Airports

Category Archives for Airports.

Customer Service Agent Dishes On The Best And Worst Celebrities To Deal With At LAX Airport

by Gary Leff on August 15, 2020

Aug 15 2020

Whenever I fly through or out of LAX I run into celebrities. And the thing is there must be more of them than I realize, because I don’t know who most people that are conventionally famous even are. I’ve run into Billy Crystal at TSA screening and then the terminal 4 Admirals Club, Reba McEntire in the Admirals Club too, and Randy Jackson escorting a child star in first class across the aisle to name just a few.

Airline employees, either more culturally aware than I am or just with access to a flight manifest, must find this an every day occurrence. So a Los Angeles-based airline customer service agent with a Tik Tok account is a dangerous thing when she decides to dish on the celebrities she’s met at the airport.

TSA May Soon Require Passengers Without ID To Answer Challenge Questions On A Mobile App

by Gary Leff on August 14, 2020

Aug 14 2020

Under the system the TSA is contemplating, a private contractor would develop an app to ask the traveler challenge questions based on both government and commercial data about the person. It would then produce a pass/fail to be shown at the TSA checkpoint.

Nearly 20,000 Fake IDs Seized At Chicago O’Hare

by Gary Leff on August 10, 2020

Aug 10 2020

After all the scare stories, Customs and Border Protection acknowledged “most of the fake IDs were for college-age students.” Isn’t the biggest risk then that someone could be tasked with buying booze for a non-socially distanced rager as colleges open this fall?

New Data: U.S. Seized Over $2 Billion From Travelers At Airports, Usually Without Any Crime

by Gary Leff on July 30, 2020

Jul 30 2020

Over $2 billion has been seized from travelers at U.S. airports by the federal government between 2000 and 2016. 70% of 30,500 people whose money was seized were never charged with any crime. 25% of money is seized at Washington Dulles airport.

More Accurate Alternative To Airport Temperature Checks For Stopping COVID-19

by Gary Leff on July 9, 2020

Jul 09 2020

Airlines say if the government turns someone away for a fever, they’ll refund the customer’s ticket. Making someone with a fever show up at the airport potentially infecting others in order to qualify for a refund seems like a really dumb idea.

Some scientists say smell tests could be a better approach..

4 Reasons Why A TSA Mask Mandate Would Be Illegal

by Gary Leff on July 9, 2020

Jul 09 2020

House Homeland Security Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) wrote to the TSA Administrator this week demanding the agency require people wear masks when going through security checkpoints.

The letter concludes that “a mask requirement is extremely important,” and it’s hard to disagree. The appropriate measure for members of Congress to take then is to pass such a requirement – there are four reasons why the TSA doing it on their own today would be illegal.

What On Earth Happened To Make This Airport Restroom Sign Necessary?

by Gary Leff on July 5, 2020

Jul 05 2020

When you see a novel warning sign, it’s almost always in response to something a person actually did. No one thought to warn anyone before some idiot came along. Occasionally these sorts of signs make you really wonder about people, like “this motorcycle contains no edible parts” and cartons of eggs that warn “this product may contain eggs” (or jars of peanut butter that flag, “may contain nuts or nut products”). Who are the people who need to be told “this electric drill is not intended for dental use” anyway? Austin’s South Terminal is a separate structure from the main terminal, less than three quarters of a mile away but a 7 mile drive. It currently serves Frontier and Allegiant. This sign was just spotted in the men’s room there: What in gods name was…

Man Walks Out Of Hong Kong Airport After Three Months In Transit

by Gary Leff on July 4, 2020

Jul 04 2020

A Cathay Pacific passenger boarded a flight from Canada to Hong Kong back in March, intending to connect to Vietnam. Hong Kong transit was shut down March 25. Vietnam closed its border to arrivals. He lived inside the airport for three months.

Then he walked out.

Cop Punches Black Woman At Miami Airport After She Tells Him He’s Black, Too

by Gary Leff on July 2, 2020

Jul 02 2020

Video shows a Miami airport police officer punching a black woman. She had just yelled at him, “You black, you acting like you’re white but you’re really black. What’re you gonna do?” He claims “she headbutted me” but the video does not appear to support that.

When Restaurants Closed, Rats Needed Somewhere To Eat – The Paris Airport

by Gary Leff on June 29, 2020

Jun 29 2020

There are several surprising side effects of the coronavirus pandemic, that make a lot of sense once they’re pointed out. For instance one of the prime drivers in reduced GDP during the first quarter was drop in health care spending. How can that be with all the investment in treating COVID-19? Elective treatments were put off, nobody was going to the dentist either.

When restaurants closed down, rats had to go scurrying elsewhere in search of food….