I fly quite a bit. I guess it comes with the territory of a marginal job. I don't mond flying, in fact, most of the time I like it. Most of the time, I am prepared and can whiz through the lines, with no problems. The exeptions in my lifetime have been Houston Bush International Airport and Boston Logan Airport. Those two I have good luck with. It has nothing to do with the size of those airports because I am just fine with Dallas Fort Worth, Detroit, and Los Angeles International. Ok, the roundabout point I am getting at is coming up......
The TSA is testing a program that will allow non-passengers to wait at the gates for their family and friends to deplane their flights. The test program is going on in Dallas and Detroit. For now, the TSA is allowing only hotel guests at those airports to go to the gates without tickets to wait for loved ones. Of course, they have to go through security and all that jazz. What that means to the regular traveller is that your security lines will be longer and your wait time will be greater.
The goal of the new program, will be to relax post 9/11 restrictions, and allow family and friends the opportunity to meet their parties at the gate. Oh yeah, there is a little underlying ulterior motive that the TSA mentioned. It will allow these unticketed passengers access to the airport's concessions located inside the security area.
The love of money makes people do crazy things. I am perfectly happy with the way things are right now. I feel safe and secure every time I am at an airport. I don't think I should have to arrive any earlier at an airport to wait in line at the security screening just so you can see your family and friends ten minutes before you could have in the baggage claim area. It is piss poor.
The larger concern that I have is that when you relax one thing from the post 9/11 stranglehold that is security you will start to relax other things. Eventually, it will be ridiculous again, and we will see another tragedy. If it is not broke, don't fix it.
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2 comments:
wow...that's a dumb idea. i quite enjoy the way that it is now. i've flown a bit more than the average person in the last year or so and i have no problem meeting my friends and family at the baggage claim or in front of the terminal. meeting them at these locations speeds up the entire process and having them at the gate would not only increase the amount of time that it takes to get through security but also the amount of time that you spend at the gate deplaning and dodging people who don't really need to be in the area. obviously the real motive here is to sell shit to bored waiting family members.
My fear is that only grandmothers use this process and we go back to this 'quicker' method. My reasoning?
1) They are very slow
2) They are cheap and don't want anything from the airport. Their purse already contains enough shit.
3) They like to park in non-parking areas
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