las Vegas.

Dispatchers, which are certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, serve as a pilot’s eyes and ears on the ground. They plan and monitor all flights and keep crews apprised of changes in weather, navigational aids or airport conditions while the plane is in the air.

The mediation board supervises union representation elections at commercial airlines and railroads.

Long Beach deals

It didn’t take long for a fare war to erupt after Allegiant Air announced plans to fly nonstop between Las Vegas and Long Beach, Calif., four times a week beginning Dec. 15.

Allegiant invaded turf long held by New York-based JetBlue Airways and the question wasn’t whether JetBlue would retaliate against Allegiant’s advertised $20 fares but how big the battle would become.

The answer came last week when JetBlue announced two additional daily flights to and from Long Beach beginning Feb. 1, bringing the total to five. And, it decided to match Allegiant’s fares. You can book the cheap flights through Dec. 6 for travel between Dec. 15 and May 16.

JetBlue presents a formidable challenge for Allegiant with its newer A320 jet fleet, its policy of allowing one bag to be checked free (Allegiant charges), free food on board and no-charge satellite TVs at each seat.

It’s great news that Las Vegas is getting additional lift to Southern California to the tune of about 400 seats a day on average by February. But can it be sustained? Or, is this just a maneuver by JetBlue to crush Allegiant’s efforts to break into that market?

Now, the new question: Will Allegiant retreat? In the past, extremely profitable Allegiant has been quick to raise the white flag when a giant such as JetBlue has moved in to defend a market.

Stay tuned.